Kristina’s Corner:

Year Four – Power, Pattern-Breaking, and the Rise of a New Standard

Four years ago, I set out to build something that didn’t exist—a salon where technical mastery, personal growth, and true community care lived side by side. What I didn’t know then was that the path to building Left Coast Salon would also rebuild me.

We started with a clear problem: the beauty industry was failing to meet the real needs of both professionals and clients. Education was fragmented. Cutting systems were outdated or inaccessible. Business models were broken, and inclusivity was more of a marketing buzzword than a lived value.

I saw it. I felt it. And I was willing to do something about it.

But this year—this fourth year—was different. This was the year I stopped waiting for the industry to catch up and started embodying the authority I’ve earned. I became the founder of something much bigger than a salon. I became a cultural architect.

Through Contextual Salon Education (CSE), we’ve created a system that takes stylists from underpaid and undertrained to confident, competent, and community-rooted professionals. And now, through Kind Professional Society (KPS), we’re extending that model to other service-based industries—laying a blueprint for what it means to run a values-driven, people-first business in a world that desperately needs it.

What’s changed?I have. I’ve let go of chasing external validation, of shrinking to make others comfortable, of trying to “fix” broken systems from the inside. Instead, I’ve chosen to lead from the front—clear, bold, and grounded in purpose. I’ve learned to trust myself more than trends and to take my seat at the table I built.

What remains?Our mission. To restore trust in personal service. To create spaces where everyone—client or employee—feels seen, supported, and respected. To show that profitability and humanity are not at odds. They’re partners.

What’s next?We’re scaling impact.

KPS is beginning to mentor other service providers—fitness instructors, artists, solo entrepreneurs—through the same frameworks that rebuilt our salon. We’re offering memberships that help clients invest in their hair and their well-being. We’re expanding the Sunday series, building partnerships with schools, and laying the groundwork for new forms of ownership and equity.

Left Coast Salon is now a magnet—not just for talent, but for truth. And I no longer see myself as a hairstylist who happened to lead. I’m a leader who just happens to know how to cut hair.

This is what happens when you stop bending to fit the industry—and start shaping it instead.

Thank you for being part of it.

—Kristina MaloluaFounder, Left Coast Salon & Kind Professional Society

Stay safe out there, friends! Happy Summer!

Left Coast Salon

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