My Story
Hello!
My name is Chelsea Caisse (pronounced Case). I was born and raised in the SFO Bay Area, left home and moved to Oregon when I was 17. I have always had an entrepreneurial mind and a strong desire to help people. When big life change found me needing to choose a career, I knew I wanted to start my own business. So I chose a sensible industry and plunged in with both feet to make it all happen. Learning to do hair was much more difficult than I expected. The business part came easy, I knew how to do that. And I knew enough to find resources to ensure a solid foundation in hairdressing but the rest just took time. Hairdressing is an experience driven skill. You can’t rush the process. You have to go through it and trust it.
Over the last 2 decades, I’ve grown to deeply love and respect this profession as I’ve honed my skills and curated knowledge and tools that have led me here. I opened The Collective with a dear friend in 2016 and carried it through the transition that came with 2020 by myself. It is now the culmination of a lifetime of learning and pushing into my deepest fears to find out that I am most fulfilled by helping others be their best selves. I have found deep satisfaction in challenging the status quo of the beauty standards in our society and within the industry.
The work of a hairdresser is important work that becomes more valuable the more the hairdresser realizes it. This profession involves physical touch, deep connection through communication, as well as the art of doing hair. We work with people in such an intimate way that relationships are forged over years and years and the safety that exists within the space we create is profound. We stand as heralds while the people we work with literally transform before our eyes and this is often preceded by what may seem to be the most insignificant and frivolous of all things - altering one’s appearance.
It is my intention to help people feel seen, heard and understood. To push past the fears that hold us back by practicing emotional intelligence. I believe getting your hair done should be a positive experience that feels good, stimulates all the senses and leaves you feeling seen & heard, cared for and like your true authentic self.
I offer beautiful natural and lived in haircuts that compliment your style, celebrate your natural texture and require minimal effort. The best haircuts I give are the ones that make you feel like yourself and last for months looking better and better as time goes by. By using clean products and ritual self care practices at home, your haircut will be easy to do and make you feel great!
I am honored to be of service to you and share what I’ve learned along the way. I look forward to getting to connect with you in my chair when the time is right.
Love & Light,
C