My Dear Friends of Inked Part of my Mo growing up is my parents hated everything they hated the goth thing they hated you know every single thing along the way I have had this many supporters or this many people cheering me on saying yeah go you be different it was always me doing it so I think the only way I got my confidence was from the fact that I had nobody giving me.
Applause or supporting me along the way my name is Alexis Snyder I’m originally from a very very small town in Texas and I moved to New York about six and a half years ago I’m a cosmetologist I started my own little Rainbow Suite about four months ago and I’ve been doing that and I’ve been doing hair since I was a kid I grew up in the salon so it just kind of.
Migrated but originally I was a nurse so I transitioned from nursing to hair when I moved to New York I was still pursuing my RN I have my LPN but I was pursuing my RN and I don’t know I joked with my mom I’m like you know what I’m gonna go to a cosmetology school and I’m gonna just see what they’re about and as soon as I walked in like the rest was.
History the doors have just been flying open ever since then so she eventually became okay with the idea I always felt like I was different than everybody else their way of thinking I didn’t really understand it and I you know I just kind of faked it my mom really wanted me to be this blonde cheerleader very peppy and that just.
Wasn’t who I was and I tried you know I shopped at Abercrombie Hollister I had blonde hair you know nothing out of the ordinary you know completely normal looking but I felt like I stuck out like a flamingo in a bunch of pigeons no matter what I did and when I joined the military to get out of that small town is when I really discovered okay because.
You know everybody’s in camo I had no visible tattoos at that point they were all on my back and still I had nicknames in boot camp so no matter what I did I just stuck out where I’m from you either get married and have a bunch of kids at in high school you wind up raising them there if the.
Farthest you can go is like the next town over that’s as far as most people go and if you’re a guy you work on the tugboats you work at the prison or you go into the military or die and none of those options were okay for me so I’m like you know what I want to get out of here I’m going to see.
The world I’m gonna join the military they say in the military if you had a nickname in boot camp that’s how everybody knows you had a hard time I had two nicknames it didn’t Jive that’s when I discovered I don’t like being told what to do and I had a very big issue with it.
That’s when I discovered that I was different no matter what I did because even in the military looking like everybody else with no tattoos and blonde hair here I am with all these fun fabulous nicknames and you know that’s when I discovered I really do have an attitude problem.
So it was very eye-opening it was part of my inward Journey that I don’t think I would have learned had I not went into the military one of my very good friends still to this day had a tattoo shop and he started to really get me into that get into tattooing so anytime I had free time that I wasn’t in school I was there with him.
And that’s I guess where it all started and as soon as I turned 18 I got my first tattoo I had gotten a bunch of piercings prior to that but that’s when I started my tattoo Journey was really hanging out with him and all the tattoo artists and all his friends and they were completely covered from head to toe and where I’m from that’s.
Like no nobody nobody has tattoos the butterfly stamp on my back it was originally a car bumper decal from Hastings you remember those and it had tribal on the sides I love tribal I still love tribal I’m 34. this was decades ago I still love tribal but he was like Alexis I can do this I am not.
Putting tribal on you he’s like I refuse you will regret it I wouldn’t have regretted it so he put little ribbons on the side because he would not do the tribal but originally yeah it was a decal my my parents knew that I got it and they were they were fine with it I think the next one I got was the one on the back of my.
Neck strength symbol and they were fine with those because they were hidden the next tattoo I got was this star right here and then the next one was this with the flowers oh my parents were pissed they were like you’re not your life is ruined you’re not going to get a job Look at me now but yeah no that they.
Were fine with them as long as they were able to be covered it was when I started getting visible ones that they were freaking out when I went to start getting the face tattoos my tattoo artist here in New York he was like are you sure and I’m like yeah why you know he’s like it’s your face and I started off with.
Just this and when I got home I looked in the mirror and I was so pale and the ink was so vibrant because I just got it done it was really black and I’m like oh my God what did I do I’m like well there’s no turning back now and then once it healed over I was like okay so then I just went completely crazy but no I’ve never regretted my tattoos I wish I.
Would have gotten more back when I had more money that’s my only regret you know on the street various amounts of people the elderly and cute little outfits little old bitty couples you know all the way down to younger people I mean everybody always has something to say about oh you’re a walking piece of.
Art and Beauty School one of my neighbor’s clients sitting next to me it was this little old lady and she was just staring at me I could fear her out of the corner of my eyes and it was right before I graduated so I had all these tattoos and I’m like well she must think you know she must be like but she finally said excuse me she’s like you.
Should be on the New Yorker you are a walking piece of art and I was like that was not what I was expecting but thank you she’s like I mean it she’s like you are a piece of art and I’m like wow and it was a she had to be like 90 years old you know little fluffy hair and I’m like wow I mean of course you can’t please everybody the brighter you shine the.
More Shadows you’re gonna cast but the majority of the people like it and I would say the only people that don’t would be my dad when I FaceTime Tim for the first time he’s like what is all that on your face does it come off and I’m like no other tattoos he’s like you’re joking and I’m like no.
You know he told my mom that oh well she’s a lost cause she’s ruined everything you know that’s when I won a scholarship from school I got flown to Chicago to speak at a beauty show with the tattoos I have pictures of all these Famous Hair artists and that was all through me all through the adversity that was just.
You know so like as soon as I made that step that commitment signed the papers it just started flowing and I wasn’t trying you know I wasn’t trying to do anything I wasn’t looking for these opportunities they came to me just from being who I was you know just from having the tattoos just from my personality my aura.
Whatever you want to call it the more I gave into who I truly was inside instead of trying to hide it the more things started happening for me and that was probably the biggest lesson that I learned God what what how well how would my life had been like if I would have moved to New York when I was 18 instead of joining the military if I.
Would have started this if I would have started just being who I really was inside instead of pushing it down to fit in if I would have came here where it’s more accepted started earlier where would I be now that’s that’s what I wonder where would I be now in my photo gallery I have all my tattoos planned entire body so it was.
Just a matter of where I wanted to put what that I thought would look the best so that’s kind of how I started I did my entire scalp in one sitting and so it’s all tattooed except for the top and it was the worst he actually felt so bad that he started putting numbing cream on the back because I was literally sawing.
I was balled up sobbing and that numbing cream did absolutely Jack squat I don’t know if I was too far gone at that point but I don’t know how people say they get all these tattoos with numbing cream and did absolutely nothing for my head I’m done it hurt bad so let’s go back to the very beginning follow the journey.
Oh yeah I want to follow the journey I would stay doing it I wish I would have done more when I was younger but I was still I was still young and so I was listening to my parents I’m like oh they must know better you know let me not go crazy with tattoos so I just started off small but I I wouldn’t have changed a thing.
It’s so different from me growing up when I had kids and I told my mom I’m like oh she wants purple hair no don’t do that I’m like well that’s my child I’m gonna do what I want purple hair and now of course all my kids have rainbow hair colored hair like that is our thing that we do every month is they pick new.
Designs new colors and then with the tattoos my oldest is like when can I get a piercing I’m like when you get a job and you can pay for it I’ll take you you know when you tap when you want a tattoo I’ll take you I don’t care you know they use kids should be more encouraged to express themselves like you shouldn’t dumb it down.
You know my kids last week they wanted to have tattoo party so that’s what we did I had like a 200 of the fake tattoos and they wanted sleeves and they put them on their faces and they’re like look I look like Mommy and I’m like rock on thank you guys for watching ain’t if you want to give me a follow I am the.
Infamous Harley Quinn or you can follow my business page at the ride or die Dye salon
Growing up, Alexis knew she was never going to fit in. Living in a small Texan town, she tried to conform, but it never took. Even when she was in the military, a situation where everybody wears the same clothes and looks as uniform as possible, Alexis stood out. She was born a unicorn and will always be one. We spoke with the bubbly hair stylist about her journey, the pain of having her head tattooed and much more for this episode of Heavily Inked.
Alexis Snyder: https://www.instagram.com/the_infamous_hairlequinn/
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