J. Rashawn Colter, Celebrity Hairstylist and Design Essentials Educator.
J. Rashawn Colter is a 14-year veteran of the beauty industry and has been a dominant force in hair design, emerging as both a compassionate and unparalleled professional. Based in South Carolina, he has trained at some of the most prestigious salons in the region. He takes pride in understanding the uniqueness of each client, and he strives for excellence in transformation.
Currently, J. Rashawn Colter is the owner of Master’s Hair Studio in Orangeburg, South Carolina, co-owner of Master’s Hair Kare Academy, an educator for Design Essentials, and the Student Salon Manager at Kenneth Shuler Schools, Inc. His specialties include natural hair care, custom sculpting, coloring and commercial integration. His sophisticated, yet fun style continues to impress and has created opportunities for him to style professionals as well as local and national celebrities including singer and reality television personality Trina Braxton and comedian and actor Chris Rock’s mother Rose Rock. J. Rashawn Colter won the SHB International Hair Competition in both 2011 & 2012, and his work is regularly featured in Mahogany Magazine. He was also a 2013 Epic Hair Battle participant. J. Rashawn believes that hair is not just what he does, but who he is. And considering that, he wouldn’t rather be doing anything else.
Where are you located / salon home-base and area of expertise?
Orangeburg, SC, Master’s Hair Studio, specialties include natural hair care, custom sculpting, custom coloring and commercial integration.
What would you consider to be your biggest success/greatest challenge in your professional career?
My biggest success thus far has been becoming a platform artist for Design Essentials affording me the opportunity to travel all over the world meet new people, perfect my craft, network, and educate. My greatest challenge in the industry has been maintaining a balance between platform, business, professional, personal and family life.
What is your next big-step in terms of career focus?
My next career goal is to become a director of education of a cosmetology learning center. I have a passion to teach and I realize that most of what I have learned from classes, teachers, and my mentor has propelled me to the level of success that I have today. I also want to make sure our teachers are teaching to the best of their ability and to ensure that the students are equipped on every level.
In working with your clients, what sorts of requests have you received the most of?
Approximatley 95% of my clients are natural or don’t use chemical straighteners. They usually request protective styles, thermal hair straightening or smoothing services, conditioning treatments and a custom cut.
Are there any trends or styles that you wished to see more of?
I would love to see more healthy hair without commercial hair.
With every new trend there seems to be a new hair or scalp challenge, what sorts of advice do you give to your clients in terms of problem solving for these challenges? Are there any Design Essentials products you’d recommend to help improve these challenges?
When we are dealing with different scalp challenges I recommend that my clients pay more attention to what they are eating. I teach them that it is just as important to cleanse ourselves on the inside to treat problems on the outside. There are so many health issues that are linked to extreme shedding and hair loss, and that includes issues with our scalp. I often encourage my clients to drink plenty of water, eat vegetables, and keep their hair shampooed at least every week. The Design Essentials products I recommend for scalp care is the Therapeutic line and I recommend Silk Essentials for hair maintenance and thermal protection.
What’s a personal favorite DE product?
I have several favorites, but I will share my top four. Personally I use Therapeutics Anti-Itch Shampoo on my daughter who has chronic scalp issues. I also use Silk essentials, HCO, and the Almond and Avocado leave in conditioner for my straight natural clients.
Personally, what’s your greatest hair challenge?
My greatest challenge is creating a solid up do. For so long my focus and strength has been soft styling, natural hair and weave, so it’s not something that I have to do often, especially since my clients don’t really request up-do’s much. However, it’s definitely something that challenges me when I am presented with it. These challenges constantly keep me on my toes and motivate me to create something beautiful.
What’s one thing everything should know about Shawn Colter?
One thing that should be known about me is that I love to educate people. Nothing makes me happier than to have the opportunity to share whatever I can that might help another stylist carve out a place for themselves in this industry. I got where I am today because someone invested the time to educate me. It makes me incredibly happy to be able to do that for others. And of course not just be able to do it, but to do it in excellence and see people succeed from something they’ve learned or applied from my teaching.
Where can we find you on social?
I’m all over the web! You can find me on Facebook by searching, J Rashawn Colter; on Instagram @shawncolter; on Twitter @jrashawncolter; and on Pinterest by searching, J. Rashawn.
http://blog.designessentials.com/articles/professional-spotlight/j-_rashawn_colter/