Twenty-four-year-old Stephanie Kreuzer’s choice was simple. As a high school junior some eight years ago, she was being led on a tour of sorts through various vocational education programs.

The hair stylist program, in particular, struck her. There was a magnificence to it, almost a calling. Hair styling was more a matter of artistry, a uniquely creative endeavor, an exploration of human personality and self-esteem. Styling hair is, on so many levels, far more than just snipping and trimming hair, Kreuzer said.

“It’s more than just hair. Your hair has to do with your confidence level,” she said. “When your hair is done, you feel confident.”

Kreuzer began work at Golden Ocala Golf & Equestrian Club’s Salon in early September. She joins one other stylist at the salon.

On the shy and reserved side of life, Kreuzer has small-town roots – from Nunda in western New York. “They say the cows outnumber the people,” she said.

Nunda has a population of around 3,000 people, just slightly less than it did 160 years ago.

New Hair Stylist Directs Passion for Life into Job

Despite initial impressions, Kreuzer has a bit of a wild streak, which she keeps carefully under wraps and harnesses on occasion to improve her career objectives. A post on one of her social media account sums up her philosophy of life: “One day my dreams will become a reality. And I will take over my world.”

With aspirations of becoming All-American Board Certified (the industry’s parallel to a master’s degree), Kreuzer focuses on the processes of her craft and the intricacies of the different desires of the people who come to her.

“A lot of people misjudge our occupation as being easy to do,” she said. “But it involves a lot of listening and explaining.”

She said one of the most complicated aspects of hair styling is color correction. Different hair styles, conditions and colors require different approaches. To produce particular results demands a very precise course of action, she said.

“It’s a process. It takes more than one day.”

Kreuzer’s life mentor is her mother, who helped develop in her a sense of direction and priority. She said her father left their family five years ago, an experience that made her reconsider her perspective.

“It made me grow up. It made me realize how important it is to stick together,” Kreuzer said. She has two brothers and one sister, all of them older. She also has a 3-year-old niece.

That awakening about the fragile nature of life and relationships served to solidify her outlook on life – invigorating an already strong grip on her profession.

“The best thing about (styling hair) is I have the ability to make someone happy in a few hours,” she said.

Kreuzer’s mindset might best be described in one particular Instagram post: “I have fed mouths that have talked (bad) about me. I’ve wiped tears off the faces of the people that have caused mine. I have picked up people that have tried to knock me down… Crazy?  Maybe. But I will not lose myself in the hatred of others; I continue to be me because I am who I am and it is my nature. Life isn’t easy but even through (it all), I will still be here, being me.”

Stop by the salon to learn more about how we can bring out the new you or to meet Kreuzer. Golden Ocala Salon & Spa hours and appointments:

SALON & SPA: 10 a.m. – 7 p.m., Monday-Friday; 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday; by appointment only on Sunday.

To schedule an appointment, call 352-402-4350.

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