Horst was the name I heard when I asked my hairdresser grandmother, "Where should I go to beauty school?"
Horst was the name I told my high school career counselor when he asked me where I wanted to go to beauty school. (Much to said counselor's chagrin actually, as he felt Horst Education Center was no place for a "girl from Ellsworth"). Ha! Little did he know that that was all I needed to hear to set the wheels in motion.
I was a city girl that moved around the country a lot as a child and I spent 7th-12th grade in a very small town that I couldn't get of out fast enough.
In the mid-80's Horst Education Center was the best cosmetology school in the country, hands down. When I went to tour the school in 1983 I knew I was "home".
The mansion on LaSalle was in a gritty part of Minneapolis, Prince was ALL the rage, mow-hawks were still hot and hair was all I wanted to do.
Horst's daughter, Nicole, was in my class and her mom, Michelle, was in the esthiology program at the time, too.
This made sense to me because my grandmother and mother were both hairdressers, and my sister, also a hairdresser, followed me to Horst as well. My sister Michelle and I called ourselves "Horsties".
I was hired by The Red Carpet Salons while attending school. I did well at Horst and graduated with an Advanced Training degree.
What I learned within the first year of "the hair biz" was that I was in LOVE with beauty products. Having been indoctrinated in the Aveda philosophy I started with those products. Until Horst sold Aveda to Estee Lauder in 1997 it was my favorite brand. (The brand changed dramatically when Horst was no longer at the helm) I still chuckle every time someone tells me how "natural" Aveda is.
When Horst began
INtelligent Nutrients that is when my passion for the importance of product ingredient education started. My salon was one of the first in the Twin Cities to carry the brand when it first began. More of a health supplement brand at its inception it is now a full beauty and lifestyle brand.
Horst has been one of my biggest inspirations.
My industry has lost one of its finest pioneers.
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