Sola Spotlight: Connie Nagle

An early love of hair styling turned into a lifelong passion for Connie Nagle. Connie owns All About Hair and More, a health-conscious salon located in Sola Salon Studios in Palm Beach Gardens, FL.

Connie has been in the field for five years, but her love of hair styling started early on. "I wanted to be a stylist at the tender age of 6. My dolls had no hair. I was always styling and cutting," she said, laughing. "I loved my big Barbie head [that I got for Christmas], I think I cut all her hair off before New Years." It's a career that she's happy to have found.

"I love everything about hair, the clients, and most of all, the high from when your clients are so happy with the way their hair looks and the way they feel." Connie worked in a large salon before coming to Sola, but she found that the big salon environment was too much for her. "The moment I walked into Sola while it was under construction, I knew I had found my home," she explained. "Since coming to Sola, [my business has] grown over 75%, and I'm loving it. All of us here at Palm Beach Garden Sola work together, bouncing ideas off of each other. It's awesome!"

Like all stylists, Connie is loyal to certain products. "I like organic products and products that are not as taxing on the hair," she explained. "I use Cezanne Smoothing Treatment. It is awesome and it does not have formaldehyde. It's so safe that you can color the hair right after the treatment. You can even go swimming! I also use Goldwell. I just love their color line and the educational team. John Simpson, Goldwell's North American Creative Director, and Simon with KMS are my inspiration."

Connie is also very passionate about continuing education. Among various training, she has studied at Redken, Goldwell, and KMS. "I loved the Redken Exchange, she said. "I was in a great class, Sam Villa was there all 3 days working his magic. I love him! Plus, the creative team rocked. I still use the techniques [I learned]." Connie specializes in cutting and color. "I do highlighting and low lighting'" she said. "I do fun colors with Elumen."

She also offers other services. "I have one client [who comes in for] a roller set every Saturday at 9:30am, and I love her. She still gets perms, too. My only perm!" One of Connie's sales reps recommended Ouidad to her as a way to care for curly haired clients. At first, she passed on the line, but that very next week, a dozen potential curly haired clients came through her space asking about cuts and styling, which Connie took as a sign. "I'm so grateful that I changed my mind," Connie said. "Curly hair is a challenge in so many ways. The Ouidad certification was well worth it, and now I love cutting and styling curly hair."

She currently has about five curly-haired clients a week. Connie's advice to new stylists is to always be early, take as many classes as you can, always listen, and be kind. To stylists thinking about joining the Sola family, Connie enthusiastically said, "Just Do it! It was the best decision I made to advance myself, my career, and my clients. Set your goals, and don’t look back. Yes, it is scary, but there is a large support team within Sola Salons." Her closing thoughts? "I just love being a part of something that is this amazing – I’m growing my business and my education. Thank you Sola Salons!"