Sunnie Brook Jones of Reveal Salon {Wedding Hair + Beauty}

Sunnie Brook is the proud half-owner of revealsalon.com. She also happens to be my assistant Simon’s wife. I’ve known Brook for almost 10 years and can remember getting my hair cut by her when she was just in beauty school. It has been amazing to watch her grow not only as a professional stylist, but a Salon owner and a Paul Mitchell educator. She has made a variety of awesome accomplishments in the world of hair and is creating such a wonderful community with Reveal Salon, located in the heart of Downtown San Luis Obispo.

Sunnie Brook and her crew recently styled for Jordan + Courtneys wedding at the beautiful Villa Toscana.


When did you decide to get into hair?
Ever since I was little, Ive been obsessed with hair. It was one of my favorite things to play with. When I made it a career choice I was 17. My dad would ask me what I wanted to do with my life. All I could ever answer was that I wanted to help people. My mother cut all of me and my 4 siblings hair. She suggested that I go to beauty school. So I decided to do that to put me through college to be a counselor. When I started beauty school I thought, Wow! I get to start helping people and I happen to be good at it. I get to be creative and also get paid to do what I loved. So, Ive been doing hair for 10 years.

Do you see your job as more than cutting and styling hair; as counseling people?
Initially, when I first started my career I would counsel people a lot. Just about life, love, dating, marriages. But as Ive grown, Ive realized that when people are in my chair they want to escape. That it becomes a place of safety and nothing else in their lives matters. So Ive taken that desire to help people and applied that more into creating an experience in my salon as well as educating my stylists and other people in my industry.

What kind of experience are you creating at Reveal Salon?
A positive environment where people have smiles on their faces. Where the customers every need is taken care of, they have the drinks and the magazines that they need; that they have their expectations exceeded.

What made you decide to buy a salon and start Reveal?
I had been doing hair for 4 years with my dear friend Harmony. We had been doing hair for so long that we felt like there was no further opportunity for us. My heart had been growing to give beauty schools students opportunity they never had. So we dreamed about owning a salon where we could help people wanting to start their careers. We decided if we were to ever have a salon that we would want to take over Jump on Garden Street. One day Harmony ran into the owner of Jump while shopping and he told her that he was selling his salon. Harmony replied that she wanted it! We sat down to talk it over with him and within 3 weeks we bought it.

What is Reveal?
One of the most significant experiences that hair dressers talk about is that moment when the person in your chair looks into the mirror and is able to see beauty. Reveal means to help someone see their beauty in a supernatural way which they couldn’t have seen or experienced on their own. That experience is what makes hair dressers want to keep doing what we do all the time.

What is the consultation process like for a bride who want to hire you?
Its really important for a bride to feel completely safe and confident in her stylists abilities. There should be no question in her mind on her wedding day if she is going to be beautiful, therefore the consultation process is extremely important. When a bride comes in she sits down with a stylist and look through books to get an idea of what they are comfortable with. That stylist will explore those different looks and give her advice about what would look best for her face shape. A good stylist will be able to tell her what will look good in photographs. Because that is ultimately what a bride will see in the end. When I do a bride I tend to start simple and then get more extravagant depending on her needs. I start with a simple look, usually down, and transition into something more. It gives a bride the versatility to see everything down around her face, then half up, then all the way off her face.

What do you recommend a bride do to prepare for her consultation?
I recommend that a bride bring pictures of her hair that she likes, whether its from prom or some formal dinner. Also to bring pictures of hair that she loves and hair that she hates. She needs to bring her veil and hair pieces. Finally, a bride needs to bring a camera. That way we can photograph the different styles and she can refer to the pictures afterwards.

How often do you change your hair style?
When I first started my career it was every week. But now since ive become educated and I understand that the number one priority is to have healthy hair. I do minor alterations

How far in advance do you book up?
I recommend that a bride book up 3 months ahead. If she has a summer date to book as soon as possible.

Why do you love hair?
Im fascinated with hair because you can do so much with it. You can change someones face, the whole feel of their outfit; you can change their personality. Its like when a woman puts on a glamorous gown she carries herself differently then a woman in sweats. I think hair does the same, it just transforms you.

What’s your ideal client?
Someone who values my professional opinion. I do my best work on people that ask me what would work for them. I love it when people come to the table with things that they like or don’t like. But I also like people who ask what hair cut will work with my face shape? What color will work? Because I can really give them a professional opinion and help them achieve results that they may never have had before.

What is popular right now for brides?
We are seeing a modern vintage look. A lot of finger waves. Not super polished and clean looking. Definitely more texture in the hair with softer looks. Brides are going more relaxed as well; they are not pulling everything off of their face. Styles are closer to what they wear everyday but more glamorous.

Do you do makeup as well?
When I was going through beauty school I worked with Lancôme. After I started working in a salon, I gave it up because they didn’t have a makeup line. Since recently organizing photo shoots for the hair industry, it has renewed my passion for makeup. Doing more weddings have caused me to want to do the makeup to go with the hair. I use almost all Mac because it works best for photos.

Where are you going with your career?
My team at my salon is really important to me. I am committed to them first; to see them successful. A career is one thing but it is far more enjoyable if there are people who are there to celebrate with me. All the things I do in my career are for the benefit of my salon; to help Reveal gain exposure and opportunities.

Sunnie Brook recently won an international Paul Mitchell competition. For the prize she won a photo shoot with a models, makeup artists, and a fashion photographer. The photos will appear in different international magazines. She also has been asked by Paul Mitchell to be a spokesperson for a campaign called Head For Change which features athletes and hairstylists that are making a difference in their communities.

Contact Reveal:
revealsalon.com
1130 Garden St. San Luis Obispo, CA.
805.543.5869