When Kayla Henry and her husband, Blake, came to Pampa Memorial Day weekend, Kayla was looking for Pampa’s version of a salon she worked at in San Angelo.
“I started at a salon here,” Kayla said. “But the salon I worked at in San Angelo was a perfect salon family, a once-in-a-lifetime salon. So when I moved to Pampa I knew I’d want to do something on my own. That’s always been a dream of mine.”
In a quick whirlwind of a few days, she opened the Hype Hair Salon, 120 W Kingsmill, Suite 105 of the Combs-Worley building, on July 18.
“On July 8, Cortnie (Patterson, Chamber of Commerce Director) sent me a video of this suite with the beautiful lighting at 12:30 p.m.,” Kayla said. “I called the building manager (for the Combs-Worley) building, we had a meeting at 2 p.m. and by 4 p.m. we had the keys.”
Kayla said the process took 10 days and she tried to pay homage to some of the businesses that have been in the historic suite, including Ware’s Barber Shop.
“We have pictures of it and they had a big wall of mirrors,” Kayla said. “I wanted to keep it the same. If I could find crown-molding and it be within my budget, I would do that.”
The name, “The Hype Hair Salon,” is a throw-back to her time at her salon in San Angelo.
“They called me ‘The Hype Girl,’” Kayla said. “I walked around as the floater and say, ‘That’s looks great.’ I have a client that flies me to Charleston and she talks about how she is with me, I just hype her up.”
Kayla got into the field after pivoting from marketing.
“I had always wanted to go to hair school,” Kayla said. “I’ve been doing my friends’ hair for several years. I went to hair school at Vista College in Longview in 2017. We were there for two years. Got married, had a baby and moved to San Angelo.”
Kayla plans to make online booking available and grow her business with assistants.
“I would love everyone to be in here and be experienced with an assistant beside them,” Kayla said. “That’s what I get the most from, is teaching and seeing somebody else succeed.”
Kayla is also a master of balayage, which gives hair a natural, blended color.
“It’s called open-painting balayage,” Kayla said. “I use open-hand painting, not foils. Everything is custom. It depends on what they want and how their hair is. It’s a newer service, but I’ve taken a lot of courses and worked to be really good at it.”
Kayla will also offer extensions (Bellami Professional) and the basic haircut needs, including children.
A graduate of Idalou High School in 2008, Kayla and her family hope to make Pampa home as her dad is Cary McKinney from the Lonestar Gin.
Kayla and Blake have two children, Harper and Tytan.
For more information on The Hype Hair Salon, call 806-261-0008.
The Hype will be open Tuesday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Wednesday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Thursday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. (except during football), Friday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
