By Stacie Boyle | Arts & Life Writer
For local hairstylist Katelyn Rankin, beauty and aesthetics have always attracted her creative eye. Noticing a deficiency in the Waco hair scene, Rankin started planning to build a clientele for colorful designs.
“I always wanted really specific styles,” Rankin said. “Like split dye with different quadrants or zigzag highlights. I couldn’t really find anyone around here doing things like that.”
Now, Rankin is the stylist bringing those ideas to life for others.
A Waco native who graduated from Robinson High School in 2017, Rankin’s path into the beauty industry was neither linear nor obvious.
“I was really interested in psychology and originally thought I might become a therapist,” Rankin said. “But I just didn’t feel motivated in school at the time.”
Her early exposure to the beauty industry came from working as a salon receptionist and at a makeup counter while still in high school, thus planting the seed of her interest in aesthetics and beauty. Those experiences sparked a deeper interest in cosmetology and aesthetics.
Her career officially began to take shape in 2022, when she began working as a full-time hairstylist. What started as doing friends’ hair soon turned into a steady client base built largely through word of mouth.
“A lot of my clients are friends of friends,” Rankin said. “People see something cool on someone they know, and they ask who did their hair.”
Rankin quickly developed a reputation for vivid color work and highly detailed designs.
“I felt like there was a need for someone willing to put in the extra work to do the funky stuff,” she said.
Her work draws inspiration from a wide range of creative sources, including alternative fashion and fantasy imagery.
“Mermaids, fairies, scene girls — that kind of stuff inspires me a lot,” Rankin said.
Rather than focusing solely on traditional salon services, Rankin approaches hairstyling as a creative craft. Her process often involves meticulous placement, layering colors and carefully planned patterns to achieve precise results.
“I try to put a lot of technical detail into my work,” she said. “It’s not just putting color on hair. There’s a lot of precision involved.”
That precision can sometimes mean long hours behind the chair. Rankin recently completed a gray-blending transformation that required nearly 10 hours and hundreds of foils.
“It took about nine and a half hours,” she said. “But now she won’t have to color her hair again. It was totally worth it.”
Today, Rankin works at Salon Asylum, where she has reached master stylist level and serves as an educator for apprentices entering the industry.
Teaching newer stylists has become one of the most rewarding aspects of her career.
“If you can learn the really technical or creative stuff, then you can pretty much do anything,” Rankin said. “I love helping people build those foundational skills.”
Her hairstylist career also allows her to use skills she once hoped to apply in psychology, replacing her pursuit of a psychology degree with a salon chair and scissors.
“Getting your hair done can be a really vulnerable experience,” she said. “People tell me so much about what’s going on in their lives. I want them to know they can trust me.”
Moments when clients express newfound confidence after an appointment are among the most meaningful parts of the job.
“There have been times when someone calls me afterward and says, ‘You completely changed my confidence,’” Rankin said. “Those moments really stick with me.”
For now, Rankin remains focused on pushing creative boundaries and building a community of clients who trust her artistry.
“It’s more than just hair,” she said. “It’s about helping people feel like themselves — or maybe even a more colorful version of themselves.”
