​At Contextual Salon Education™, we are reshaping how salons and hairstylists approach their community, craft, and careers. Our mission is to empower professionals with:
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Solid Technical Skills – Building strong foundations with precision to elevate every stylist’s artistry.
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Critical Thinking Perspectives – Strengthening decision-making to approach challenges with confidence and creativity.
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A Common Industry Language – Creating connection and fostering collaboration through shared foundations in education.
We’re redefining personal, professional, and technical development—recruiting, training, and inspiring the next generation of salon professionals by igniting their purpose and providing the tools to shine.
Together, we empower businesses, uplift people, and strengthen communities to create lasting local legacies that transcend any one industry.
"The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know."
-Albert Einstein
Hello!
I’m Kristina Malolua, founder of Contextual Salon Education.
I’m passionate about transforming the education experience by researching and discovering exactly what is holding our industry back. I am committed to to making a difference in the way we recruit, train and sustain our beloved professional community. Welcome to the future of salon workforce development—
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Let’s build it together, one head at a time.​
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-Kristina
Why Does CSE Exist?
Transforming Salon Education for a Better Future
Contextual Salon Education (CSE) was created to address the core challenges facing the workforce in the salon industry and broader personal service trades: fragmented education, misaligned business practices, and a lack of tools to empower professionals. Founder Kristina Malolua envisioned an ecosystem self-sustained by creatively inspired professionals. Recruitment often feels like a first romance, as stylists learn to love the acts of service and look forward to a predictable, philanthropic retirement.
It is possible. It is not easy, but it is entirely possible when we all work together and come to some basic agreements about how we run this industry. We must agree on establishing consistent training standards, inclusive recruitment practices, and equitable career pathways. This will help us introduce our industry to the youth in a meaningful way and reintroduce a new, fairer industry to those deserving reparations for its past failings.
A Call for Action
Education must include how to serve the community as personal service providers. This foundational understanding helps professionals connect with the people they serve and address their needs effectively.
The technical skills that bridge the gap between community needs and the resources required to achieve that mission must be predictable, easy to explain, duplicate, translate, comprehend, teach, illustrate, and utilize. These qualities ensure that everyone can get on board with a shared mission for success. This means creating systems and approaches that empower all participants in the industry, fostering both individual and collective success.
A Curriculum Built to Drive Change
Our transformative curriculum focuses on creating comprehensive, fully thought-out systems and a logical common language. These tools help us all get farther by agreeing on the core challenges, such as inconsistent training methods and misaligned industry standards, and identifying common solutions. This approach is conveyed to the community through inclusive, educational methods that engage in regular feedback loops. The ultimate goal is to continuously refine best business practices for CSE, ensuring we remain a trusted brand known for delivering high-quality, ethical, fact-based, and accessible education aligned with the best interests of the people and the industry.
Why It Matters
Contextual Salon Education is more than a training program—it’s a movement to foster inclusivity, build trust, and create lasting impact across the beauty industry. By addressing systemic challenges and working together toward shared solutions, we can ensure a brighter, more equitable future for salon professionals and the communities they serve.