It was not Battle Ground High School alum Sadie Richmond-Huebner’s first calling for a career, but she fell in love with the journey through beauty school en route to becoming an associate stylist at 22 Changes Salon and Spa in Vancouver.
She said the journey started without inspiration. Richmond-Huebner first wanted to find a career in American sign language and went to Western Oregon University. After graduating from high school in 2020, the COVID-era college experience was a huge struggle, she said.
“So I came home and became a caregiver and my mom was like, ‘That’s not your life calling, hair is,’” she said, adding that she didn’t believe her mom at all. “Then I toured Aveda (Institute Portland) and just fell in love, and so then I did a second interview just to make sure it’s what I wanted to do, because it is $17,000 to go to school there. And then, from there, I was like, ‘this is what I’m going to do,’ and then I’ve stuck to it. It’s the longest commitment I’ve ever had in my life.”
After starting with full-time cosmetology school, she switched to part-time in order to find a job and make money. But once Richmond-Huebner inched closer to graduation, she started at 22 Changes Salon and Spa in the associate program under a master stylist for four days a week with a day on the floor all alone. She is now nearing the end of the six- to eight-month associate program, she said.
After completing the 1,600 hours to be a licensed cosmetologist and being an associate stylist, Richmond-Huebner said her favorite aspect of it all has been building connections with people. She also does waxing along with hair. She said the clientele has been a diverse bunch.
“You meet a lot of different people doing the waxing compared to just doing hair and, honestly, just building genuine connections with people out behind the chair or on the table is my favorite part of the job,” Richmond-Huebner said. “Though it’s not even actually doing the hair, it’s making those connections with someone you never thought you would.”
With the associate program and schooling at Aveda, Richmond-Huebner said she has learned to be balanced and not just offer one service, but to be well equipped to be able to do easy tasks and more in-depth services such as changing black hair over to blonde, among others.
“I want to be well equipped and be able to do anything for whoever comes in my chair so it is a safe place for me and a safe space for them to make sure that I know what I’m doing and they’re comfortable leaving this on me,” she said.
In her sprouting career as a stylist, Richmond-Huebner said that education with hair never stops, especially at 22 Changes where education is important. She takes part in at least one education class a month with a focus on anything from new haircuts to new color techniques to mental health.
“Mental health is a really big thing in our industry that nobody actually talks about for just ourselves behind the chair as well as people in the chair,” she said. “Because I listen to people all day talk about their own personal life, their own personal wellbeing. It’s not talked about enough that your feelings have an impact on my feelings. They talk about that quite often, so they send us to a mental health class once a month, if not every other month, to make sure we’re good in the brain to be good for you guys.”
Richmond-Huebner highly recommends the field to anybody, especially high school students in Clark County as Cascadia Tech, a career and technical education partnership school, offers a cosmetology program. She said all it takes is a desire to help others to possibly spark a cosmetology career.
“I was not the girl that got up and got ready for school,” she said. “I didn’t wear any makeup for school. Half the time, I showed up in sweatpants, and I never thought I would end up in this industry, but it’s just about that warm heart. If you have that big heart, you’ll make it far.”
To book an appointment with Richmond-Huebner, reach her on Instagram at @styled.by.sadierose. To book with 22 Changes Salon and Spa, visit 22changes.com/book-now.
