From France to Hollywood, Coraline Gustave’s journey to become one of the most sought after hair specialist
Inspired by her grandmother, herself a hair dresser all her life, Coraline Gustave went on to study hair styling while working in a salon, in her hometown in France. The hard working young girl showed early signs of talent and her potential couldn’t be denied.
Supported by her family, her teachers and the professionals she worked with, she went on to prepare, by the age of 18, for the most prestigious diploma in the field in France : the Brevet de Maîtrise. It’s a national recognition of the highest qualification in the field. This training gave Coraline confidence in her expertise in the various professional techniques (including haircut, coloring, styling, brush cut, perm, straightening, bun, curling…). 2 years later, Coraline Gustave obtained the prestigious diploma and participated in her first hair styling competition, with success.
I love working with clients in the hair salon. This is my everyday passion but I needed the adrenaline that a competition gives you. It’s months and months of preparation for « just » a one day contest. But it’s such a different atmosphere than working in a hair salon so it’s really worth it. It gives me energy and also a great satisfaction for the contests I won!
Nothing could stop her eagerness to learn and feed her passion…
She worked both in the salon but also on stage twice a year in Paris in front of hairdressers from all over the world to present the new hairdressing collections. At that time, she was recruited by one of the global ambassadors of L'Oréal Professionnel. She left her native region to move to the south of France, where she worked for a year. She was then approached by another hairdresser, global ambassador of L'Oréal Professional for a position in one of his salons in Krakow, Poland.
A new journey…
In August 2013, Coraline Gustave left France to settle in the pretty city of Krakow in Poland where she worked for about 2 years. In 2015, she was then 24 years old, and with her great deal of experience, another hairdresser, global ambassador of L'Oréal Professionnel, offered her a position in her native region, in Rochefort in Charente-Maritime. She left Poland and worked there for 3 years. Inspired by her travels, the people that she met through her rich professional experience, and her return to her hometown in France, she created her own color technique, called C-Balayage, which didn’t go unnoticed. Everybody was talking about it, and in 2018, Coraline received a huge opportunity : one of the largest American hairdressers offered her a job in his salon in Beverly Hills, California…
I’ve always been passionate about color, especially highlights. Every hairstylist knows how to do highlights so I decided to create my own technique named C-Balayage. This technique is for a clientele who want to create dimension in their hair, for a natural look and at the same time who do not want any maintenance. It can be done in lighter or darker color so I can satisfy all types of requests.
Reaching for the stars
In 2019, Coraline Gustave obtained her work visa for the United States, and arrived in California to work in one of the most sought after salons in Beverly Hills and attend all the Hollywood events. The American Dream began.
“Working in Beverly Hills has offered me a lot of great and exciting opportunities. I’ve been working with celebrities such as Four Season's singer Frankie Valli, Kathy Hilton, filmmaker Kenny Ortega, actor Tom Selleck, tv show producer Sid Krofft, French singer Patrick Bruel … I am also able to work for events. In 2020, I worked for the SAG (screen actors guild) AWARDS and recently in March 2021, the GOLDEN GLOBES AWARDS.“ — says Coraline, when asked about her most exciting works.
What’s next ?
“My biggest dream will be to have my own hair salon. I dream about something small where I can work by myself. I would also like to share my expertise and knowledge to train other stylists. Another of my projects will be to continue to travel and discover the world. For me, that’s the best way to learn.“ -- says Coraline Gustave
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