When Brandon Horsley-Thompson was a youngster applying for a summer job in his hometown of Columbia, Missouri, who had his eye on a hair salon. But he admits it was a lie that helped him get in. “They signed me up for the barbershop because as a 14-year-old gay kid from the Midwest, being a barber wasn’t what you wanted to be. But it all worked out,” Horsley-Thompson tells ESSENCE.

He started off as a “hair wash boy” who also had the task of “sweeping up the hair.” Soon, the budding skilled caught the eye of a certified stylist at the salon. After a month of observing him, she asked him to “help her stick the marks.” Horsley-Thompson felt that all the pieces got here naturally to him. It was confirmation that he was exactly where he was alleged to be.

At age 15, he moved to Dallas and enrolled in cosmetology school in highschool. Although he didn’t pursue cosmetology after graduation, hair was all the time something Horsley-Thompson did in his spare time.

When he enlisted in the Navy, Horsley-Thompson spent his deployment “doing extensions and cornrows.” He then did a series of presidency jobs, and the GI Bill helped him proceed his studies at a hairdressing school in Dallas, Texas. But his ambitions were greater than styling at a neighborhood salon. Despite this, he moved to Los Angeles with the intention of working in television, film, and production.

“I had to do 100 more hours to get my license in California or stay in Dallas. But I was ready,” he says. “So I signed up for Tony & Guy. My first week there, I shot a commercial and starred in a commercial. I just knew L.A. was for me.”

Taking a seat behind the chair at Drybar in Studio City was also a sensible profession move for Horsley-Thompson, because it helped him make some necessary connections in Hollywood. The hair and makeup artist has worked with stars like Angelika RossMissy Elliott and Keke Wyatt, in addition to brands like Hennessy, Jack Daniels, Target and Kohl’s.

“I’ve noticed that in this industry, it’s not common to be nice, on time and get the job done. When you have those things, it sets you apart,” she says. “As a creative and a hairdresser, we get so many monetary rewards, but it’s nice to give back and share the gift.”

Below, Horsley-Thompson shares the most vital lesson he’s learned from the women in his chair, the straightener he cannot live without, and more.

His favorite hairstyles

I believe my aesthetic is classic and effortless. My job is to create the look – and my job is to coach my clients on maintain that look. Hair can look great the day you wear it, but when it looks 85 percent the same because it did three days later, that is what I like. I like loose, effortless, combable hair!

His current favorite products

This Pravana Nevo Intense Therapy – leave-in treatment. Regardless of the hair structure or race of the person, you should use this product on everyone. It is a very good base for blow-drying, braids, twist-outs. And it doesn’t weigh down the hair like other products.

Kenra Professional This is one other considered one of my favorite brands. I like their formulas because they moisturize but don’t weigh your hair down, so you may get the most out of the products. Remington I made this little straightener. I am unable to find it anywhere! The day it comes out, please check me out. It has a bevel. You can apply it to the edges and it just smooths them out. No one has ever said, “This burns me.”

His top tip for healthy hair

I’d say wash your hair with warm or cool water because hot water dries it out. It feels good but it surely doesn’t do anything.

The hair myth I need to bust

That “my hair can’t do that.” I all the time tell people it is not “my hair can’t do that,” it’s about the approach to getting the hair to where you would like it to be. If you’ve someone who has shorter hair and so they feel like their hair won’t look a certain way. They might want to think about a side part as a substitute of a middle part.

What he learned from his clients

Clients have poured out their grievances on me about how I run my very own business—including arrange an LLC and never be a sole proprietorship only for insurance purposes. I actually have gained the most from the women I actually have served, learning business ethics.

How he lifts the spirits of his customers

I tell them that there is barely one “you” and that you simply are doing the best you may. So in case you get into this thing, whatever it’s, you shine. I feel like I’m an ear to listen because sometimes people just need to talk it out. They don’t really want my input. They just need an “uh huh” or a “yeah” or a “hmm” to get them on the path that they already know is true. I try not to present advice because I’m not a therapist, but I do know that I make decisions by myself just by talking it out loud and having someone in the room. Add to that a pleasant shampoo, a done hairdo, walking out of the house feeling like the best version of yourself, and the answer is yours.