When Madeline Albright x Coco Chanel Cuts Your Hair

Nicole Lueschow is someone who thinks about life, and her clients deeply. It’s no surprise she ended up at a salon whose station cabinet drawers for styling tools (and a wide array of lip glass as you’ll hear) are fashioned from old library card catalog drawers - the old school Dewey Decimal system kind. Beauty and Wellness are thought of as opposing forces. Beauty can be seen as superficial, shallow and surface level kind of ‘care’. Nicole thinks about this differently and sees the two and intertwined and believes in a much deeper connection to the way we approach simple beauty as a way of practicing self devotion.We talk about some of the hidden pitfalls of being a stylist - like being in front of mirrors all day every day, hair splinters (you have to hear about those, I thought she was pranking me years ago when she first mentioned them). She shares how the work of self awareness and presence helps balance the constant of flow of other people’s energy coming at you every day. At the salon A Takoma Park Maryland native, Nicole specializes in lifestyle suitability cuts and low maintenance styles at the wonderful Scissor and Comb Salon. She’s been there since it opened 10 years ago - though she’s been cutting and styling hair for two decades in total. Nicole loves it when people sit down in her chair and she gets to ask all the questions and hear all about their lives and dreams and struggles and joys. Getting the chance to have her sit down '(virtually) in our chair and ask her questions and pick her brain on beauty and wellness and hear how she came to want to be a stylist was so much fun. She is someone who cares deeply both about the people in her care and the world around her. And as you will hear towards the end of the episode, someone who is dedicated to tearing down the structures and deep seeded patterns of both white supremacy and the patriarchy. (not always two things you hear when talking to your hairdresser).I was so lucky to sit in her chair for so many years and I miss her - I hope you enjoy this time to sit with her as much as I did. And I wonder - do you think about beauty and wellness as being things that can co-exist and are related - or do you find them to be at odds with one another?Also - did you know about hair splinters?!Enjoy This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit findingmyfrequency.substack.com/subscribe