Volume Up by The Tease

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Interview with Julissa Prado

Julissa Prado is the founder and CEO of Rizos Curls, a Latina-owned haircare brand she launched with her brother, Tony Prado, in 2017. Raised in Los Angeles, Julissa spent years learning to embrace and care for her and others' natural hair before turning her homemade formulas into a business. Her family’s hair and ingredient traditions passed down by her grandmother helped shape the brand’s approach to curls, coils, and waves. Rizos Curls has grown into a self-funded business sold at retailers including Target and Ulta Beauty, with curl education offered in English and Spanish. Its new Gloss + Repair collection includes a shampoo, conditioner, mask, and oil serum designed to address shine, smoothness, and damage. Julissa speaks to building a family business, cultural representation in beauty, curl education, and using a brand’s influence to support its community.

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Nice Girls Win: Boundaries, Self Worth, and Success Behind the Chair with Kelly Ehlers

You can care deeply about your clients and still say no. You can love your work and want to earn more. And you can build a successful career without becoming a salon owner.

In this special episode of Volume Up by TheTease.com, cofounder and executive producer Monica Hickey steps behind the mic to interview our own Kelly Ehlers about her book, Nice Girls Win: How Kind Women Can Create the Lives They Deserve.

Together, they bring the book’s lessons into the salon, exploring how to set boundaries around client communication, stop overexplaining your no, communicate pricing clearly, and charge your worth without guilt. They also discuss moving beyond mean girl culture, walking away from relationships that compromise your wellbeing, and defining success on your own terms.

Kelly opens up about the private struggle that inspired the book and why she paired personal stories with practical exercises readers can revisit. Whether you’re building your clientele, leading a team, or figuring out what comes next, this conversation invites you to get specific about the life you deserve and start making room for it.

Plus, Monica and Kelly spotlight Michelle O’Connor’s texture education work and weigh in on fall beauty launches, from blurring bronzers to the wet dry shampoo debate.

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Episode Chapters

00:11 — Welcome: Monica Steps Behind the Mic

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Interview with 

What if finding your next barber or your next chair could be easier? Kelly Ehlers sits down with Drew Lee, founder of Barber Recruit and owner of Original Sharp Barbershop and Shave Parlor in New Jersey, to explore a more connected, professional future for barbering.

Drawing on 20 years behind the chair and a decade of shop ownership, Drew shares how his own hiring frustrations inspired a platform that brings portfolios, career experience, shop opportunities, and compensation information together. They discuss building strong teams, supporting barbers’ career growth, and finding a shop that fits beyond the paycheck.

Plus, Kelly and Jeff discuss beauty news, transformative haircuts, curtain bangs, and the balance between charging your worth and communicating prices clearly. In The Fine Print, Kelly challenges the idea that women have an expiration date on their ambitions.

Timestamped Chapters: Host Recording

04:33 — Welcome Back: Carnations and Catching Up

09:34 — Obsessed or Over it 

Timestamped Chapters: Drew Lee Interview

00:00 — Meet Drew Lee: Celebrating 10 Years of Shop Ownership

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Interview with Brandon Bal-Lance

Brandon Bal-Lance is the Owner and Creative Director of Bal-Lance Salon & Academy in Saratoga, California, as well as an award-winning hairstylist, professional educator, and editorial artist. His career spans color, cutting, styling, hair health, education, and salon development.

As a Schwarzkopf Professional National Educator and Advanced Vidal Sassoon Artist, Brandon has traveled across the country educating beauty professionals while continuing to work behind the chair and mentor emerging talent. At Bal-Lance Salon, he has made developing the next generation of artists a priority through structured education, mentorship, and a junior artist program designed to bridge the gap between beauty school and the salon floor.

From artist to educator to salon owner, Brandon brings a unique perspective on building a sustainable career in beauty and preparing the industry’s next generation for success.

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Interview with Dina Rosenbloom

Dina Rosenbloom is a C-Suite Executive and beauty industry veteran that joined Hairstory in June 2023 and quickly became CEO. Before this, she served as Senior Vice President at Creed Fragrances North America for 11 years and prior roles include leadership marketing positions at Unilever, Carol’s Daughter and Bumble and bumble.  

Interestingly, Dina arrived in the US (Minnesota) as a toddler, after her family immigrated from the Soviet Union with just $8 to start their new life! She knuckled down and worked her way up, meaning that today looks quite different; a CEO of an incredible brand that is fully led by women.

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Interview with Babba Rivera

Babba Rivera is an award-winning entrepreneur, brand builder, and the founder and CEO of Ceremonia, a clean haircare brand rooted in Latin American heritage. Born and raised in Sweden to Chilean parents, Rivera began her career in tech and marketing, helping launch Uber in Sweden before moving to New York and joining Away. She later founded her own brand marketing agency before launching Ceremonia in 2020, inspired by her personal journey with her hair, her family’s beauty rituals, and a desire to bring greater Latin American representation to the beauty industry. Rivera has been recognized on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 and continues to champion a more inclusive and culturally authentic approach to beauty and entrepreneurship.

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Interview with Mireya Villarreal

Mireya is a distinguished hairstylist with a rich professional background, whose journey has taken her from a modest 600-square-foot salon to the helm of Pink Pewter, a globally recognized beauty brand. Her passion lies in inspiring others through her own story of triumph, challenges, and unwavering determination. Mireya blends her personal and entrepreneurial experiences to share a proven formula for success, offering an authentic look behind the scenes of building a business from the ground up.

As the creator of From Chair to BossTM, including the live event and online course, she equips beauty professionals with the mindset, financial literacy, and business strategy to confidently transition from behind the chair to ownership. In addition to her business achievements, Mireya leads The Pink Pewter FoundationTM, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides grants and scholarships to aspiring beauty professionals. Through these platforms, she continues to fuel a movement that empowers the next generation to build sustainable, independent careers in beauty.

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Interview with Allison Conrad

Allison Conrad is the co-founder and CEO of Arey, a functional beauty brand pioneering a proactive, science-backed approach to aging hair. When Allison spotted her first grey hair, she started looking for a solution beyond endless dye appointments. That search led her to discover that genetics are only part of why hair goes grey, factors like oxidative stress, nutrient depletion, and environmental exposure can also play a role.

Together with her longtime stylist and certified trichologist Jay Small, Allison co-founded Arey, an anti-aging haircare brand designed to address aging hair at the root. Working alongside leading scientists and medical advisors, they developed a solution clinically proven to reduce grey hairs,* powered by the patent-protected Mela-9® Complex and proprietary Arey® Compound.

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Interview with Jenna Bowden

Jenna Bowden is the Founder of Delta Crown Hair Extensions, an emerging leader in premium hair extension services. In her first four years as a salon owner, she experienced three team walkouts while cycling through three ineffective leadership styles: hiring friends over fit ("The Idealist"), leading with rigid control ("The Dictator"), and becoming too hands-off once the business stabilized ("The Semi-Absentee"). Those experiences led her to develop a "leading the leaders" approach, which helped grow the business into an acquisition by a platform company. Delta Crown then launched its franchise opportunity in March 2026 and signed its first three franchise agreements within two months.

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Interview with Mara Roszak

Mara Roszak is a celebrity hairstylist, entrepreneur, and the founder of RŌZ Hair. She began her career at just 15 years old, training in Los Angeles before becoming one of Hollywood's most sought-after hairstylists, working with clients including Emma Stone, Zoë Saldaña, Michelle Yeoh, Natalie Portman, and Olivia Wilde. In 2021, she launched RŌZ to bring clean, professional-grade haircare to both stylists and consumers, inspired by her belief that beautiful hair should enhance natural texture—not fight against it. Today, RŌZ is sold through Sephora, Nordstrom, Credo Beauty, salons nationwide, and continues to grow following a significant investment from L Catterton.

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