Hidden Gems: Meet Josie Acosta of Acosta Hair Design

Today we’d like to introduce you to Josie Acosta.

Hi Josie, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
In 2000, I began my career as a hairstylist. Over the years, I worked under some of Indianapolis Indiana’s top artists in the industry. I was blessed to have been an understudy of Bobby Cooper where I developed knowledge and skill that excelled me in the industry as one of the top stylists in one of Indianapolis’ finest salons.

When my husband was relocated to a small town, I continued to stay sharp in the industry while finishing my degree in psychology. Shortly after the birth of our second son, we were relocated to Saint Louis. During my pregnancies, I endured several retinal detachments and feared the loss of my vision in my left eye, leading me to believe my career in the hair industry was over.

However, after many surgeries and some adapting; a year and a half into our relocation, I decided it was time to reinvent myself and my career.

We moved to Lafayette Square and I fell in love with the neighborhood and the people. A good friend of mine spotted a small space for rent and asked if I ever thought to open my own place. The thought honestly hadn’t crossed my mind. I had zero clients and had no connections in the industry in Saint Louis. So I thought ‘why not’ I opened my doors in November 2017! I worked alone building my clientele from scratch to finally, in the summer of 2019, I decided it was time to expand.

Before I could hire my first stylist Covid hit. I was fortunate to have survived Covid and hire my first stylist Siiri Parks in the winter of 2021. From there, the salon has grown to a total of four stylists and a bustling clientele.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
This industry is not for everyone. The hours are long and the work is tedious. It takes a tremendous amount of commitment and hard work. Plus, endless education.

The two biggest challenges for me have been first, overcoming the loss of complete vision in my left eye. I had to make modifications to timing and had to adapt my technique to account for the lack of depth. I also developed double vision after one of my surgeries.

I know, it sounds terrifying for a half-blind hairstylist but I can honestly say the injury has made my art even better, more precise even. I have had to learn to be patient and really focus on my craft to get perfection. Hairstyling, coloring, and cutting have now become much like a procedural memory to me. It’s as natural as walking or riding a bike.

The second obstacle in this industry is aging. Aging in this industry is difficult because staying relevant when the trends are changing and the clientele is getting a younger cab to create a disconnect and lack of trust from fellow stylists and clientele (especially younger ones).

The biggest way to combat this is staying young at heart and constantly learning, as well as taking continuing education and staying open to other ideas and ways to approach styles. Making sure you do not become rigid in your own set ways or routines will help keep you fresh and allow for younger and older clientele to feel confident in your work.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Acosta Hair Design?
Acosta Hair Design strives to be a warm, excepting place to come and get luxury hair services.

We specialize in all hair coloring, highlighting, and balayage techniques. We have stylists that excel in vivid hair color and naturally lived-in colors. We provide hair cutting, keratin treatments, extensions, and several other hairs serving needs for all hair types no matter age, race, religion, gender identity, or orientation. We are an inclusive space for all.

My goal when opening the salon was to provide an environment for growing stylists to feel endless support and growth in this industry. In order to give the clients 100% satisfaction; my theory is to support the staff and nurture them, the satisfaction will be mutual.

When clients come into our space they feel a sense of family. Often they comment on the positive energy that projects. We are a team that works together to pull each other up and give our clients the best experience we can. We also care about the environment. We try to stick with hair color and hair care products that support sustainability and health.

So I guess what makes us stand apart from other salons, is our conscientiousness of not only hair but the entire experience. We focus on every detail to make each person’s experience feel amazing.

So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
Support is easy, come get some services done.

As far as collaboration, we love to do weddings. We support local businesses and carry all kinds of business cards and flyers to share with our clients for any needs they may need. Stop by check out the space and grab a few cards for your business.

Also, we’d love to get involved more with events that involve editorial or event hair. I would love to coordinate a fashion show in the near future to spotlight local clothing designers, musicians, make-up artists, and more.

Contact Info:

• Email: Josie.acosta@acostahairdesign.com
• Website: acostahairdesign.com
• Instagram: @acostahairdesign
• Facebook: Acosta Hair Design

Image Credit:
Siiri parks and Kaitlynn smith