Welcome back.

If you've been coming to me for a long time, this letter is for you.

Some of you have been with me for over a decade. You've watched me work in tiny salon suites, through different salons, through social media taking off, through crazy booking systems, through remodels, through hiring my first team members, and now through the growth of SMOOTHED.

So first… thank you. Seriously.

There is no version of SMOOTHED without the people who trusted me long before there was a waitlist, before there were videos with millions of views, before people were flying across the country for appointments, and before anyone knew what we were building.

A lot of you remember the Groupon days. Yes… the $99 Groupon days. I laugh about it now because it's honestly hard to believe.

Back then, I was working under someone else's business model. The goal wasn't to build a long-term smoothing company — it was simply to get people in the door. I said yes to every head of hair, worked incredibly long hours, and completed treatment after treatment after treatment.

Looking back, I probably wouldn't recommend that business model to anyone. But here's the funny part… those years became the greatest education I could have ever asked for.

While everyone else was doing a handful of smoothing treatments every week, I was doing them constantly. Every texture. Every challenge. Every correction. Every mistake to learn from. Every success to build on.

Those “cheap keratin days” weren't just discounted appointments. They were the years that quietly built the experience behind everything we do today.

And because thousands of you trusted me during that season, SMOOTHED became what it is today. So if you were one of those early clients… congratulations. You got one heck of a deal. And honestly? I'm glad you did. You took a chance on me before anyone else did.

But as grateful as I am for those years, they were never meant to last forever.

From the very beginning, I've never dreamed about owning just another hair salon. I've always dreamed about building something much bigger.

I want SMOOTHED to become the company that changes the way people think about smoothing treatments in the United States. I want us to raise the standard for safety, education, consistency, and results. I want to train incredible stylists, create meaningful careers, open more locations, and build a company that is still thriving decades from now.

That kind of company can't be built on yesterday's pricing. It has to be built on a system that's sustainable — for our clients, for our stylists, and for the future.

One of the biggest lessons I've learned over the years is that experience matters. A stylist who's completed 50 treatments simply isn't in the same place as someone who's completed 500. And someone who's completed 500 isn't in the same place as someone who's completed 5,000 or 15,000.

That doesn't mean one is “good” and one is “bad.” It means experience deserves to be recognized.

That's why we've introduced experience-based pricing. Instead of everyone charging the same amount, our stylists grow through pricing levels as they grow through experience. It allows newer stylists to build confidence while offering a more accessible price point, and it allows our most experienced stylists to be compensated fairly for the years they've invested mastering this craft.

To me, that's the right way to build a company. I never want my team to feel like they have to spend years undercharging just because I did.

I want them to have real careers. I want them to be proud of the expertise they've earned. And I want SMOOTHED to be the kind of place where talented people can build a future — not just a schedule.

If your favorite stylist has moved into a pricing tier that's no longer the right fit for your budget, please know that's okay. There is absolutely no shame in asking us to recommend another member of our team. In fact, that's exactly why we've built multiple experience levels.

My goal has never been for everyone to book the most experienced stylist. My goal is for every client to have access to an incredible SMOOTHED experience at a price point that feels right for them.

If you've been with us from the beginning, I hope you know something. You helped build this. Every review, every referral, every friend you sent, every appointment you kept, every video you shared — you've played a part in getting us here.

With love,
Kaylie