Brandon Scott cultivates beauty from his salon chair and inspires other stylists both near and far.

Brandon Scott, owner of Haute Salon, finds his happy place standing behind a salon chair, scissors or hair color in hand with a head of hair before him. This ideal situation, in Scott’s eyes, is a future masterpiece waiting for him to transform it.

“I eat, breathe and sleep for hair,” Scott says. “It’s just what I do.”

It’s no surprise that at age 19, Scott made the decision to pursue a career as a hairstylist. He grew up in an artistic family that fostered a love of music and art and also includes several
relatives who are hairstylists.

“My grandpa was a barber in the Navy,” Scott says. “He gave me my first haircut, and I gave him his last.”

This innate passion pushes Scott to immerse himself in his art every day at either his downtown salon, where he works with clients, or traveling the country to train and educate other stylists as a L’Oreal Professional artist.

His schedule is taxing, but for Scott, who says he thrives on crazy and hectic, the long days are personally and professionally fulfilling. He typically wakes at 7 a.m. to focus on social media, marketing or budgeting at his home office and then heads to the salon an hour before opening to install or change retail displays, prepare for a new makeup line launch or a variety of other tasks. After working an hour past closing time, his day is complete. During a typical week, he services between 20 and 50 clients.

“Haute Salon is my baby,” Scott says. “I pour my soul into it. I am passionate about the work I do behind the chair because I truly love it. I love the art of hairdressing, of curating beauty. Creating beautiful hair is art. It is self-expression, fashion, beauty. It’s my life.”

Outside of his salon, Scott also teaches others to do the same. As a L’Oreal Professional artist, Scott is among an elite group of stylists from around the world who have been chosen to represent the brand after an intense and lengthy selection process. This year Scott completed a two week immersion course in Phoenix and now spends every Sunday and Monday traveling to cities such as Austin, Texas; Denver; or New York, where he instructs stylists who are new to the L’Oreal Professional brand.

“Not only do we inspire and train other people to elevate their craft, but by teaching, I continue to learn new things, and it also elevates my craft as well,” Scott says.

He recently returned from an Artist Foundations event in Austin, which brought L’Oreal Professional artists, sales professionals, marketing representatives and others together for three days of inspiration, networking, personal development and education.

“We are the biggest global professional beauty company in the world, so I was expecting it to be remarkable, but what I got was mind blowing and life changing,” Scott says. “It was truly an amazing experience to be around people that all share one passion.”

Based on his experiences with L’Oreal Professional, Scott has his eyes on growth within the company. One day he hopes to be included with a handful of artists who travel internationally to places such as Paris and Milan to educate other stylists. It is also his goal to become an artist for Fashion Week, a highly coveted job. Although he says it is something that will take him years to achieve, Scott is committed to proving himself and his skills.

Within the next five years, Scott hopes to open an Haute Salon in Columbia. And one day he would like to have an academy for higher learning, a place where stylists can come to continue their educations. His own continuing education with L’Oreal Professional has kept him up to date on the latest trends, techniques and changes, which means his training is current, and his clients are getting the best service possible.

“We are a team of passionate hairdressers that together raise the bar for our industry as a whole,” Scott says.