Ever wondered what fuels a local legend? At Salon 42, Sandi Adams transforms hair into art right in the heart of Johnston County. How does she blend raw talent with scientific know-how to build a thriving salon rooted in community spirit? Join me as I uncover her journey—from a hands-on apprentice to an inspiring salon owner—exploring the bold choices and secret techniques that make every cut a story worth telling. What’s your hair’s next chapter?

We talked about her hair extension business that is growing and different ways that you can dye your hair and have a lower maintenance on that hair. where she has clients going as much as four or five months between appointments with different dyeing solutions she can offer. It was a fascinating conversation about her journey, owning a business, and just the hair styling business in general.

I hope you'll listen and you'll enjoy.

It's been a lot of fun. I think you'll learn a lot about Johnston County. It's a lot of evergreen content. So a lot of stuff you'll hear on there from the guest is not old and it's still relevant today and will help you, learn more about Johnston County and why the guest and I love Johnston County so much.

Sandi Adams: Hey, how are you?

Jonathan Breeden: Good. I got through all that. That's like my mini commercial for the thing. So anyway, so state your name, uh, and, where are you from?

Sandi Adams: I'm Sandi Adams. I'm from here, right here in Johnston County. I just grew up in the McGee's Crossroads area. So I've seen all the changes of this area, seen it grow, seen it can just with more traffic, but it's been a fun ride.

Jonathan Breeden: It's been a fun ride. So, so did you go to West Johnston High School?

Jonathan Breeden: Oh my goodness. I said West Johnston High School opened what, let me, oh. 405?

Sandi Adams: I think it was 05. Right,

Jonathan Breeden: right. So you're one of the very first graduating classes.

Sandi Adams: yeah, I would say about so.

Jonathan Breeden: Yeah, probably three or four graduating. The original Wildcats.

Sandi Adams: Yes.

Jonathan Breeden: So anyway, so where'd you go after you got out of West Johnston?

Jonathan Breeden: All right. And Mitchell's was in Raleigh for forever, but now it's gone.

Sandi Adams: Yes. It recently closed.

Jonathan Breeden: Oh man.

Sandi Adams: I hate that. I know. I, I've been back to a few classes with them and I really wanted to go back and they actually asked me to teach some classes there, but with them clothes and everything.

I never got a chance to.

Jonathan Breeden: So well, yeah. So if somebody is interested in getting into cosmetology now, I know Johnston community college has a good program. What are some other places where they can get involved that they're interested in doing this?

Sandi Adams: There's wake tech. There's the school of hair in Fuquay. There's also paul Mitchell of Raleigh. There's one in, I believe there's one in Wilmington as well. There's a few other private ones like that. And there's a VEDA. there's several you can go to. but if you go to JCC or Wake Tech, you know, you also go into the business part of it and you have to have your credits and you do the cosmetology itself.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay. So how long does it take? I mean, the JCC program is, I think,

Sandi Adams: It's a two year program because you have to go through all your credits and then you go through the hair Cosmetology portion as well. If you go to a private like Mitchell's it was strictly hair. It was a year program actually is about 10 months

Jonathan Breeden: Okay, I got you. So which is better.

Sandi Adams: I strictly want to do hair. I was not a book person I was a more hands on person. I was like, look, I just want to get in I want to get out and I want to start my life So get me in there, let me get in your hair and let me learn.

So I just want to go straight forward with it. So it really depends like if you want to go through and get the dynamics of a business and go through and do that and have your, you know, two year degree. You can get that while they're while doing your hair. If you're ready just to get out there and go and you don't want to go through all that, I would highly suggest doing a private, more like Mitchell's, Paul Mitchell, Aveda.

Okay. All right.

Sandi Adams: You have to do a written portion and you have to do a hands on portion. Which honestly the written is very common sense. It's very easy. The hands on part is all on a mannequin and you have your proctors going around watching every move and let me just tell you, you do one thing wrong, you're done for it and then you have to redo it again, but there's a lot of times like you could do one thing wrong, but you do great in the rest and you're really good. And so it's, very easy. Another way you can also go to school for it is through the high schools. Where they can do the cosmetology your senior year and you can go through the JCC or I think some of them do Wake Tech. I'm not sure about that one, but I know JCC for sure. I had the chance to do it when I was at West Johnston.

I also played sports so I couldn't do that and sports at the same time. So I just waited till I got out of school to do that.

Jonathan Breeden: what you make it. That's true. That's true. There's no doubt. So, I think I had somebody tell me one time that the test, the test largely go as around the chemicals in that dying of hair. And whether you understand how the chemicals work, so you don't like kill somebody's hair or poison somebody, but I could be porosity.

We have to know the whole table of all the chemicals and everything else. you know, knowing the structure of the hair. And what the client is wanting. We really have to look at the health of the hair before we can even think about putting bleach on the hair, putting a treatment on the hair, what the hair actually needs.

So to know the chemicals you're working with is very important.

Sandi Adams: y'all are, y'all are some chemists for like, yeah, we really are. I mean, well, in a lot

Jonathan Breeden: of ways that's true.

And honestly, it was the best decision I had ever made. My clientele built in less than a year and it's just gone forward since then because it was a better community to work in for me. the environment was great and the growth of this area, it really just built up my clientele. And I had a lot of good support around me, helping me learn how to build my clientele, learn the education behind it and good reps we had there and everything.

Sandi Adams: transition. So when we were in hair school, we, one of our final projects we had to do was to make a business plan.

And so, you know, I always teetered, you know, do I just want to do hair? Do you all want to go the distance and travel and do this? Like I really didn't know exactly where I wanted to be with hair. I just knew I wanted to do it. my mom did it when my brother was younger. stayed home with us and then I have three cousins to do it.

My sister in law at the time did it. So I had a lot of education around me from people and, you know, just knowing the area of beauty. I grew up with, you know, really bad acne. I loved makeup. I loved learning how to do my hair. I was like, well, I can do this for other people. And that was my main start of doing hair was.

And from there, you know, I watched her go through. All the ups and downs of running business. And some days I'm like, man, I'm so glad I just own my own booth. And that's great. And then some days like, maybe I want a suite and just have my own little time. But then I was like, you know, I don't want to be in a suite.

I want to be in the environment of people. I want to continue to grow. And then it got to the point where one of my reps, Tammy Hetzel, she talked, started talking to me about education. I was like, you know, I think I would like to teach a class. That'd be really cool. And so that's how I got in with Mitchells and them asking me to teach with them and everything too.

How would you go about that? So I kind of gathered a lot of information and really teetered back and forth with it. But when the time came, I didn't hesitate. I was like, absolutely. Yes, I'll buy it.

Jonathan Breeden: Oh, that's awesome. That's awesome. So was that a good decision?

Sandi Adams: It was, it was, I mean, the first two years in business, definitely.

They always say first three years is the hardest and it's not been sunshines and flowers, but there has been some, yeah, yeah. I mean, it's definitely had its ups and downs, but I'm still grateful to have it. I mean, I love the fact of building these stylists up and helping them and educate them and everything else.

And I can do that all under one roof,

Jonathan Breeden: right? So how many stylists are there now?

Sandi Adams: Right now we have six stylists. and with myself included is seven. I have two more chairs open. I have two suites open as well, that I'm looking to fill as well.

Jonathan Breeden: Oh, that's cool. That's cool. So what services do y'all provide?

She's starting next week and she also does hair extensions as well. So I really want to build the extension community in this area. We have a lot of. clients that are coming from up North and from out West that they're having a hard time to find good extension Stylists and everything because this area for the longest time didn't have those high end services So, you know one to boost revenue for the salon and our stylists That's a good way to do that but also to provides You know services for people who are not used to this area there We didn't we weren't able to provide service like that because it wasn't needed

Jonathan Breeden: So, me not knowing, what are hair extensions and why do you get them?

Like if you don't want, some people that want fashion colors in the hair, but they can't bleach their hair. So you can add a few K tip pieces to add simple highlights to your hair with no damage. You can add, you know, blue streaks in your hair without, you know, bleaching your hair and then coloring it blue.

I know my girls love having different colors in their hair and everything. They love the tinsel in their hair. So, you know, I can provide that on my girls and with a simple clip in piece, and I can color whatever color I want to for them without damaging their hair.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay. Well, once again, I learned something new.

I didn't, I didn't know, I mean,

Sandi Adams: I don't know,

Jonathan Breeden: I'll tell you what. I'm losing my hair, I think. I think, Hey, they,

Sandi Adams: they make, they make pieces for that if you ever need it. .

Have family law questions? Need guidance to navigate legal challenges? The compassionate team at Breeden Law Office is here to help. Visit us at www. breedenfirm. com for practical advice, resources, or to book a consultation. Remember, when life gets messy, you don't have to face it alone.

Jonathan Breeden: well, let's talk a little bit about some things that people can do, as they age, as I've started to age, to what are some things that particularly women can do, to make their hair.

look and feel fuller, you know, as they age. Cause I mean, thinning hair as you age is a thing in men and women.

Sandi Adams: Right. so really depending on the length your hair is, what the process has been through or how short your hair is and how thin it is really depends on your product base and what you're looking for.

So it really depends on the firmness you want, the style you're looking for and the texture of the hair and what. is the best suited for your hair.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay. Yeah. Well, that's, that's cool. okay. So, how do you help people decide which hairstyles fit their face shape?

Sandi Adams: You know, that was a question I had a really hard time with in hair school, and that's actually a question I asked my instructor during class.

I'm like, how am I supposed to know, like, You know, five years down the road, if that's supposed to be a good fit for them, they're like, you'll get it over time. I'm like, great.

Jonathan Breeden: So like me and hearsay in evidence class, I don't know what hearsay is. Right.

Sandi Adams: But I mean, there is, it's no joke. Like you seriously, it's, something you have to learn over time.

But if you want to have more symmetrical volume, symmetrical look for your face, some light face framing would be good. Some more volume here, maybe take the length up some. it really depends on their length of their neck as well. You know, you don't want something that's going to completely cut their face if their neck is like super, super short.

Jonathan Breeden: Well, that, that, that's a good question. That sort of goes to my next question is, When it comes to the dyeing and coloring of hair, which are some of the best products and procedures for doing it that lead to the least maintenance.

Sandi Adams: So you can do a lot of different things. first you can start out with just like a semi permanent, which is just a very soft, low maintenance hair color.

It easily fades off the hair over time. So you don't have such a line of demarcation at the root. a lot of times if you're looking for more dimensional, Then we do a balayage, whether we put it in foil or we air process it, and then we can color melt it, which means that once we do all of the lightening and the hair in the technique that we did with the balayage, we take a semi permanent gloss and we glaze over the top with a darker color.

Jonathan Breeden: Oh, okay. I didn't know you could go that far. I think I was always told it was hair grow one inch of, most people's hair grow one inch a month. Is that right?

Sandi Adams: They say about an inch a month. So yeah, depending on your health and medications you take and everything else, they always say your hair and your nails are the trash can to your body.

So anything you're feeding your body comes out and everything else.

Jonathan Breeden: Unfortunately, I bite my hair, which I've done since I was Mine are

Sandi Adams: always colored brown. So, from hair color.

Jonathan Breeden: That's awesome. So, you know, I guess one question, I hear women ask, ask other women, is as I'm aging, should I shorten my hair?

And you know, sometimes they're just not able to wash it as well either. So we do provide that service for people to come in. but really depending on where they're at with their health and their resources and things like that, it really depends whether you like it short or you can maintain it better short or if you're okay with having more length and you want to keep it that way.

Cause I have clients with both and they're both. in between those ages.

Jonathan Breeden: Right. Well, I guess there's no right answer. I mean, everybody has their own unique perspective is how they want their hair. I want my hair to be short. I want it to be easy. You know what I mean? I want it to dry fairly fast.

You know what I mean? That kind of stuff. Yeah.

Jonathan Breeden: Right. Well, so back to, back to the whole thinning hair thing.

What are some of the best haircuts for you? If you do have fine or thinning hair?

Sandi Adams: I would say with fine hair, the longer the hair, the more visible it can be. The shorter of a hair, a lot of thin people do really good with bobs, whether it's an angle, Bob, straight Bob. it creates more fullness around the face, which hence takes weight off the bottom.

So then it can give you more height at the top to help cover any kind of see through of the scalp or anything like that.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay. Well, that's cool to know.

Sandi Adams: Yeah.

Jonathan Breeden: All right. So if somebody wants to reach out to you, It's a lot of 42 and it's not going to be salon

Sandi Adams: 36.

Jonathan Breeden: You know, which is right here. It's right across from ugly bug here at it'll be 40, 42, but it's going to be 40, 36 come February.

So anyway, how can people get in touch with you?

Jonathan Breeden: Right. Not Salon 42 in Charlotte.

Sandi Adams: No, not Salon 42 in Charlotte. Nope, nope, nope. Look up Salon 42 Hair and Extensions

Jonathan Breeden: so we don't

Sandi Adams: get confused. Well, that's

Jonathan Breeden: good. That's good. Yeah. So anyway, it sounds like y'all could do just about. Anything as it relates to hair that anybody would want done. And y'all have openings.

You're not completely full. A lot of stylists don't have any openings at all. So you are taking new customers. We are

I do booth rent, suite rent. I also do an assistant university program for these girls coming out of school so I can help train them coming out of school as well. Well,

Jonathan Breeden: that's, that's awesome. That's awesome. The last question we ask everybody on this podcast.

What do you love most about Johnston County?

Sandi Adams: The community. I love the community. I've grown up in it. Everyone's very tight knit with each other. Everyone knows everything, you know, and it's a really good way to network with everybody. If you know somebody, say, hey, I know someone that would work well for you.

So, the networking in this area It's just great.

Jonathan Breeden: It's great. The community here, the business community here. We've been right, right. You and I've been right here. There's not that many of us in a bit of 40, 42, quite as long as you and I have, you know, uh, ugly bug and bar bureau, Kevin Creech and all those guys.

I mean, everybody, we all sort of. They're hanging here together. Oh, yeah. Lance, Lance with HealthSmart Pharmacy. I've known Lance

Sandi Adams: since I was five years old. He's amazing. I love him.

As we mentioned earlier, Reach out to her at salon 42. If you've got any questions about hair, any more questions about some of the stuff, she provided great value today on how you can improve your hair, through extensions and, different things, how to make it fuller. I think this was a very educational thing.

She'd be glad to answer any other questions you have. Or give you her advice. If you stop by and see her right across from ugly mug, right behind the food line, just like the free law office. So do that. Also, as we mentioned earlier, if you will please like, follow, subscribe to this podcast, wherever you're seeing it, that will help you be aware of future episodes of the best Johnston County podcast.

and if you'll share this story on your Instagram stories. Tag Salon 42 Hair and Extensions, also tag The Best of Johnston County. that'll help our reach, in the Instagram world as well. Until next time, I'm your host, Jonathan Breeden. Does

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