Meet the SU hair guru

Angela Wolowitz, a junior from Elmira, New York, is changing the hair game at Syracuse University. Just take a casual stroll down to Watson hall, sit in Angela’s desk chair and be transformed!

Angela discovered her talent and passion for cosmetology in the ninth grade. She was always creative as a child, so it was no surprise when she realized styling hair came naturally to her. She recalls teaching herself how to do a French, Dutch, Fishtail, and basically every other braid imaginable on her own head during an excruciatingly long car ride to Florida.

“I started teaching myself all these hairstyles,” she said. “I would come to high school everyday with my hair done a different way. I always did my older sister’s hair for homecoming and prom.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Angela taught herself the basics, but it came to a point where she wanted to learn more. By her junior year of high school, Angela enrolled in trade school at GST Boces in Horseheads, NY. At GST Boces, she learned how to cut, color, and style hair, while also learning the math and science behind it all.

“Cosmetology schooling is a lot more in depth than you would think. There’s a math within the degrees that you cut hair, including the different angles for layering. You have to know how to mix chemicals and how the chemicals are going to interact with one another,” she told The Tab.

After graduating high school, Angela became duly licensed to practice cosmetology in NYS.

When she began college, Angela, like any other college student, was looking to make some extra cash. She figured she could do so by cutting friends’ hair once in a while, but she never imagined her idea for quick cash would turn into a small business called “Licensed to Create.”

During her sophomore year of college, Angela decided to join Syracuse’s Greek community, which helped her business boom. In fact, Angela’s sorority sisters were the ones who who gave her the push she needed to grow her passion for cosmetology and start her own business.

“I started doing my Phi Sig sisters’ hair in my dorm room last semester, but it wasn’t really structured at all,” she said. “I told them that I might make it more structured this semester when I noticed there was a lot of interest. I made my Instagram at the end of the summer to show some of the things I’ve done and started a more organized business this semester.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although her Instagram has helped promote her work, Angela relies mostly on word-of-mouth to attract new clientele.

“The more hair I do, the more the word gets around. My biggest form of advertisement are my sisters!” she said.

When she is not at SU, Angela works at Namaste Event Spa and Wellness Center in Horseheads where she does hair, nails and makeup. She admirably travels home every other weekend to manage her clientele at home while also balancing her business and school work at ‘Cuse. However, Angela says she’ll be spending more weekends up in the 315 to continue growing “Licensed to Create.”

Although she seems to be juggling a lot between her two jobs, school, and more, Angela admits that sometimes it is difficult to manage eveyrthing all at once. However, she is lucky enough to have amazing clients who understand when she needs to cancel an appointment for homework.

In addition, Angela says she would never have been this successful without the help and support from her mom. “My mom was a big person who pushed me to do [cosmetology],” she said. “It’s a good thing to do on the side as a back up. If anyone influenced me, I’d say it was my mom for pushing me to pursue.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It may seem like Angela has a passion and talent for cosmetology, but she told The Tab that her true dream is to pursue a career in interior architecture. “I have wanted to be an architect and designer for as long as I could remember,” she said. “When I was little, I spent so much time designing and drawing houses. I would have a little sketchbook of graph paper and draw floor plans all the time, and then go into my video games and model them,” she said. 

As she studies for a potential career in architecture, Angela plans on continuing her business at SU because she has developed a deep passion for cosmetology.

To book an appointment with Angela, do so by Facebook Messenger or Instagram Direct message.