OUR STORY
Rachel Eggie, the owner of EGGIE salon studio, is from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and knew that she wanted to be a hairstylist ever since she was 14 years old. Little did she know, she would become an entrepreneur that has fallen in love with growing people and her business.
After graduating from St. Joseph’s Academy, Rachel’s parents, knowing she had a passion for hair, said, “Go to college, and then you can do whatever you want to do.” After graduating in marketing at Louisiana State University, Rachel still had the desire to go to Cosmetology school. She decided to move to Houston where she was an ambitious dedicated student at the Aveda Institute of Houston. Her hard work and dedication were represented through the awards that she received during her time there. She was a recipient of Aveda’s Edwin Neil Full Potential Award, an award given to select Aveda students across the country. She also received the Beacon Award, an award given out to 100 out of 1,500 applicants during the Professional Beauty Association’s Beauty Week.
Everything a hairstylist should be.
After her schooling, she Googled “best salon in Houston” and came across Therapy Hair Studio. It was an elite hair salon in uptown Houston. She said that the second she walked in, it was everything she had envisioned that being a hairstylist should be. A high-end, fast-paced environment full of successful hair stylists. She was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work under highly trained professionals, who are veterans to the beauty industry. She was mentored by one of the most sought hair stylists in Houston, Suleiman Telfa, for over a year. Rachel took to Houston quickly, and she felt that she couldn’t have been placed in a better salon. After years of dedication to Therapy Hair Studio, she felt that a change was necessary. She said, “I still remember the day that God placed a conviction on my heart that it was time to move back to Baton Rouge.” She called her parents the next day and told them that she was moving home to stay. As impulsive as it seemed to everyone around her at the time, Rachel couldn’t have been more confident in her decision. She was eager to start building her brand with the plan of opening a salon in 5 years. Rachel wanted to learn the business side of things first, so she felt the best way to do that would be to go into booth renting. She was told by a veteran stylist, “Rach, people usually don’t do booth rental until they have built a full clientele and are about 5 years into their career.” This didn’t stop her. Starting with her closest friends and family as clients, in November of 2016, House of Eggie was born.
Saying yes to any and every opportunity that was thrown her way, Rachel’s first year, she easily worked 13 -15 hour days. Dedicating countless hours following her passion, her clientele started growing quickly. In year two, she grew the business by 104%. She was swiftly making her way to becoming the successful respected hairstylist that she had set out to be. However, this opened a new unexpected door for her. As she continued to grow, she realized that her calling wasn’t just to open a salon and be behind the chair. She wanted to help fellow stylists and give them the opportunity to be successful independent hairdressers doing what they love. Rachel stated, “It’s amazing how many people out there have wanted to become a hairstylist but don’t because of the negative connotation tied to it.” This belief inspired her to empower other stylists. She does this not by simply teaching them to cut and coloring techniques but by teaching them about business and marketing skills as well.
E
Exceptional Guest Experience
G
Gaining Trust and Understanding
G
Goal Oriented
I
Interdependence
E
Empower
It was around this time that Rachel’s passion began to shift from a desire to work behind the chair as a full-time stylist to a desire to build her dream salon – not only a place clients would want to visit to relax and enjoy themselves but also a place stylists would want to come to learn and grow with a team of talented professionals. To begin making this vision her reality, Rachel rented out a two-chaired suite and grew her team while building the salon. Over the next two years, EGGIE Salon Studio expanded from a one-woman team to a team of ten talented women who shared Rachel’s passion for the industry.
In 2022, Rachel decided to pivot her focus to give herself more time to pour into her team, her business, and her growing family. She felt called to give back to the community, especially to women who struggle with cancer every day, and reprioritizing her time gave her the opportunity to do just that. After developing a partnership with Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, Rachel began working with cancer patients to help them manage their post-chemo hair growth and style their new looks. She also decided to shave her head, which allowed her to relate more to her clients and document every phase of hair growth for them to refer to in the future. This has certainly been the most inspirational part of her professional journey.
Rachel is motivated to continue revolutionizing the Baton Rouge hair industry by inspiring, educating, and mentoring new stylists. More importantly, she is motivated to always find ways to give back to the community that has given her so much. She feels truly blessed to be living out her dream with her encouraging family, inspirational team, and supportive clients by her side.
Rachel says, “By building a team and carrying this culture through the team, we can serve even more people and revolutionize the way clients in our community experience a hair salon.” Rachel hopes to bring joy to our community and her goal is to put as many smiles on people’s faces as she can. Rachel expressed, “Being a part of Baton Rouge’s community is such a blessing and I feel it’s something that is very special about this city.”
