Meet Leece VanOver | Color Specialist + Mental Health Advocate

We had the good fortune of connecting with Leece VanOver and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Leece, how do you think about risk?

Most of us feel that risks are scary, when in reality risks are so liberating! Sure…. every moment leading up to that risk is filled with an overwhelming amount of emotions, but once you reach it and you succeed… THAT moment is filled with the purest form of jubilation. There’s no better feeling of putting all of this faith into something that you care about and watching the outcome unfold into everything you’ve ever imagined and more.

My entire career is built off of risks, as a hairstylist you are running HUGE risks every time you have a client sit in your chair, you never know the reaction you’re going to get after you’ve put your all into performing a service for someone. Sometimes they don’t love it and you have to be quick on your feet and always stay solution oriented.

When I opened up ‘Lost Rose Salon’ I was SO nervous of the “what if..” what if not enough people followed me, what if I made less money, what if I have no one to turn to for help, what if I fail?! These questions lived rent free in my brain for months, but the feeling of never giving myself the chance to try was even scarier!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

I am a South Florida based hairstylist with almost 7 years’ of experience. As simple as it sounds, I feel what sets me apart from others is my ability to truly understand what the client wants, convey to them the reality of what is possible and let them know I will always put their hair’s integrity as my first priority. I have owned my own private studio for a bit over a year now and would say the hardest part of it all is just getting out of your head. We make things so much harder when we apply pressure to ourselves rather than being patient, all of our journeys are different and there are things some of us grasp easier than others but we all have the capability to be great if we show ourselves practice, patience and persistence. The biggest difficulty I have faced is finding the balance between inspiration and burn out, learning how to find an even field of inspiration but also allowing myself to recharge simultaneously. The most important lesson i’ve learned is that being yourself is EMPOWERING, I used to shy away from my true self and give people what I thought they wanted to see, it was a lot of weight on my shoulders but when I opened up ‘Lost Rose’ I found myself discovering this version of me I hadn’t felt free to see in a long time. She is silly, funny, loving, kind, laid back, smart, talented and passionate. Most importantly, she is confident!

The message I want to spread is this……we all have a power within us that is there to grab as soon as we are ready to, all we have to do is believe in ourselves.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The other day my girlfriend and I had friends in town and we were so excited to bring them to some of our favorite spots! We started our day with a haircut at ‘Lost Rose’. While we were working on her hair her husband brought us ‘Crema’ located inside the Tower Shop plaza in Davie as a little snack to hold us over. After that we went to ‘Tinta y Cafe’ for some delicious coffee and sandwiches located in Miami. We wanted to get the party started so we headed over to ‘Sins Gastrobar’ I loved everything about this place, it was cute, the service was perfect, the drinks were amazing, they even made me a drink that wasn’t on the menu! We ended our night with the most delicious Italian meal I’ve had in South Florida called ‘Heritage’ located in Ft Lauderdale. Seriously, it’s the best pasta I’ve ever had!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Support is an immense reason for most people’s successes. Those at the top have a strong support system, someone that they can go to when they need it most or when the stress is at its highest capacity or when the creative juices have stopped flowing. My support system is my partner. I’ve never had someone believe in me so deeply and encourage me so fiercely. Her words of encouragement and actions are what let me know that I truly am capable of so much more than I give myself credit for. Truly, it is because of her that I have found strength in myself during some tough times. I am forever grateful for her presence in my life.

Website: https://lostrosesalon.glossgenius.com/

Instagram: @looksbyleece

Other: TikTok @looksbyleece Lemon8 @looksbyleece

Image Credits
the last one goes to @emmacastcreative all others are mine