February 2008 Lash Stylist Of The Month - Laura Jones

While each of our Stylists feels like part of our family, this month’s honored Professional is especially close to all of us here at Xtreme’s headquarters. Laura Jones has been our esteemed Training Manager, working out of the corporate office, since July of 2007. She brightens up our days here in the office with her sparkling wit and contagious enthusiasm. We’re pleased to have selected her for some much due added recognition this month!

Laura is woman of many talents these days but her entry into the beauty business began in a little town called Cookeville, TN with training as a Barber. She attended Mr. Wayne’s School of Barber and received her license in 1994. While working as a Certified Laser Tech for a Dr. Donald Pate, she quickly began to expand her repertoire with additional skills. Racking up continuation education courses with companies like Matrix, Scruples, Obaji and Genesis Pharmaceutical, Laura branched out into skincare, makeup and hair color. She proceeded to open her own salon in Sparta in 1998, making Under the Willow the place to go for the best in beauty. In 2000 she went on to become a licensed & certified permanent makeup artist, adding yet another skill and service to her stash. Not satisfied with beautifying the nearby Sparta crowd, Laura also traveled to Bowling Green, KY to work freelance for Dr. Atala with her permanent makeup certification.

In 2006 a colleague approached Laura about Xtreme Lashes® and she started down the road to what would become her future & primary focus. She investigated the company before signing up for class and tells us, “I wanted to add lashes to the salon as a service. It seemed to fit well with the skincare and makeup services we were already offering. After checking into different companies, Xtreme stood out more than any other.”

Laura completed her training with Xtreme in March of 2006. She says, “I fell absolutely in love with my trainers, Zayd & Helen. I decided that day that I wanted to become a trainer. I went home and did 20 procedures within the next 2 weeks!” In June she submitted and application to be a trainer. While going through the interview process she continued to perfect her technique by taking the Advanced Training in August. By the end of that month she had her final trainer interview and in September of ’06 officially became our Nashville Xtreme Lashes® trainer. Just two months later she had impressed corporate so much that she was selected Trainer of the Month for November, 2006.

Laura continued to train, run her salon, apply permanent makeup and style hair & lashes in Tennessee  until July 2007, when (we’re happy to say) she accepted the position of Xtreme Lashes® Training Manager and relocated to Houston, TX. She continues to freelance with permanent makeup, hair & lashes on weekends and maintains client bases both here in Houston, and back in Sparta, TN, including Nashville celeb Anastasia Brown & country singer Jaime O’Neil.

With a creative side expanding beyond the world of beauty, Laura’s an artist by nature. In her spare time she does intricate paintings on feathers, leaves and canvas. She also recently added wood carving to her portfolio. Her supportive family continues to reside back in Sparta, including her husband, two sons and two beautiful granddaughters. She visits them often, living the jetting lifestyle of a frequent flyer!

The core belief that excellence belongs to everyone seems to be the foundation of Laura’s success in life. “I always give people the ultimate, best service they could possibly get and strive to push myself into being the best at the services I offer. I come from a very small town but was able to maintain big city prices by offering high-end service and state-of-the-art techniques to my small community. I had many clients that would drive the hour and a half from Nashville to Sparta to visit my salon. It was warm and friendly… big city services with down home hospitality.”