With more than two decades in the beauty industry, hairstylist and educator Presley Poe, owner of Portland's Gold Studio Experience salon, has worked across every texture and style imaginable, from straight and wavy hair to curls, coils, and vivid transformations.
Over time, she says, her perspective on her career has evolved.
“I’ve come to a different understanding of what my actual responsibility is as a stylist and an educator. To me it is to help fill the gaps of what the hair and the student can’t figure out on their own,” she explains.
“I’m not the educator or the healer, but a facilitator of a space where things can unfold through the information activating a different understanding of things they already know being shared.”
Through Poe's Gold Studio Academy, which offers in-person and online classes, she’s moved away from traditional instruction-heavy teaching.
“We’ve been taught through technique rather than a broader form of education that translates across different teachings and formats,” Poe says.
“I wanted to create a way for people to learn without relying on a checklist, but through fundamentals they actually understand. When education is accessible, easy to grasp, and fairly priced, it helps build a stronger sense of unity within the industry.”
That philosophy also carries into Presley Poe & Friends, an event launched in partnership with Hairdustry. This year’s gathering featured an all-female lineup and an intentionally intimate setting of about 200 attendees.
“There’s something that happens when you bring together women of all ages, backgrounds, sizes, and experiences,” she says. “The energy builds in a really powerful way. I think this year we truly had the strongest sense of people feeling seen, heard, and valued.”
Poe, who’s in the process of writing a book based on her signature “cutting wheel,” also recently participated in “Industry Icons Unscripted” for Beauty Changes Lives alongside longtime mentor Sam Villa.
Other panelists included Tabatha Coffey, Elizabeth Faye, Larisa Love, and John Mosley.
Poe calls the experience grounding. “I think it takes a lot of hard conversations to move equitably and integrally, and that's one of the reasons why I look up to him the most,” she says of Villa.
“To be considered a living icon or legend in this industry, standing next to someone I admire deeply, and with friends who were also being interviewed, is honestly kind of surreal. I feel really honored and blessed. It makes me feel like I’m creating a positive and healthy impact on the industry.”
With a jam-packed spring behind her, she’s already gearing up for summer, returning to the stage at the Be+Well | Beauty and Wellness Show in Las Vegas, where she’ll teach two hands-on sessions on cutting and styling.
"I love the energy of Vegas,” she says. “The students are there to learn. They’re there for the information. It feels good to be in a room with people who want to co-create, who are open to learning, and who show up for themselves in that way. That’s why I do what I do — watching people choose themselves and being part of that process really means a lot to me.”
When asked if any current styles or client requests are shaping what she’ll be teaching at the show, she is direct: “No, I don’t pay attention to that at all.”
Instead, her focus stays on fundamentals, much like in her work with Gold Studio Academy.
“I ask the class to walk me through their most difficult haircut. Together, we formulate the answer using the tools they’ve learned and co-create it on the mannequin itself.
“Instead of coming to class just to learn one technique — which is easily forgotten — what they won’t forget is the discernment they used to work through something they once thought was very difficult.
“To me, that’s actual learning: Discernment.”
Presley Poe is teaching “Cut Curls Like a Pro: Long Shapes to Killer Pixies” and “Curly Styling Made Easy: Prep, Products & Photo-Worthy Results” at the Be+Well | Beauty and Wellness Show – Las Vegas (formerly International Beauty Show), taking place June 27-29. Registration is here; use promo code EDSALON20 for 20% off education.