As the daughter of world-champion hairdresser Jamison Shaw, Candy Shaw grew up immersed in high-level hair. But her journey to award-winning colorist, entrepreneur, and educator is uniquely hers.
Today, the multi-hyphenate industry icon known as “The Balay Lama” leads three companies: Jamison Shaw Hairdressers, a 50-chair, third-generation Atlanta salon; the Sunlights Balayage product line; and Sunlights Academy, specializing in balayage training. Last year, Shaw was named NAHA’s 2025 Educator of the Year.
Shaw launched her career after high school, traveling to Europe to train in French haircutting and color techniques. When she returned to the U.S., the lightening product she relied on wasn’t available, so she created her own.
“I developed Sunlights Balayage because I found a niche,” she says. “I had a tiger by the tail in the sense that balayage wasn’t just a trend; it was like a little black dress, and it wasn’t going anywhere.”
A System for Success; Discipline Over Defeatism
Shaw grew her success as an educator by prioritizing structure. “I am dyslexic, so my way of learning and coping was always to get a system in place, going step by step for what you need to get those results,” she says.
“I’ve always been about systems. I feel like stylists struggle when they have too much noise, too many different ways to get from A to B.
“I was concerned that when you put lightener in someone’s hands and you just tell them to ‘paint what they see,’ it’s not that easy,” she continues. “I knew it was important for me to create a strategy to teach students.”
When asked what’s sustained her career in an industry that can magnify self-doubt, two words come to mind: persistence and consistency. “The persistence to continue and not give up, and the consistency to stand back up when I failed and keep going.”
That outlook shapes how Shaw teaches as well. “We have a license to critique as hairstylists, so it’s very easy to judge, give up, and think it’s not good enough,” she says. “To my student: It’s always about believing in yourself. Put the work in. and you’ll get great results.”
The Evolution of Blonde
After decades of watching blonding trends cycle through extremes, Shaw sees today’s priorities shifting toward subtlety. “We’re going into a season of more natural types of looks, but I don’t think balayage or blonding in general is going anywhere,” she says.
“Women love to feel brighter and lighter no matter what trend it is. I do feel like the brush stroke has evolved from a wider piece to a more narrow, soft, sun-kissed highlight.”
Efficiency, she notes, has become just as important. “The consumer isn’t willing to spend 4 to 5 hours to get their hair colored. They want to get great quality results in less time, so I think what’s really evolving is people learning how to work smarter, not harder.”
Shaw believes AI can play a role as a useful tool for business systems, but never a substitute for hands-on learning. “Being able to have a mentor and a coach to correct or help you self-correct is always going to be key,” she says.
“But there are ways that you can use AI to help you learn or grow. Will it ever replace the guest experience or the learning experience? I don’t think it ever will, because hairdressing is an emotion, right? And it’s subject to opinion.”
Shaw believes the industry needs wisdom, not another trend. “For me, it’s more about fundamental learning where you can take true techniques that work back into the salon environment.”
More often than not, she finds herself returning to advice from her late father and mentor, the acclaimed Jamison Shaw: “I show up to work every day trying to be a better version of myself than I was yesterday,” she says. “That’s really all I can ask.”
Candy Shaw is teaching “Blonde Catalyst: Unleash Your Inner Blonde Boss!” and “L’Art de la Coupe: The French Cutting Experience” at the Be+Well | Beauty and Wellness Show New York (formerly International Beauty Show-NY) March 8-10. Registration is here; use the promo code EDSALON20 for 20% off education classes.