Meet the stylists
Melissa Carlson
Stylist/Owner
Melissa began her career in 2006. In that time, she has attended L'Oreal Professional advanced color training, balayage and foil training at Di Pietro Todd academy in San Francisco and has continued with yearly education throughout her career to keep up to date in technical skills and trends. She is also certified in Bellami extensions. She has had the opportunity to work in fashion shows and exclusive Oribe educational events. Melissa would consider herself a versatile stylist that enjoys all areas of creating what is best for each individual client. She has a passion for dimensional colors, blondes, precision, soft, razored short cuts, and pixies. When Melissa is not behind the chair, you may see her on a boat in Lake Washington, chasing the sun in the winter months, or trying to capture some great portraits with her camera.
Rachelle Short
Stylist
Having been a stylist for over 15 years, Rachelle has had extensive training with Bumble and Bumble, Oribe, and Loreal professional. She has had the opportunity to travel to Florida and Las Vegas for several Oribe hair shows - working with Oribe himself to further her skillset. She has been fortunate to style for editorial magazines and bridal shoots. Rachelle is certified in Habit Method hand-tied extensions and specializes in balayage, corrective color techniques and tailoring haircuts to fit each client and their lifestyle. Her desire is for each client to leave feeling their absolute best. In Rachelle's free time, she enjoys running and spending time with her husband and two children.
Kyle DeToure
Stylist
“Listening and truly getting to know each person, being approachable, understanding and focusing on the complete picture when determining the best look and image for every client, taking into account individual personality, style, and lifestyle.” — KYLE
Kyle has special education and training with Frederick Fekkai (Celebrity Stylist), Christophe Soltane (Creative Director of Gene Juarez), assisting and training with Marco (Celebrity Stylist), Sebastian Artistic, Gene Juarez Artistic, Oribe Editorial Team and Kerastase L’Oreal Education teams, in addition to working alongside the best, being an educator and a mentor to his students and assistants. Kyle has also styled for many celebrities, worked on television and commercial shoots, editorial magazine photoshoots, and worked at Paris Fashion Week, London, New York and San Francisco. He is mastered in French and British methods of haircutting and is a Balayage and Highlighting specialist. Known as a Balayage Influencer, 425 Magazine featured hairstylist Bellevue and Kirkland, his Instagram Balayage Videos and Hair Photos have made him a local celebrity with over 40K followers. His work is often featured on famous influential hair pages @behindthechair_com, @mastersofbalayage, @balayagevideostar and numerous haircutting and balayage education pages on Instagram and across social media.
Leah Kostelecky
Stylist
Leah began her career as a stylist in 2013 after attending Gene Juarez Academy. Since then, she has worked with various product lines and has an extensive background using Oribe, R&Co, L’Oreal Professional, Redken, and Wella. She loves the ever-changing industry, and has continued her education throughout her career in order to keep up with future techniques and trends. Past opportunities include working Seattle charity events, styling for fashion shows, and educating newer stylists fresh out of beauty school. She has a passion for creating beautiful, bright blondes through balayage, and loves to use many types of foiling techniques. In addition to lightening, she enjoys formulating vibrant, multidimensional brunettes, and tailors her cuts to each individuals specific lifestyle, bone structure, and face shape. In her free time, Leah loves traveling, and hiking around Washington. She loves staying involved in regular community service events, exercising, and spending time with family.
Kara Müller
Stylist
From the age of 3, Kara’s dream was to become a hairstylist, and she made that dream a reality back in 2012. Her specialties include; low maintenance blondes, natural looking redheads, and dimensional brunettes. Kara believes in a holistic approach to haircare and loves working with clients who want to enhance their natural color and focus on the health of their hair and scalp. She has educational training with some of the country’s top stylists including Nikki and Riawna of Nine Zero One Salon, Daniel M Beauty, Johnny Ramirez, and Ahn Co Tran. Kara is also certified in hand-tied extensions and loves to use them to enhance her clients’ natural hair. She has worked with L’Oreal, Wella, Redken, and Swarzkopf and uses her vast knowledge of multiple color lines to create one-of-a-kind colors for each client. When Kara is not creating beautiful hair, you can find her playing with her dogs or traveling around the world with her husband.
Brittany Brown
Stylist
Brittany has been a stylist for over 10 years with an education from Gene Juarez Academy and specializes in blondes using a combination of foiling and balayage techniques. She has extensive training in L’Oreal professional hair color and has attended several balayage classes, has traveled to Florida to attend hair shows practicing creative hair designs from Oribe himself, as well as several R+Co hair events. Brittany has also participated in several local fashion shows, charity events and has worked on photo shoots for local businesses. She customizes each cut and color specific to her clients based off of their individual needs and lifestyle & educates them to help maintain their style in their every day life. Brittany has a passion for the ever changing industry and strives to master her skills and keep up with current trends. Outside of the salon she enjoys time with her friends, traveling, going to sporting events, concerts, working out and chasing her daughter around!
Wesley Kelly
Stylist
Wesley has been in the hair industry for 14 years. She has trained with some of the leading educators in the industry. Wesley has studied at Dipietro Todd, making her cutting style with curly hair a master behind the chair. Her training at Vidal Sassoon, Oribe, as well as Keristase, sets her apart with her own amazing technique as a cutting and color expert. Wesley is also certified in the L’Oreal Expert Network. She continues to learn and grow with a love for education. When Wesley is not at the salon, she enjoys hiking, outdoors, plants, good food, laughing with friends and volunteering is a passion of hers! Come in and see Wesley for a personalized cut and color tailored just for you!
Carissa Gevaart
Stylist
Carissa started her career as a hairstylist in 2014 after graduating from Gary Manuel Aveda institute. After schooling she continued her education with Wella to become a master colorist as well as getting her certifications in balayage, color correction and extensions. She continues to hone her craft in color and further her education with experts in the industry. Carissa takes pride in her dimensional brunettes, bright blondes and vivid reds, giving her clients the hair of their dreams. Carissa has an unwavering ability to create lasting relationships with her clientele and works to make sure every client leaves her chair with confidence.
"Giving each client a unique experience catered to them is what keeps my job most fun!!" Carissa
When she's not behind the chair Carissa enjoys spending time with her friends and family and most importantly her dog.
Kee Yu
Stylist
Kee began his career nine years ago. Kee specializes in long layered cuts, has a passion for dark- to- light transitions and does wonders with dimensional blondes and brunettes. He is proficient in babylights, foilyage, and sunkissed looks bringing a refined skill set to the table. Kee is dedicated to providing a professional and tailored experience for each individual client.
He has continued his education in cutting, foilyage and is versatile with experience in several different color lines. In his spare time Kee enjoys spending time with friends and hanging out with his dog.
Sami Knowles
Stylist
Sami starter her career as a hair stylist in 2010 from Gene Juarez academy. She had the pleasure of apprenticing with many senior stylists, as well as traveling to LA, Portland, and Arizona to further her education. She regularly takes classes in-person/online to educate herself and keep the creative juices flowing. She thrives on giving her clients the best cut/color for their personal style, lifestyle, hair texture, face shape, and skin tone. Sami enjoys making her clients feel and look beautiful every day! In her free time, she likes to explore, be in nature, and spend time with her boyfriend+ two cats, as well as spend time with friends!
Kristel Shelley
Stylist
Kristel started her hairdressing career in 2012. In that time, she has completed advanced training with Oribe, L'Oréal, and Redken. She has also had extensive training with some of the best in the industry including Lisa Walker of Lisalovesbalayge, Maggie Hancock and Linh Phan, Gina Bianca, Zach Mesquit, and Sarai Speer. In addition, she is certified in beaded weft extensions through JZ Styles. Kristel specializes in all things blonding, whether foils or balayage she utilizes many techniques to give each client their dream blonde. She also loves creating multi-dimensional brunettes and the challenge of perfecting a corrective color. “It is very important to me that each client leaves my chair feeling beautiful and confident.” When not at the salon, Kristel enjoys spending time with her family and being in nature.
Gina Facchini
Stylist
As a stylist for over 20 years, Gina is an expert in creating beautiful hair that has a natural and sophisticated feel. She takes pride in listening to her client’s desires to tailor each look to their personal style, physical features, and individual lifestyles. She specializes in artistic cuts and styles utilizing her extensive training in both French and British cutting techniques with a strong attention to detail. She continues to expand and further her technical skill set by pursuing learning opportunities with experts in the field.
Jenica Mahinay
Stylist
Jenica is Alaska-born and raised and attended a cosmetology program during high school. After graduating, she moved to Dallas, TX to train at the Toni&Guy Academy and then continued doing hair in that area for the next 9 years and eventually owned her own studio. She moved to the Seattle area in 2007 and continued to grow and learn through education events from L’Oreal, Oribe, Bumble&Bumble, R+Co., Ashley Norman, and many others. She has 25 years of experience and loves working on special occasions & wedding styles, hand-tied extensions, curly hair, and creating beautiful dimensional reds. If she’s not behind the chair, she’s probably baking cookies or camping with her husband and kids somewhere in a PNW forest.
Hayley Cunnington
Stylist
Hayley is Seattle born and Boise raised! She loves everything in a city and everything that is country. Hayley loves meeting new people every day and getting a chance to make a small or big change to their hair. “The satisfaction makes the end of my day worth it.” She graduated from Gary Manual Aveda and continued her education to be a colorist at Gene Juarez. She has education through, Goldwell, Pravana, L’Oreal, Wella and Brazilian blowout. She recently completed her Wella Master Color Expert program. In addition to color, Haley is educated and has experience with Tap in Extentsions and has plans to educate herself with different types of of styles. She loves, blonde, brunettes, color corrections and fashion colors. She is up for a challenge! In Haley’s free time she enjoys hiking, camping, yoga and any new adventure!
Natalie Graham
Stylist
Natalie began her career 18 years ago. She’s always been very interested in fashion and the beauty industry as a whole. She was lucky enough to apprentice under the creative director at Gene Juarez after completing advanced training. She worked at Gene Juarez in Seattle and Alderwood for the first 8 years of her career. She has spent the last 18 years perfecting her knowledge of hair color and different styling techniques. She is certified in L’Oréal, Schwarzkopf and Mydentity color lines. She specializes in blondes and French cutting. Natalie keeps up on education by always learning the latest trends and techniques. She has a passion for what she does and making sure each person that sits in her chair feels and looks amazing every time they leave. When she isn’t in the salon she enjoys time with her family, hiking outside and spending time with her frenchies.
Arpad Scott
Stylist
Arpad has been in the industry since 1998. He is trained in the French and Vidal Sassoon method of cutting and prides himself as being an amazing colorist. He has styled celebrity clientele, including Claire Danes, Cameron Diaz and Sandra Bullock, at Juan Juan in Beverly Hills. He was named the Best Hair Stylist of Western Washington in 2002, and Best Women’s Short Hair Stylist, Seattle Magazine in 2007. Come in and experience a cut and color from Arpad tailored to fit your bone structure, eye color and face shape.
Sai Sutha
Stylist
As a stylist for over 20+ years, Sai specializes in signature blondes and dimensional brunettes. He enjoys creating beautiful hair with balayage and foiling techniques. Sai mastered his haircutting skills through extended training with Bumble and Bumble, Redken, L'Oreal and Oribe. His strong technical background and attention to detail has gained him a following of both men and women who love his work. His devotion to his clients over the years has allowed him to develop a special bond with each and every one.
Sai has styled at Paris Fashion Week along side the Oribe team and has worked fashion shows in New York, Las Vegas and Seattle.