R e i n v e n t i n g M y s e l f

"My dream allows me to give up at any moment all that I am in order to receive all that I can become."  

John C. Maxwell                            

Hair by Hasblady Guzman

I started working with hair when I was 4 years old at my Mother's salon. I had planned to be a Marine Biologist. To put my self through College I decided instead of waitressing, I would do what I already did with my eyes closed, hair. Went to Beauty school & college simultaneously, got my license, and thought I was the IT girl in hairdressing. I had been doing hair at mom's forever in Colombia & USA both for latin women. They were impressed with the daughter of the owner. When I was 19, I decided that I wanted to see how the other half lived, and my English had gotten better. I  began working with a large chain called Heidi's, with 47 stores across the states. "Of course in two months I would become one of the art directors and travel all over the states showing other girls how it is done!" Instead I was hired as an apprentice, I figured they needed to warm up to my talent for I was too young, and thought that because I had an accent, I would cut with one. I was placed in the hands of a master trainer, Mark Anthony. Who looked at me and said "You will be my protege, do not dissapoint me." In my head I said,"It's me Has, It's in the bag. Please."

Hair by Hasblady Guzman                     On the first day he threw away all that was in my new shiny bag in the trash, and he said to me, "I'm going to get rid of all your bad habits. Get off your high heels, color your hair brown, and keep it neatly in a pony tail. NO more make up than gloss, nails manicured, no acrylics. You are to be here 30 min before me with my coffee waiting, and you will stand by me holding a comb incase I drop the one I am working with. You may leave only after I have left, and leave my station neat and update my client files." I also had homework. As I arrived home I was to tape 3 fingers on my right hand with my scissors on. Of this he would say "Practice till it hurts, do it till you cannot do it anymore, and after that, keep doing it." He would have me, "blow dry the hair with a 9 row Denman brush." Finally, after my fingers were bleeding from all the heat, he would say to me "Now you're doing it right. You are holding the brush and blow dryer correctly." Of course this princess would have walked out laughing the first day to never come back.

Hair by Hasblady Guzman

His skill was that of an architect, his blow drys impeccable mirrors of shine. His demeanor by the chair. He elevated our profession to that of a doctor. And to learn that I was willing to surrender all of who I was for what I could become. Was it painful? YES. Was it worth it? Every grueling minute of it. In the end I was his best product, I did not know I was his first trainee. He trained me like they do in Europe-- no mercy, no pain, no glory. He had been trained by Vidal Sasson him self.  I had been under mom's loving tutelage, after I saw his first hair cut, I never looked back. I went on to train in London, Spain, NY, & Miami. I have strived to master all there is to know in this craft. I have worked on New York Fashion Week, TV, movies, music videos, celebrities..etc. Yet-- I feel like that first day of training-- in fact I have been groomed to feel that I'm only just starting out, and a blister reminds me that I've done a good job today.