Hey my name is Raquel but you can call me Raw! I’ve been in the hair industry since 2015 but my relationship with hair goes way back to my teens. I guess you could say I was always ‘that friend’ doing everyone’s hair and makeup. I loved making my friends feel good.

After attending university I was feeling unfulfilled in teaching and thought I would take a risk and follow my heart. Growing up I struggled with poor self-image and along the way I’ve come to learn so many people do as well. From that, I always had this inner desire to make as many people feel beautiful and better about themselves as I could.

I started my hair career by assisting a very busy and talented hair artist at a high end salon in Burlington. Here, I studied with Schwarzkopf’s ASK Academy, gaining many certificates in colouring and cutting courses. As a team our salon competed in one of the most prestigious hair competitions, Contessa, and got chosen to go on to finals. This gave me a taste of doing photoshoots, from the hair colour to styling, makeup and wardrobe. I learned how to put it all together. After assisting for two years, I went on to become my own hairstylist at a studio in downtown Hamilton. Here I trained with Redken and gained certification in courses such as, creative colouring and blonde mastery. I also participated in Toronto Fashion Week, styling hair for designers iconic looks. Working here I got to play around a lot with colouring and discovered my love for it.

Many clients come to me for my blonde work.  I would say that blondes and creative colouring are my favourite thing to do because I love giving people a whole new look. I think changing your hair can totally change the way you feel and give you a new attitude, like you are a whole new person. That’s what I love about doing hair.