Meet Katie Herrington

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

Hi Katie, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I chose to become a hairstylist and makeup artist, because there’s something deeply powerful about beauty rituals. They can help you hide, or they can help you shine.
For a long time, I used hair, makeup, and fashion to hide from who I really was. But I’ve learned that true beauty isn’t about becoming someone else—it’s about becoming more of yourself.
When your outside finally matches your inside, there’s a kind of confidence and freedom that can’t be faked. That’s the magic I love helping people discover. Hair and makeup may seem superficial to some, but they can be a powerful part of self-expression, self-acceptance, and healing.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I began my career as a makeup artist in 2002 and transitioned into hairstyling in 2006. I attended beauty school when my son was just two and a half years old. At the time, I was also helping care for my grandmother and waiting tables at night to make ends meet.

Those years were anything but easy. The road was rough—often feeling like I was walking barefoot across broken glass. But I kept going.

Over nearly two decades in my hometown, I built a career, a reputation, and a loyal clientele. I accomplished things I never thought would be possible for a small-town girl with big dreams and very few shortcuts. When my son graduated high school in 2022, I felt a pull toward something new. I packed up my life and moved to Pensacola to start over from scratch after almost twenty years of building a career.

Pensacola wasn’t the right fit, though I didn’t understand that at the time. Looking back, I believe it was because I was never meant to stay there. In March of 2025, I packed everything up once again and moved to Atlanta—the city I was meant to find all along.

Starting over from ground zero twice in four years hasn’t been easy. Its actually felt like crawling down a road made of broken glass while it rains lemon juice. But it has also been one of the most beautiful, transformative, and healing experiences of my life.

Starting over forced me to confront how comfortable I had become. It showed me the parts of myself I had hidden away out of fear—fear of standing out, fear of being misunderstood, fear of stepping outside the boxes society quietly hands us and tells us to live in. It reminded me why I chose this career in the first place.

Every day, I have the privilege of helping people become more of themselves.

Sometimes that means creating a dramatic transformation. Other times it means making only the smallest adjustment—a trim, a little shaping, a subtle shift. Sometimes clients don’t come to me because they know exactly what they want. Sometimes they come because they’re trying to figure it out.

In those moments, my job isn’t just to do hair.

It’s to listen.

It’s to see them.

It’s to hold space while they reconnect with themselves.

I believe beauty has the power to heal. I believe self-expression can be transformative. I believe there is something sacred about helping people uncover parts of themselves they had forgotten—or perhaps never knew existed at all.

Every appointment feels like a ritual to me. Some rituals are quiet and whisper. Some rituals are bold and command attention. Some are about reinvention, and some are about remembering who you’ve been all along.

I’m here for all of it.

Helping people move through life more authentically, more confidently, and more unapologetically themselves is the magic I believe I was put on this earth to create.

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.
Honestly, during my first year in Atlanta, I’ve spent a lot of time in what I lovingly call “hermit mode.” Moving here marked the beginning of a deeply healing chapter in my life, and I’ve needed that time for self-reflection, growth, and reconnecting with myself.

Because of that, I haven’t explored the city as much as I probably should have. I’ve been more focused on the internal journey than the external one. But that’s something I hope to change as I move into this next chapter of the year.

There are a couple of places in Atlanta where I’ve found a sense of peace and belonging. One is Oakland Cemetery, and another is the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Both have become sanctuaries for me—places where I can slow down, listen to nature, reflect, and simply be present with myself.

In a city full of movement and possibility, those quiet moments have been just as important as any adventure. They’ve given me space to heal, to dream, and to prepare for whatever comes next.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

I’m from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and attended Jones Junior College, where I studied cosmetology under Sandra Shows.

For much of my career, I didn’t have the opportunity to travel for advanced education or train under some of the industry’s biggest names. Instead, I was trained by some of the most talented, passionate, and beautifully feral souls this industry has ever known—everyday hairstylists who showed up for their craft and their clients with unwavering dedication.

I owe so much to mentors like Heidi Boudreaux, Trish Clements, Angela Craft, Robin Geter, Melissa Pace, Meredith Ewing, Prentiss Simpson, Justin Tisdale, Megan Jackson, Cathy Reber, and many others whose names deserve to be mentioned. If I’ve forgotten anyone, it’s only because I was fortunate enough to have so many people invest in me throughout my journey.

They didn’t accept excuses. They pushed me beyond my comfort zone and challenged me to become the best version of myself—not for recognition or accolades, but because our clients deserve our very best. At times, that mentorship came in the form of tough love, but looking back, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Their belief in me helped shape the stylist and woman I am today.

Years later, moving to Atlanta was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done. Leaving behind everything that was familiar and starting over required a huge leap of faith. Finding Disco Salon, Yoshi Burke and Bit Sanders felt like destiny. They have created opportunities I never imagined possible and built a salon culture unlike anything I thought existed.

They lead with vision, accountability, and a commitment to excellence. They expect nothing less than 110%, and being surrounded by that level of passion has challenged me to continue growing, learning, and raising the bar for myself and my clients every day.

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Facebook: Katie Herrington

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