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

Hi Nicole, the decisions we make often shape our story in profound ways. What was one of the most difficult decisions you’ve had to make?
Business wise, A giant move that I had not at all foreseen. I moved my business to a new location in July 2022. I thought that it would be the best move I could ever make for my business. It was absolutely gorgeous, in one of my favorite cities, right across the street from the ocean with an ocean view! I thought everything about this move was only going to serve me and my business moving forward. I also signed a five-year lease about 9 months after moving into this space.

In January 2024, I had to swallow my pride a lot and realize that decision was not good for my business or me and unfortunately had started to slowly kill my business. I had to make the decision to get out of this lease and move my business to a location that would serve it better. It took months of lease negotiation for me to finally be informed in April 2024 I could leave, with only minor financial damages.

Now here in January of 2025, it was the best decision I could’ve made, but it was so difficult to make.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I have been a hairstylist for almost 20 years. Since the beginning, I did not fit into the typical Southern California box for what a hairstylist is, does, or should look like. From the beginning of my career I have felt a little bit like a black sheep in my industry. I don’t wear heels to work, I don’t have long blonde hair, and I usually wear my hair curly as opposed to straight. I figured out a long time ago the way to make it for me, was going to be embodying my differences fully, and that somehow I was going to need to let those differences help me stand out, as opposed to trying to fit in.

I lost my father early in life to an asthma attack that led to cardiac arrest. I let this define me for a long time, and I spent the early years in my career doing a lot of self-medicating and feeling very much like I was barely holding on. Living most of my early years in fight or flight but completely unaware. My nervous system needed some TLC and a large dose of safety.

About 12 years ago, at a music festival, I had my first experience with Sound Healing. My life was changed forever! Then I found breathwork, another life saving tool for me. I have worked hard every day since to bring tools of healing, safety, connection, and calm into my everyday life. I could feel that it was changing me in the best ways. I was starting to feel so much better.

In the last 12 years I have created a regular yoga and meditation practice, become a Reiki Master one and a half times, become certified in Karuna Reiki, breathwork facilitation, sound healing facilitation, Somatic Therapy facilitation, and I start my first psychology class at the end of the month. All of these modalities have changed my life and helped me be a better human, hair stylist, space holder, and all around well-rounded individual.

Through all of this, I decided I wanted the salon experience to be different for my clients. I wanted to create a very safe and grounded space. A place where we weren’t reading gossip magazines, but instead a place where we could start to embody our truest self. A place where we could beautify on the outside and the inside. A place where we could talk about life‘s challenges and work together to try to find solutions, or at least feel a little bit less alone.

I feel like I spent a lot of my life suffering in silence, and I would like to provide a space where people don’t have to feel so alone. A space where we can realize we’re more alike than we sometimes feel. A place where you can come to get your hair done, that truly is a healthy space. Hair & Wellness by Nicole was born.

At my salon space I offer an extensive variety of hair services, Reiki, and Somatic Therapy sessions. Outside of my salon I offer Sound Healing therapy & breathwork sessions. I also co-host a monthly grief workshop called Growing Through Grief. In my salon space I use non-toxic hair styling products and low-toxic hair color and chemical products. Our skin is our biggest organ and I believe environment and the products we use play a very important role to our toxic load. What you put in AND on your body matter! I am so honored and grateful to be able to create safe spaces and that I can help my clients in multiple ways.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I live in a beautiful area of North Orange County. We have such good weather almost all of the time. There are amazing walking/running trails and parks all over. Some of my favorites are Back Bay, Castaways Park, Fairview Park, and of course the Newport Beach Boardwalk. If you go on a weekday morning parking at the beach can be super easy and the meters are cheap.

Hit up the Fermentation Farm for amazing fresh made kombucha, bone broth, and yummy salads and sandwiches. Rye Goods for all of your sourdough bread & pastry needs. Their stuff is unreal! Coffee Dose Flagship is an amazing time, and they will make you a turmeric latte minus the caffeine! Just ask for the Goldie, no espresso. If you are craving dessert, Pressed Juicery has their “freeze” which is basically healthy ice cream. So good!

If you are in the mood to walk and have multiple options in one place, SoCo and the OC Mix is a really cool little indoor/outdoor eclectic mix of shops, eateries, a wine bar, and coffee shop. The Camp and The Lab are across the street from each other, and are also super fun to hang out, walk around, and grab a bite or a drink. There are 5-6 different cute little brewery’s walking distance from here too, so it really is a little mecca of community, connection and fun.

It’s always fun to see what’s going on at OCMA, Orange County Museum of Art. Pilar’s Apothecary has all of your dried herb needs for fun and medicinal purposes, they also host classes. If you need to chill out your system hop on Instagram and see if Kyle Lam Sound Healing has a sound bath you can attend. Guaranteed amazing relaxation! He is the best!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to start by saying thank you to every single embodied, smart, truth telling female that does life with me, holds my hand on this journey, and reminds me who I am every time I forget. Without you guys, I would not be ok.

To My Mom – One of my biggest teachers, thank you for being an amazing mom! Thank you for always showing me unconditional love, and always being proud of me. Thank you for showing me what a faithful woman looks like, and that when the seas of life get rough, clinging to faith and hope are possible. I’m lucky that my soul chose you for this journey. I love you.

To Nichole Anne Ferro – My friend, my teacher, and one of the most embodied and intentional women I know. Thank you for giving me the honor of watching you live. Letting me see into your life has helped me make more meaning out of mine. Thank you for being so present, and thank you for all the beautiful pieces of gold I have been able to mine with you by my side. I love you.

To Cher Mang – My Kundalini teacher & dear friend. You are an angel on Earth. I am grateful for how much I have learned from you and that we have found each other on this journey. Just being around you is a ceremony in itself. Thank you for being a compass, thank you for being in my life. I love you.

To my community – It’s taken me years and years to piece-mail together a quilt of humans who “get me” and with whom I feel safe and secure to be 100% authentically me. I have grown in ways I never knew possible because of your love and support. I have been able to put back together so many fragmented pieces of myself because of the real and raw ways you have let me express myself with zero shame and even less expectation. I will thank you all every day of my life. You all know who you are (but to name just a few … Tammy, Jess, Lisa, Suzie, Katie, Alissa, Kerry). I love you.

Website: https://www.hairandwellnessbynicole.com

Instagram: @hairdesignbynicole

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hairdesignbynicole/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hairdesignbynicole

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/hair-design-by-nicole-costa-mesa-3

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Hairandwellnessbynicole

Image Credits
Tamara Wroclawsky – first image
Kat Littleton – second two images

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.