Last summer I was at the North American Hairstyling Awards and there was one woman that really stood out on stage that night. Well, there were several but none that had the spunk of the winner of the Fashion Forward award – Faatemah Ampey. A couple of months later she was announced as the emcee of this year’s International Salon and Spa expo in Long Beach California. Now her latest accomplishment… contestant on Bravo’s Shear Genius Season 3!
I had a chance to catch up with Faatemah just before she jumped on a plane for LA and I got to ask her a few questions about her upcoming appearance on Shear Genius.
Watch Shear Genius Season 3 Preview!
Although you may not have heard of her before, she is not new to the hair world. She has always done hair. She and her sister started braiding hair when they were young. She didn’t grow up dreaming of becoming a hairstylist. She just loved doing hair. Then one day she was approached on the bus when she was 18 by a complete stranger that wanted to have hair like Faatemah. At first she said “I only do it for myself”. Before too long she was coaxed into doing her hair and that turned into a way of earning extra money for college.
She then went into cosmetology and has never looked back. If you’ve never heard of her before now, don’t worry you will definitely be hearing a lot from this woman. You can’t help but be pulled in by this woman’s fun and dynamic energy. She says that most people wake up in the morning and get out of bed, but not her. For Faatemah her feet hit the ground running before her eyes are even open and from then it’s go go go, sometimes running on 3-4 hours of sleep. For most people that might sound exhausting but when you are totally in love with what you do it’s easy.
I had a chance to ask Faatemah a couple questions about her upcoming appearance in this season’s Shear Genius. So if you’ve ever wondered what it is like being a hairstylist on a reality TV series like Shear Genius here is what Faatemah has to say: It is “like joining the circus, I’ve never been in the circus, but if I had that’s what it would be like”. She says it was “fun” and “grueling” because you “never really know what’s coming at you”.
Faatemah says that the hardest thing about being on the show for her was being vulnerable. She has a very strong personality but on the show sometimes you have to just stand there and take it however it comes. And this is a reality TV show so you know it’s going to come! Usually it comes from the judges because, like it or not, they are there to humble you and push you to your edges.
I asked Faatemah what gives her an advantage over the other stylists on the show. Her answer is “I’m definitely an innovator in this industry, back in the day if Picasso showed his work, some people would get it, some wouldn’t, and it’s a matter of people understanding your art. There are 2 types of artists, innovators and imitators. What gives me my edge is that I’m an innovator.” She said that being a great imitator is an equally important skill but her talent is in innovating.
Here’s a brief interview I did with Faatemah in which she shares her success secret and provides tips for students undergoing cosmetology education. She also elaborates her role in Shear Genius season 3.
ScissorBoy: Did you have a game plan going in on how you were going to beat everyone else out.
Faatemah: No, I felt everything in my career had already prepared me for what was ahead, I didn’t worry myself guessing about what we were going to do, I took it one day at a time and decided I’m just going to be me!
ScissorBoy: Let’s talk about taking risks? Do you need to be a risk taker to be on Shear Genius?
Faatemah: I take calculated risks. I’m a risk taker in real life, it was about day to day making a decision what kind of risk to take, sometimes it pays off sometimes it doesn’t, and how judges perceive it, their goal is to take you outside of your comfort zone.
ScissorBoy: What would your advise be to hairstylists or cosmetology students that really want to make a name for themselves in this business?
Faatemah: First recommendation, access your goals, why do you want to make a name for yourself? Why do you want it? I don’t care about being a celebrity, I do it to make an impact on my community. Once you figure out what you want to do, figure out what your good at! Hone your skill, own it and then sky’s the limit. If I give it 280%, if you are diligent, there is no way you can’t be successful.
ScissorBoy: The first time I saw you was when you were on stage accepting the North American Hairstylist Award for Fashion Forward. You were one of the most memorable people on stage. You had spunk, fire, energy. I’m really curious if we are going to get to see some of that on Shear Genius, and how it might come out or did you contain yourself?
Faatemah: That is me 100% of the time, I was just myself, unscripted, unrehearsed. I don’t know if you are going to see that (on Shear Genius) because it was nerve wreaking, you might see me as more of a quiet observer, quietly asses them and their personalities, you may see the real Faatemah in the interviews. It was a completely new Faatemah on the show because I was put in a position I’ve never been in before.
Watch Faatemah Ampey as she battles with other cutting edge stylists on BravoTV’s reality show Shear Genius season 3 which begins on February 3, 2010.
