He’s styled the hair of princesses, Fortune 100 executives and Congressmen; been a highly-requested educator throughout Asia; brought thermal hair straightening to the United States and dominated the Hawaiian Islands with up to seven deluxe salons and 600 employees. But today, as Paul Brown looks back on his 45 years in the beauty business, he’s downsizing a bit to return to his true passion—styling hair behind the chair.
“At age 67, I’m cutting hair 4 days a week and loving it as much as ever,” says the hairdresser who has 100% name recognition in his beloved Hawaii. “This industry has given me happiness, fulfillment and instant gratification from every client. Making clients feel good about themselves makes me feel good about myself, and that feeling renews every hour with every client.”
Paul has made a major difference on the charity and political fronts in Hawaii, having a close relationship with Neil Abercrombie, who served as both a U.S. Congressman from Hawaii, as well as the state’s governor from 2010 to 2014. In fact, At Paul’s invitation, Rep. Abercrombie spoke at ISBN’s Conference several years ago and listened to our members’ business, taxation and education concerns. He and his team have volunteered for Cancer Camp for Kids for 30 years, raised more than $8 million for the Alzheimer’s Association’s Aloha chapter in Hawaii and helped bring the Special Olympics to Hawaii.
After serving for 12 years on the ISBN Board, Paul’s retiring from a leadership role in the association, but promises we’ll still see him at Conference. “ISBN has provided me with camaraderie with world-class salon industry players, who have shared openly with me how they operate their businesses,” says Paul. “They’ve all helped me understand the art of business, and I hope I’ve shared the business of the art with them.”
Says ISBN’s Past President Jason Volk, “Paul’s contributions to the beauty business are vast. He is an accomplished hairdresser, platform artist and product developer Paul has brought many great ideas and thoughtful consideration to the ISBN. Most importantly, Paul had been a positive influence on the beauty industry as a whole.”
ISBN’s Board sends Paul many mahalos for his contributions to our association. Paul extends an open invitation to ISBN members to visit him in Honolulu. Reach him at paul@paulbrownsalons.com.
