EP #181 How A Master Stylist Builds Confidence Through Hair

A big move can feel like hitting reset on your whole identity and that includes your work, your community, and the people you serve. We’re joined by Ann Osborne from Bella Hair Salon in Fredericksburg, VA, who shares what it’s like to relocate from Pennsylvania, start fresh in a new city, and rebuild as a hairstylist after 28 years in the industry. If you’ve ever reinvented yourself, you’ll recognize the mix of excitement, doubt, and determination that comes with choosing growth over comfort.

We also get practical about what makes a great salon experience, especially if you’re searching for hair color in Fredericksburg or a haircut that actually works day to day. Ann explains why the consultation is the most important part of her process and how an honest conversation can save you from leaving with hair that looks great for a photo but falls apart in real life. We talk about inspiration pictures, hair type differences, styling time, and how to land on a look you can maintain with confidence.

Then we unpack a misconception that keeps a lot of people away from high-end service: the word “luxury.” At Bella Hair Salon on Caroline Street, luxury is not about forcing a rigid maintenance schedule. It’s about comfort, trust, education, and walking out feeling like yourself. Ann also shares her love of reading and downtown Fredericksburg’s history and architecture, plus how she thinks about mentoring, learning, and building long-term client relationships.

If this story resonates, subscribe for more conversations with Fredericksburg local businesses, share this with a friend who needs a confidence boost, and leave a quick review to help more neighbors find the show. What’s one change you’ve made that helped you feel more like you?

Ann Osborne

Bella Hair Salon

salonbellahair.com

jeffreysully@gmail.com

IG: ann.bellahairsalonfxbgdowntown

+1 540-373-5595

818 Caroline St, Fredericksburg, VA

Transcript

Welcome To FXBG Neighbors

Speaker 0:01

This is the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Dori Stewart.

Speaker 1 0:13

Welcome back to another episode of the FXBG Neighbors Podcast, where we share the stories of our favorite local brands. I'm excited to introduce you to my guest today. We've got Ann Osborne joining us. She is with Bella Hair Salon. Anne, welcome to the podcast. Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it. Well, I'm really excited to get to know you a little bit better.

Moving South And Starting Over

Speaker 1 0:38

So let's start with you. Let's start with sharing a little bit about your background and then tell us what led you to Bella Hair Salon.

Speaker 3 0:48

Absolutely. I moved to the Fredericksburg area in uh February from Pennsylvania. I owned a salon there and um decided to come down to uh Virginia to start anew. I've been a hairdresser for 28 years, so I'm kind of starting over again. Wow. But um, you know, it's important to grow in your life. So I'm excited that I get to have this opportunity.

Speaker 1 1:20

Well, it's inspiring because so many of us, myself included, have had to, you know, kind of reinvent themselves. And um, it's it's you know, you're never too old, it's never too late in life to to do that, to make a big change and reinvent yourself. And so uh it's it's inspirational to hear that you've done it and you've survived it and you're thriving. So congratulations on that. Big thank you.

Speaker 3 1:46

I uh sometimes I'm thinking, you know, people are like, you're so brave. I am am I or am I uh am I brave or am I crazy?

Speaker 1 1:54

Which one is it?

Speaker 3 1:56

Right, exactly.

Speaker 1 1:58

I understand that. So tell me about um your career here in Fredericksburg. You are a stylist at Bella Hair Salon. Talk to me about that.

unknown 2:11

I am.

Speaker 3 2:11

I started at Bella Hair Salon in February. Um, it's a really uh neat uh salon. It's been in business for 28 years, same location on Caroline Street in Fredericksburg. Um, I really like that uh aspect of it. The stylists that have been there have been there for at least 15 years themselves. So it's established salon that, you know, it says a lot when your employees stay that long. So I uh I really enjoyed the look of it and the feel of it, their kind of culture and their look on um hairdressing in itself.

Speaker 1 2:54

That is a big testament when staff has stayed for a long time, the business has been there a long time. Um, there's a lot of uh trust uh when it comes to a salon like that. Uh, you know you're you're in.

Speaker 3 3:08

Especially in this business, because there's a there's a high turnover in this business. There's a lot of uh, you know, hopping salons. So that that said a lot to me when I sat down and spoke with the owners.

Color, Cuts, And Real Consultations

Speaker 1 3:22

So talk to me about what you specialize in. You do um, you know, cut and color. Talk to me about your wheelhouse.

Speaker 3 3:33

Sure, absolutely. So um I specialize in color um and cuts. So I um have a kind of a different uh outlook on color and cuts. I feel that they should be something that you feel comfortable in and that you can do yourself and that you feel comfortable in your own skin. So the consultation is a big part of what I do. Uh, if you bring me an inspiration pick and I don't think that that's something that's quite gonna work for you, we're gonna talk about it and find um a solution that we can both live with. Because I don't want you to walk out of the salon or continue on in your daily life and be like, what did I do? You know, I don't, I don't think this is working. Um I want you to feel comfortable and be very uh aware of how your hair affects you and uh how how it affects your lifestyle.

Speaker 1 4:41

I love that you said that because so many times I have brought a photo with me to a hair salon and thinking this is gonna look great on me. And come to find out, I don't have the right hair type for it. I my hair is very thin and fine, and the person in the photo has this, you know, beautiful thick hair that's gonna look a lot different than mine. So I love that you absolutely upfront with people about that.

Speaker 3 5:07

I always say um everybody wants what they don't have, and that's what keeps me in business. If you bring me a picture that is highly styled and you like to wash and go or have minimal styling time, we need to talk about why you picked this particular picture and how how you're gonna uh mimic that picture if um you know you're not able or willing to put that time into it.

Speaker 1 5:37

Absolutely. I love that you uh pay attention to the education piece of it with your clients.

Speaker 2 5:44

Yes, absolutely. Absolutely.

What Luxury Salon Service Means

Speaker 1 5:48

Do you find that there are any myths or misconceptions about the industry?

Speaker 3 5:56

I do. So we're a luxury hair salon, and I think when people hear luxury, they think high-end, which it is, you know, to a degree, but luxury is what you feel and what you make of it. So we want you to be um, you know, comfortable and understand that we're gonna give you the best service that you can, that we can, and um give you the hair that you want as much as we can. So luxury doesn't necessarily mean, you know, you're gonna be coming in every four weeks to maintain this hairstyle or color. Um, luxury means it's gonna make how you it makes you feel. Do you feel good in your hair? Is that, you know, do you feel that that's gonna be something that you want to maintain and continue? Um that's really going to elevate your feeling of yourself. Because whether you are a girly girl or, you know, a man that really pays attention to your hair or not, your hair is the first thing that a lot of people see. It's your crown, it's what you wear. So, you know, we want you to be comfortable in it and be able to uh feel that uh you can do your own hair, feel good in your own skin.

Speaker 1 7:22

I love your philosophy. That's really great. Thank you.

Speaker 3 7:27

I've been doing this a long time, so you've got it nailed. I've learned a lot over the years.

Speaker 1 7:33

Yeah, yeah. Well, there's so much value in that. I mean, for sure.

Life Outside The Salon In Fredericksburg

Speaker 1 7:39

So clearly, you are very busy. You are new to Fredericksburg and you're busy working. So when you're not working on the business, what are you doing for fun?

Speaker 3 7:53

I am an avid reader, so I love to read all kinds of genres. Um, I love exploring downtown Fredericksburg. I love history and I love architecture. So um, you know, there's a lot of that in the downtown area and in Virginia um itself. So it's really neat to kind of find different things in the area. I came from a very uh rural area, I moved from a very rural area. So um the fact that there is so much to do here on any given day is such a neat experience. So, you know, you can go to a winery and relax. You can go, you know, uh meet your neighbors at an outdoor setting, or you can go into DC and see the national, you know, the national capital. You could go to Richmond. So um I just like to explore the area and uh meet the different people and the different cultures and uh just the the different pockets of people that are here as well.

Speaker 1 9:02

Well, you really pick the right place. If you love books and you love history, Fredericksburg is just such a gem, and I'm obsessed with all the bookstores downtown and the fact that we Oh, and they're so cute.

Speaker 3 9:16

They have the neatest little, I think bookstores are really kind of going out because, you know, of the um the Kindles and whatnot. But I mean, there's just nothing like sitting in a bookstore and talking to people and just, you know, I know this is kind of a weird, but you know, the the smell of it and the the the touch of the paper and you know, just really connecting to that spot.

Speaker 1 9:43

I'm with you on that. I love it. I love it.

Mentoring, Education, And Client Trust

Speaker 1 9:47

So, what is something that you wish the listeners knew either about you as a stylist or about Bella Hair Salon?

Speaker 3 9:58

So, as me as a stylist, um, you know, I think I'm very um open and I a big thing of mine is mentoring in my other salon. Um, any employees that I had, um, I kind of truly believe that, you know, you need to elevate people. You need to elevate whoever's in your circle or whoever comes in your chair. So um, you know, I I feel education is very important, even though I've been doing it 28 years. You can always learn somebody from some, you know, something from somebody. Um, I just like a kind of really uh casual atmosphere, casual conversation. Let's talk about what we want, what we're gonna do. Um, it doesn't have to be formal, it doesn't have to be uh, you know, kind of uh strict or anything. I I want to get to it's about it's about building relationships, right? Even if I only see you one time, um I want to know what I can do to help you feel your best.

Speaker 1 11:13

I love that. I love that. And hair um stylists and and your customers, it's such a unique relationship because nowhere else do you go and like you go to the dentist, you're not developing a strong relationship with your hygienist because you can't shore. But when you go to your even though you try, but you go to your stylist and you become you become friends because you have that you know, kind of intimate time to get to know each other.

Speaker 3 11:46

And so I love that you I talk to clients that I've had like 20 years ago, um, you know, it you become a part of their lives, you know, and they become a part of yours. So um, you know, it's important that you, you know, understand their boundaries and what they feel comfortable with and what they want out of their hair.

Speaker 1 12:11

I love that.

How To Book And Connect

Speaker 1 12:13

So if the listeners want to connect with you, if they want to learn more from you, where can they find you?

Speaker 3 12:21

So I am on Instagram um and uh also uh come to the salon on Caroline Street, Bella Hair Salon. I'd love to talk to you. We have online booking if you would rather not call, because I know people are busy and that's kind of hard to make that phone call and hang on the phone and figure out what schedule fits where. Um just come in and have a chat with me. I'd love to meet anybody.

Speaker 1 12:49

Amazing. And thank you so much for joining me on the podcast today and sharing your story with us and sharing Bella Hair Salon with us.

Speaker 3 12:58

Thank you. I appreciate you having me.

Speaker 13:02

Thank you for listening to the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to FXBG NeighborsPodcast.com.