Hair by Rachel Galati

Hi, I really like statement haircuts. Thank you, bye. (She didn’t even make it to her car before getting a compliment )

The @cultandking babes are in the house. This ensemble of gender neutral, multi functional, glass housed, sustainable wizardry is the answer to our minimalist non toxic prayers. Boasting all kinds of goodness for the benefit of the scalp and hair but most importantly the people over profit. The earth over profit. You won’t find them on Amazon. Because NO. ... Did you know my product knowledge class with them wasn’t a basic sales pitch product knowledge class? It was actually an emotional intelligence class? And then we got into the why of the company because of the insane amount of green washing that goes on in our industry. I learned that if you’re a hairdresser you fall into the category of caretaker because of our natural tendency to serve up empathy and give everything we’ve got to our people. Both a blessing and a vice. I learned of how awful the ph of water is for our skin and hair and that’s why they don’t have water listed as a cheap base. Aloe and banana juice are the hydrating and ph balancing duo here. And I literally get fomo every time I see a salon or stylist post about them even though I carry and use them They just make me so happy. It’s the integrity of the company to not use endocrine disrupting ingredients and charming glass bottles that does it for me. Transparency is the new black. Have you tried them yet? See more

Have a Fabulous Friday like my little (big) Atticus, the softest and happiest cat ever

Can we just have a moment to recognize that we are not the same people we were 1 year ago? As I sit in the observation corner after getting my first vaccine. I’m having a big moment of exhale. Because I sat in emotional turmoil and trauma for an entire year.... There are many things I have to grieve over the past year of my life. Like a forced kundalini awakening drawn out over months. Or 5 years worth of Saturn rising crammed into 1 year. I feel aged. The financial ruin. The mental gymnastics. The lost relationships, the spiral into imposter syndrome while the life I knew was just taken out by a single virus. The business I am renewing my way from the ground up again. But I’m on the other side. And I’m finally feeling hope again just one vaccine in. And Hope is my middle name. See more

Hi, Rachel and Atticus here There’s some new folks following so I thought I would fill you in on a little about me. First off, Atticus is my little angel puppy in a cat body. He’s seriously the happiest cat I’ve ever known. And he growls at the front door if he doesn’t recognize who’s at it. And I work hard to spoil him He’s literally held me together through the grief of losing my last cat last fall and this dark year.... I’ve always felt an enormous attachment to nature and animals, they are what refills my cup and revives me. My journey to sustainable non toxic beauty began 10 years ago when I had the opportunity to fly to Wisconsin for a weekend retreat to learn directly from Horst Rechelbacher (Aveda founder) and the importance of beauty only leaving a positive impression on our minds, health, and the earth. My enthusiasm for hair cutting was founded on Vidal Sassoon’s contributions to refined technique and led me to courses both within and outside of the states. All amazing experiences that gave me a better understanding of what I am technically doing. I adore what I do and the kind of people my journey has brought to me. I used to think it was only my cutting and coloring abilities that made me grow, but it is actually the connection and comfort to give people the space and permission to be themselves even if it isn’t trending. I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes by @atticusxo Watch carefully the magic that occurs when you give a person just enough comfort to be themselves. See more

So you’ve got frizz?! Let me tell you something about frizz! Did you know in the Edwardian era big frizzy hair was all the rage?! Tousled Gibson styles photographed so romantically leaving almost a halo glow around the silhouette. Don’t believe me? Swipe to check it! But this isn’t 1910, in 2020 we don’t love frizz. So let’s examine some reasons why it may be the bane of our existence. Trends. Frizz is def not trending right now! Messy might be, but not frizz. ... And sometimes frizz might be a symptom of a few things. Lack of nourishing moisture. And I don’t mean way your hair down with coconut oil moisture. I mean nourishing moisture that actually feeds and absorbs into your hair. Breakage. Ever pull out the flat iron and crank up the heat to make the frizz lay down? And then run it over again and again without a heat protectant?...... it might not be frizz but actually breakage therefore furthering the appearance of frizz. And some hair textures, especially natural gray, are just made that way! There’s 2 things that can be done. 1. Feed your hair with the proper products. Especially if you are chemically blonde! 2. Get a split ends haircut. And regular haircuts. Both of these work hand in hand with keeping frizz at bay, therefore making your hair life easier. And if you want my recommendation for an arsenal of non toxic frizz support. It’s right up there Not heavy but just the right amount of smoothing plant ingredients sans synthetic fragrance See more

Let me tell you about my fellow redhead creative Kate. @the_geometric_fox Kate gets 10/10 from me as a long time guest. Not only do I adore the fact she’s a committed fellow redhead but she trusts me. She trusts my ideas to get creative with her color.... She takes my anti corporation product recommendations. She’s committed to sustainability. And is an incredibly talented graphic designer. Kate is goals and the dream for any hairdresser that loves reds, talking about our interests, and supporting each other’s creative ventures. Go check out her work! She has great things to offer the world! See more

I was having such a phenomenal day. Like if my heart had a mouth and ears it would be smiling ear to ear. Being back to work the last month has breathed so much life back into me. Things were aligning so good. I’ve been safe, masked, disinfected and disinfecting like I’m Adrian Monk. I’ve literally only gone from work to my home and back to work then to home as if I’m still quarantining because I don’t take for granted my privilege to work and scrap the weight of trust ...from my guests that I was doing everything safe. I cannot tell you the last dine in meal I had, the last time I went anywhere that wasn’t a masked drive thru or grocery pick up. I barely ran into target for a minute the other day after my last visit was in March. I feel the frustration of my industry as we all just invested hundreds if not thousands in extra disinfectants, hand sanitizers, masks, plexi glass things and so many stress tears. Not to mention the financial hit on salon owners not being able to operate at full capacity plus still pay full space rent and other bills with limited to no profit cash flow. Again we are lumped in with other industries who don’t have our licensing and extreme sanitation training Not gonna lie. I’m pissed. And the state better get its unemployment act together because it’s a joke if you were one of the unlucky ones still waiting 3 and half months for your first unemployment claim I want us to be safe but I also want to start paying my mortgage again... rant over. If you are one of my sweet guests, you will hear from me over the week See more

Our quiet energy, our highly sensitive nature, our abundance of empathy are our SUPERPOWERS to change the world. -Katherine Mackenzie-Smith I’m going to change gears here. I’ve been working on something that’s been tugging at me for a while. Something I didn’t have the mental space for until two months of unplanned vacation happened. This one is for my hair community And a very specific crew that I feel get left out from most extrovert geared industry education a...nd expectations. It originally was planned to launch the first week of June and then a very important human rights movement needed to be amplified. And out of respect I pulled the brakes. It didn’t feel right to clog the feeds and take away from the black community rightfully using their voices to get our attention. And I needed to take pause to take this in. I’m looking for 20 introverted hairstylists who want to make full time income on 32 hours or less work weeks without compromising their boundaries. If you’re in, DM me 32 hours so I know you want to be 1 of the 20 and we can chat to make sure this system will work for you! This is a course birthed during a pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement. With every sign up, I will be upping a percentage of the profits to donate towards @thelovelandfoundation because I believe Black Women specifically deserve to have access to complimentary therapy and mental health support. So if I hit 20 sign ups that ups the percentage I donate to this awesome cause! Please share or tag this post if you know an introverted hairstylist who might be interested! See more

My favorite is when my guests following me get inspired by hair that I post that inspires me We also did a little hair color tweak with the leftover pre pandemic blonde. Davines coral Alchemic conditioner at the bowl during the massage to compliment the new cut. Styled with @cultandking Balm + Jelly... . . . . . . #sdstylist #sanmarcoshairstylist #carlsbadhairstylist #davines #davinescolor #ammoniafreecolor #nontoxicbeauty #greenbeauty #sustainablebeauty #cleanbeauty #shorthairspeacialist #sanelijolife #sanelijolifestyle #sanelijohills #holisticbeauty #hairbrained #hairnerd #consciousbeauty #carlsbadhairsalon #4bassett #sandiegohairstylist #coralhair #sandiegohair #sandiegohairdresser #pixiecut #sandiegolife See more

I’ve been spending my in between work days being thoroughly lazy to rest my brain and body. And it makes showing up for these transformations easy and worth it Styled with my favorite non toxic cocktail of @cultandking Jelly and Balm. . .... . . . . #sdstylist #sanmarcoshairstylist #bobsqaud #carlsbadhairstylist #davines #davinescolor #ammoniafreecolor #nontoxicbeauty #greenbeauty #sustainablebeauty #cleanbeauty #shorthairspeacialist #sanelijolife #sanelijolifestyle #sanelijohills #holisticbeauty #hairbrained #hairnerd #vistahairstylist #consciousbeauty #sanmarcoshairsalon #sanelijohairstylist #carlsbadhairsalon #4bassett #sandiegohairstylist #sandiegohair #sandiegohairdresser #pixiecut #sandiegolife See more

It’s been so good to be back! Thank you to the guests I’ve see so far. You’ve made the comeback easy by showing up with your sweet selves. Having exciting little changes or tweaks ready for me and following all of the state guidelines Now I can’t wait to see my chiropractor and massage therapist because wow! My body is still adjusting to standing again ... @ San Marcos, California See more

As hairdressers I think we forget how influential our place in society actually is. But they don’t cover that in beauty school. It’s not just making people feel and look better about themselves. It is also backing them up. Because your chair could be the most safe place they can be. I don’t care what color, lover, or hair texture you have. My chair is your chair. ... My sacred space is your sacred space and I will endeavor to make sure the last energy walking away from it is just as safe. And as a recovering people pleaser still learning my own voice, I will work on speaking up on the behalf of the oppressed by having the tough conversations with anyone that shows an attitude of racism, homophobia, and bigotry. This is where we do the hard work, by stepping in and stepping up. This is where we roll up our sleeves and put skin in the game by using our right to refuse service. Because it is the acceptance of the dollar, and fear of losing one bad apple that is not ok when we are fighting mindsets that no longer serve society as a whole. And I say this with one particular guest in mind that I too have to have a difficult conversation with... So let’s do this. And stop doing what we’ve been doing by letting it slide just for a paycheck or because she is so sweet to only you...

I’m emotionally exhausted for our people. I’m making space today to contemplate and self educate. #Repost @brenebrown From the dehumanizing language and policy of this administration, to the history of white women using the performative quiver of fear when calling the police to report innocent black men, to police brutality, the system is working exactly how it was designed. ... The system is not broken. This is the expansive and intricate system of dehumanization that was constructed to support white supremacy and slavery. The system is more complex now, but one thing remains at the center: We, the white folks, are the conduit for the system. It was built to serve us. When we do nothing it surges through us. To end racism, we have to break the system. We have to see it and fight against it - we have to be anti-racist. There are many ways to break and rebuild. But here’s what I know for sure: The most important anti-racism work I’ve done over the past 20 years and that I’m still doing is taught and led by people with the lived experience of racial oppression - NOT white people. This includes my professors, writers, activists, bosses, and mentors. For me, it’s also about seeing, sharing, and honoring the lived experiences of my friends whose realities are/were clearly different than mine. Our job is to seek out the teaching, value it, submit to the pain of learning without asking our teachers to absolve us or add our emotions to their load, and know that being held accountable is hard and painful. And part of learning is acting and doing. There are many teachers who are leading the way. Here are some teachers that I follow and who are doing critical work right now. @berniceaking (on MSNBC today at 1:45EST and has an important series on FB) @clintsmithiii (June 3 event) @ibramxk (on Unlocking Us this week) @rachel.cargle (Public address on revolution available now) @austinchanning (@tnqshow) If you know of other teachers - please leave them in the comments. Amplify their voices and their work. Buy their books. Take their classes. Break the system. See more

I spent my entire day emailing, calling and texting my community today. And if you haven’t heard from me yet, hang tight! I’ll contact you soon! I’ve spent this day in and out of near tears hearing the enthusiasm from many of my guests who are returning to me and those who maybe cannot. All equally great to hear from!... I’m really impressed a majority have waited for me and are lined up ready with their grays and lions manes! Thank you for not asking me to break the law but most importantly to not open us up to any risk during the shut down! You took one for the team and I think that’s why we flattened the curve in San Diego and got permission to open this soon! I can’t wait to see half your faces! And please read the email I sent out with all the details of what to expect in our hopefully temporary normal!

#nerdalert I’m a big LOTR fan but especially what this phrase means to me right now. I’ve been MIA on this space and for good reason. When so much time was on my hands at the start of quarantine I was dedicated to pumping out so much of myself in order to stay visible in a stupid algorithm. It actually simply burned me out. I feel like everyone is trying so hard to maintain their virtual audiences attention as we are all very bored! It’s become too overwhelming to ke...ep up with it all. My original career needed my minds focus. Not this. Because social media isn’t my job. I don’t get payed here. It’s just an extension of myself that I use to share my happy client moments, my thoughts, creativity and find hair community. Here’s what I went back to process, and all while I’ve been fighting some serious demotivation, plus waiting for 9 weeks of unemployment back pay .Dreaming up how I can further my sustainable beauty beliefs behind the chair. What are creative ways I can communicate and implement more of what I am passionate about. Finding new sustainable tools/products to support it. . What is working and not working in my business. .mapping out two new major uncomfortable projects and prepping my mindset to tackle it. My hair career is actually amazing and even though I hate change, I’ve gotten a little bored and need to shake it up! This is how I decided to spend my time. And there were definitely days I chose not to think about it at all and just take two naps in a single day and play games on my phone It’s actually been so nice to embrace the slow and view my life differently. I literally get ideas washing dishes now Time/virus is the ring I wish never came to me but it actually might be the best thing that’s ever happened to me too. See more

The girl with the waved bob. In my clothes Ever find it funny that artists tend to create things that reflect their personal essence? Or maybe even the exact opposite! It’s like we have this need to inject pieces of ourselves like a signature in everything we do. Or what and who we would like to be.... And then we find people that appreciate the same tastes in the same way, it’s like you’ve met a mirrored reflection of yourself and you suddenly feel understood? It’s why you compliment other fellow red heads or praise those who are braver with their appearance than you. There’s a me too spark... yeah I miss those sparks. The ones in my chair who are ok with being a little different too... Do you find you gravitate towards things that mirror you or things that are opposite and reflect who you would like to be? @ San Diego, California See more

Raise your hand if you died a little (a lot) inside when the California Governor stated hair salons can’t reopen until phase 3? Which he emphasized was in months not weeks? We are currently barely in phase 1. I heard it just as I was frustratingly filling out my unemployment application on a crashing site for self employed Californians.... Also who is thankful that they even considered including us? Even if it is way behind, I’m so grateful that something only employees would normally be able to participate in is now offered to those of us who work for ourselves What crazy history we’ve made! See more

Happy Earth Day! Anyone see the new photos of no pollution in the sky’s around the world? Ironic that when we are placed in a time out in quarantine our planet is also taking a second to breath! It might just be what she needs. I hope you are taking this time to also nurture and care for yourself too.... I can’t wait to get back to working again and sharing my sustainable ways behind the chair. My @papernotfoil for color and the products that take care of your hair with your health in mind. See more