David

Creator - Short Hair Specialist

Before I began my career behind the chair, I was in the tool and dye industry as an ID-OD Grinder. Though the money was great, I did not love what I did. Honestly, I didn't even like it. The only thing I truly enjoyed was that I worked with my father everyday. I'm sure we all remember the fall of this industry in 2008. That's when I was laid off. Sitting in my car, tools all packed, I made a decision to never step foot in another shop. Little did I realize then, I would step foot in another shop, just a very different type. And not only step foot in one, but own one with my wife.

I always had a passion for cutting hair. It began in my teens when I could not get the haircut wanted at any shop I went to. So when my mom gave me money to get my haircut, I instead bought a pair of clippers and shears and decided I would do it myself. Soon I was doing cuts in the locker room. Then it was 21 Jump Street (the original tv show), very Johnny Depp, Richard Grieco, and Brad Pitt inspired hair. As many of us, honestly I have yet to meet a professional that hasn't been told this, I was told I could never make a living doing hair. Unfortunately, I listened to those voices and chose to not enter the industry after I graduated High School.

The decision came shortly after being laid off, watching What Not to Wear. Nick Arrojo was then and is today, an idol of mine. I enrolled in an Aveda Institute in Royal Oak, Michigan.  When I began, I thought doing color was where I wanted to be. After graduating, getting licensed, and assisting at a women's focused salon in Birmingham, I realized it was not where I was needed in this industry.

I began working at a salon and barber in Royal Oak that was more of a men's focused shop. This is where I had really begun to dive deep into creating the Focal Point Technique™. At the time I didn't realize this was what I was doing. My clients were coming back in at the typical 3 to 4 week rate with the same issues. Whether they saw them or not, I did. The parietal ridge was "mushrooming out" and the whorl on the crown was always argumentative. I was cutting the way we are taught; cut to the round of the head, keep the whorl long, blend and deal with problem areas with thinning shears.

All of which I realized was why the grow out was the way it was. Thinking of when I assisted Vivienne MacKinder for a couple of days during my schooling, and how she not only removed weight, but balanced the weight of long hair, I took the concept and applied it to short haired styles. It made a difference, but the shape of the cut was still the problem. So I disregarded how we are taught, and began to listen to what felt natural to me.

 That's when everything began to change. My clients were holding strong at 4 weeks, even at 6 weeks. Their shape held through out the entirety of the cut. I didn't think much of it until Marisa, then my co-worker - now wife, asked me to teach her whatever it was I was doing.  Not long after, we both matched what the other stylists of over 10 years were bringing in. The following year, we surpassed it. We both built a full clientele in 2 years. After years of being at that shop and change of ownership, we decided we needed to branch off on our own. As many of us do, we had outgrown where we were. In 2018 we finally opened our own shop in Madison Heights.

We opened our shop to actively and positively impact the careers of others. This year, I began my journey in education at the Hair Shows with a local product company. Now it is time to share this method with our industry, to accelerate your career and assist in making your dreams a reality.