Hi folks, my name is Stephanie (she/her). I was born in Peru. My parents brought my sister and me to the United States when I was 4 years old. I've lived in Saint Louis, Missouri since.

After high school, I decided to stay in St. Louis and go to Saint Louis University where I quickly realized I was studying for the wrong profession. Before finishing up my freshman year, I dropped out of SLU and enrolled at Paul Mitchell The School - St. Louis, then graduated in August 2014.

While at cosmetology school, I entered my work and won a limited spot in a national competition for cosmetology students, Beacon 2014, held in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Professional Beauty Association (PBA) organizes the competition, which includes a conference, workshops, and hair show: North American Hairstyling Awards (NAHA). It was an incredible lifetime experience.

Throughout my 10 years of doing hair, I've taken numerous advanced education classes and workshops from some of my favorite mentors in the hair industry (Kelly Cardenas, Fernie Andong, Justin Thomas, Presley Poe, John Mosley, Wesley Palmer, and more!). As a hairstylist, continued education is essential. I choose to keep an open mind, and know that I will forever be a student, and never fully know everything about any one thing. The hair industry is forever evolving and that's one of my favorite things about this industry. There will always be something new to learn.

It was in my first cutting week at school that I immediately fell in love with cutting hair. The haircutting techniques, understanding the hair follicle, bone structure, hair texture, and how it all plays a big role on the overall hairstyle - it’s exciting for me.

Over time, I've gained experience in working with all hair types out there. To be more specific, I specialize in working with all Asian hair types, curly hair, "mens hair" AKA masculine short cuts, skin fades, androgenous cuts, gender-affirming cuts, textured cuts (eg. shags, mullets, layers, pixies), blunt cuts (crisp edged cuts), and children hair.

On my days off, you can find me cuddling with my cats, eating good food, playing my bass guitar, spending quality time with my family, and creating core memories with my children.

I get to spend my life with the most chill and down-to-Earth partner who works in the cannabis industry, and we have 2 beautiful children (4 & 8 years old). We also have 2 dogs, Ava & Herbie. Ava is a long-haired German Shepard and Herbie is a Newfoundland/Lab/Chow mix, both rescues. We also have 2 Sphynx cats, Ferdinand & Alice (my chosen children). The phrase, "never a dull moment" barely scratches the surface to describe our household.

In June of 2022, I got the opportunity to take on co-ownership of a "mens hair salon" in the Grove neighborhood, Mitch Grooming. I made a lot of positive changes to the salon, but after 2 years in, I found it was finally my time to venture off and open my own salon/barbershop.

When I named this business, both literal and figurative meanings were crucial in the deciding factor and, more importantly, the connotations of each word. In addition, the acronym had to be aesthetically pleasing to the naked eye. If you know me, you know I love being different, and the name of my business needed to be bold. I’ve always liked the word “Velvet”. It gave me a feel-good, warm, cozy feeling. “Magnetic” later came around as the perfect balance to the soft word. To me, it meant “an attraction to my business”, naturally. So, when put together, the meaning of Velvet Magnetic Hair Co. is that, “it’s a place that makes you feel good that you want to come back to”.

Velvet Magnetic Hair Co. was founded in July 2024 on principals of inclusivity and authenticity. It is a safe space for you to be your authentic self. I have poured, and will continue to pour, my heart and soul into this business. Thank you for being here and supporting me in this journey.

Cheers y Salud,

Stephanie Otoya

Owner/Founder/Hairstylist