From Behind the Chair to Strength
Different – or just born determined?
I’ve always been told I’m not like everyone else.
That I can’t fall in the line.
That I always have to think outside the box.
But what does it mean to be “normal,” really?
I don’t think I’m different.
I’d rather say that I’ve been goal-oriented since I was little – and that I follow my dreams.
How the dream of something bigger than just a salon was born
I knew already at the age of seven that I wanted to be a hairdresser. There was no alternative. I loved every time I got to follow my mom to her hairdresser. The smell of perm lotion when I walked in made me happy.
At fourteen, I started helping out in the salon every Saturday, and during every school break. I just knew – this was where I belonged.
When it came time to apply for high school, you needed a perfect 5.0 GPA to get into the hairdressing program – and I had 4.9. I was terrified I wouldn’t get in.
My career counselor tried to steer me toward science or technology. “You’ve got such great grades,” they said.
But I answered:
“The only reason I have good grades is because I want to be a hairdresser.
Do you really think I would’ve worked this hard just to get into a program that only needs a 3.0?”
The day I got accepted into hairdressing school was one of the happiest days of my life.
I only wanted to be a hairdresser
Not a boss. Not a lecturer. Not an entrepreneur.
I just wanted to be a hairdresser.
In 1988, at the age of 19, I opened my first salon. My dream was to make people feel beautiful – and to decide for myself what my salon would stand for.
I had no passion for running a business. My drive was cutting hair, feeling free, and connecting with the person in the chair. I wanted to create an environment I believed in.
I was actually one of the first to ban smoking in my salon – because I was allergic. (Yes, at that time, people were still allowed to smoke indoors.)
Once a year, I’d bring a grocery bag full of receipts to my mom. She helped me with the bookkeeping.
And you know what? I still do – only now I bring them more often, and in a bag with my own logo on it.
I’ve gotten better at bookkeeping – life forced me to.
You really can teach an old dog new tricks.
And today I have an amazing teammate – my daughter – who handles most of the books with my mom.
When everything fell apart
And then one day, everything stopped.
I got sick – fibromyalgia – and hit the wall.
It got to the point where I was close to being paralyzed. I had no choice but to close the salon.
And there I was.
No salon. No plan. No future.
I was bitter. I had no idea what to do. It felt like my entire identity – everything I had worked for – just collapsed.
I was even offered early retirement.
But that wasn’t for me. I’m a workaholic – truly. Doing nothing? Unthinkable.
So I made a decision:
The illness wasn’t going to define me.
It could ride along – but it wouldn’t drive.
It would sit in the back seat. Not steer.
From hairdresser to teacher
Both of my sisters are teachers, and I thought:
How hard can it be to become a hairdressing teacher?
Answer: harder than I thought.
I got a three-week substitute position.
And for the first two weeks, I cried every day on the way home.
How foolish was I to get into this when I could’ve stayed home and lived comfortably?But challenges have always motivated me. And giving up – that’s not who I am.
After two weeks, something shifted.
I got the students on board. I started to love being there – explaining things, seeing understanding spark in their eyes, making hard things easier.
I became a certified hairdressing teacher.
And I loved it.
Teaching. Helping others grow.
I realized I had a natural gift for education – and I’ve always believed in continuing to educate myself to grow as a person and a professional.
It became a new chapter. A new “why.”
And perhaps the most important step toward what would later become Become A Better Colorist.
Train your mind to see the good in every situation.
A stamp of approval
One of the things I’m most proud of is being offered the chance to co-found and run a Pivot Point school.
Pivot Point is the world’s largest education system for hairdressers.
Almost every hairdresser in the world is trained in it – but not just anyone is allowed to open a Pivot Point school.
For me, it was a stamp of approval.
Proof that I wasn’t just good at cutting hair – I could teach. Really teach.
I was passionate about creating a school where knowledge, structure, and joy were allowed to take up space.
I ran the school for three years and taught as a hairdressing educator for ten.
The dream kept growing
I was offered jobs at two different Swedish companies. I chose Maria Nila and started working there in 2011.
In 2012, I chose to close the school and instead began traveling across Sweden – later also to Denmark and Europe – to educate hairdressers.
That was the beginning of a new chapter.
When it all collapsed – again
2012 was also one of the hardest years of my life.
I went through a divorce. I lost everything I had built.
There were days when I didn’t even have money for food. I went to bed hungry.
The following year, in 2013, I was laid off from Maria Nila – the company was in crisis.
There were two of us in the education department, and I was the one who had to go.
When entrepreneurship became a way out – not a plan
I had run a business before. I knew I was good at educating. I knew I could cut.
So in 2013, Hairucation AB was born.
Not because I wanted to – but because I had to.
Passion for business? No.
There was no romance in it. Just survival.
But I knew one thing:
I wanted to start a limited company.
I had previously run a sole proprietorship, but this time I wanted to separate my personal and business finances.
If I was going to run a company again – I would do it properly.
A plan. Three pillars.
I sat down with my son, who was studying business development.
Together, we sketched out a company model that didn’t rely entirely on me.
We decided the company would stand on three pillars:
- Education – my core and passion
- Sales – to diversify income and build partnerships
- Salon – a creative base and a way to stay in touch with everyday salon life
It was a plan. A foundation.
And for the first time, it didn’t just feel like survival – it felt like something worth building.
When everything turned – again
Maria Nila recovered, and I got my job back.
This time with greater trust, more responsibility, and new opportunities.
The plan was to wind down my company – so Hairucation AB went dormant for several years.
But that little seed we planted – the idea of a business with three pillars – it stayed with me.
And it turned out to be more needed than ever.
When one thing ends – and something else begins
In 2017, I was laid off again.
I was devastated. The tears flowed.
But deep down, I knew:
This was the best thing that could’ve happened to me.
I didn’t see it then. But I know it now.
In 2018, I got a new job – but at the same time, I slowly began to bring my own business back to life.
I started working 20% in Hairucation AB, and the first pillar – education – came to life.
I created and delivered my very first product-neutral color education for hairdressers.
It wasn’t tied to any brand. It was just knowledge. Explanation. Structure. Tools.
It was something new. Something the industry needed – even if not everyone realized it yet.
When passion for business was born – for real
That same spring, I joined an entrepreneurship program in my local community.
And something inside me awakened.
I got tools, insights, and courage.
That’s when my passion for business was truly born.
Not out of survival.
But out of a desire to build.
And my course? It needed a name.
It became: Become A Better Colorist.
An idea that would grow into something much bigger than I could’ve imagined.
Me and my daughter – one step at a time
That fall, my daughter and I bought a salon together.
She would work there after her maternity leave.
And I started to feel:
I was building a platform – not just for myself, but for the industry I’ve loved since I was seven.
I started to love entrepreneurship. For real.
The next chapter
And then came the year when everything was about to take off for real.
The year I turned 50.
The year I decided: It’s now or never.
To be continued in Blog 9 – Part 2: My Dream, My Brand – and Why I Never Give Up
/Camilla Rörstrand