Thom Costello

Who is Thom Costello?

Wow. I suppose I’m a work in progress.

Tell us about the moment you knew that one day you would be a hair stylist?

I knew at a pretty young age. My mom was a hairstylist and salon owner and I grew up in and around the industry. I was always drawn to the creativity and freedom of it all. As a teen I started playing in bands and 99.9999% of all my friends are in bands and I always thought if my band ever made it I could do hair when I wasn’t touring. And since touring never became a part of my life I just kept doing hair. So that worked out!

How did you get involved with LivingProof?

It was a really strange circumstance actually. I had been an educator for Bumble and Bumble for a hot minute and after years of feeling like I hadn’t been doing much with them and watching the company change from what it originally was when I started, I left and did other stuff. After feeling completely lost and uninspired this really rad guy named Bryan reached out to me and asked if I was interested in checking out LivingProof. So I flew out and found what I was searching for. Every conversation with every single person from corporate to creative was life changing. I knew instantly that I was meeting a group that cared about the industry as much as I do. It’s such a killer company. They believe in me and trust me in return so the respect goes both ways. Super rare.

A product you would pay (gasp) retail for…

That’s easy. Livingproof Flex hairspray. It’s so good. I use it for everything.

What’s one thing you would have told yourself on the first day of cosmetology school knowing what you know now?

Slow down. I was so fortunate to be surrounded by so many talented human beings in the beginning of my career. I still was in such a hurry. If it wasn’t for all those people grabbing me by the reins and telling me to chill out I don’t think I’d be doing what I am today. I was awful.

What do you think the biggest struggle stylists are experiencing in the industry today?

Trying to be too much. It’s like somehow we forgot what it’s all about. It started becoming about the stylist more than the client or the work. I feel like these younger stylist see all this super rad stuff on social media and all these super rad hair people and they are trying to chase it down to be that too. I fear they might lose sight of all the hard work you have to put in. It’s always about the work. I don’t know? I think it’s hard at any level. We’re all struggling all the time. That’s why we do it. I’m constantly trying to prevail somehow. I feel like I just rambled.

Something most people don’t know about you.

I love wood working and tooling leather. They probably know that though. I wear it all on my sleeve so there isn’t a whole lot of secrets. Oh maybe that I’m left handed. I cut with my right so maybe they don’t know that. Either way it isn’t very interesting.

What traumatic hairstyle have you been guilty of rocking?

I have always had really long hair up until about 9 months ago and once I got highlights and my hair was super pretty looking so I colored it dark brown. Now it’s turning grey which is supper fun.

What’s your favorite.. doughnut or taco? Where do you find your favorites?

Taco for sure. I’m Hispanic so definitely at my parents house. Second best are from this taco truck in Tacoma, Washington off of 38th Ave. They also sell Mexican bootlegs of all your favorite movies on dvd for super cheap. So theres that.

3 things that would be on your career bucket list.

Private 3 week cutting class with Vidal Sassoon. 1 week of actually cutting and 2 weeks of just hanging out and pretending we’re best friends. But sadly this can’t happen. This is a tough question. I have been so privileged to have accomplished some of my hair bucket list already. Um take this career as far as I can. And…. leave a positive mark on the industry that I love. Long after I’m gone or whatever it would be cool if something I did in my time here lived on. It doesn’t have to have my name on it or anything just something floating around out there being cool and positive.

I knew I was a Hair Nerd when…

…I was a kid. Hanging out at my moms salon and meeting all these super creative and interesting people and seeing how they affected other people by making them look awesome. I knew I wanted to do that. I’ve been doing this since I was 15 years old basically on some level. It’s all I’ve ever done really. It’s all I ever want to do.

Where can people stalk you? 

@thomcostello

Facebook: Thom Costello