Meet Miranda Huerta | Lead Esthetician & Owner of Barefaced Studio

We had the good fortune of connecting with Miranda Huerta and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Miranda, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I knew from the start that I wanted to own my own business when I started Barefaced Studio (previously Project Skin). I am a mom or 3 babies, so it was Important to me to be able to make my own hours so that I was able to take them and pick them up from school, to be able to be there to take them to and from baseball practice & ballet. Not to mention childcare is really scarce and also very very expensive. Sometimes it feels like you’re working to strictly pay for childcare. I know many people unfortunately don’t have this ability and I feel truly blessed to be able to own my business and still be mom when I need to be. So the true main reason for starting my own business was to benefit my family. Whenever a friend or family member asks me about starting their own business, I always always always say TAKE THE RISK. You never know what could happen!

What should our readers know about your business?
I own Barefaced Studio which is a esthetician studio where I focus on lashes, brows, waxing & now fine line tattoos. I decided to go to esthetician school when I was pregnant with my last born. I knew I was having him in June, and I started school in January. Sooo, I knew I had to take the fast route which was 6 months. I wanted to be done and graduated before I had him. So going every single day to school from 7am-5pm or so was definitely a challenge. Then covid hit and we had to finished school at home for the last 2 months. (its much easier GOING to school than going school AT HOME via zoom with 2 little ones running amuck, lol) So I was really proud to graduate from this program because it was such a challenge, but such a reward.

As I was saying, I graduated in the middle of covid 2020, and they actually put a hold on taking our state board test for MONTHS. We weren’t allowed to test, so here I was thinking, am I ever going to even get my license?!
I had my boy, perfect and healthy and when we were finally able to test, I put if off for 2 years!!! I was a mom of 3, there was a nationwide pandemic which made me afraid to even leave my home with my kids. I truly didn’t know whether I was going to go forward with getting my license. 2022, April. I had this wild hunch and just felt it in my bones to get my license. I looked online for testing and they said we didn’t have to do a practical exam which was a SCORE in my book because I’m terrified of in person pressure. So, it was strictly a true/false, a,b,c,d exam. I was always a pretty good tester so I studied SO HARD because, it had been 2 years and scheduled my exam. PASSED!!! I was surprised they told you right then and there on the screen. I was stoked! Everything happened so fast after that. I got licensed, started the process of opening my own studio, and started book appointments. Our family owns a family medical practice, so I was fortunate to rent out a little room in the office to start building my clientele and thankfully that happened pretty quickly for me.
Now my studio is opening January 2023, I have a great clientele and I LOVE my business and doing what I do.
I’m so proud of it because in the beginning of 2022 I had no idea I would be where I am now with it. I always tell myself I could have been doing this for years already if I had just stayed the course – but its what I do now and Im forever grateful for this business.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Easy! Our town is such a quant, hippie town and there’s something for everyone!!! Best places to eat in my opinion are Las Palmas (best chilaquiles, best margs!), next is Sams Indian. Their mango curry is divine!! Finally, Royal Siam Cuisine! I am a Thai food girl! Their Joshua tree noodles (with chicken) is my favorite dish everrrrr!!
Fall in the desert is my favorite time of year, and if you come around this time in October, our town hosts an event called The Highway 62 art tours and it’s where over a hundred of local artists from the Hi Desert showcase their work and studios over a course of 3 weekends! It’s so cool to have these artists open their homes and studios for us to admire their creations. It’s completely free and you follow a map showing where each artist is, and what they create!
You also can’t go wrong with Joshua Tree National Park!! Sunsets in the park are like no other thing I’ve ever seen.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I wouldn’t be as success driven if it wasn’t for my family or my dear friends. It takes a village – and I don’t only mean that only about raising children. It takes village to get through life. Without love and encouragement, life would, well, be pretty sucky. I grew up around family members like my dad owning their own business. So seeing it first hand as a young child made owning a business a thought in the back of my mind from such a young age.
Another huge part of my story is my children. I push myself every single day for them. I want them to always know how hard their mom worked to provide a good life for them.

Website: barefacedstudio.squarespace.com

Instagram: @thebarefaced.studio

Facebook: facebook.com/thebarefaced.studioo

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/barefaced-studio-yucca-valley