06/24/2023
Like most young girls, Faye Bailey-Lucas enjoyed styling hair but by the time the Macon, Georgia native reached the age of 14, she took her childhood pastime more seriously. “I was braiding and pressing hair and I knew that I wanted to eventually open a salon,” she says. The battle was convincing her mother, a teacher, who had 11 other children who were college graduates.
Five years later, her mother won. Bailey enrolled in Mercer University for Business and majored in Business Administration. Nevertheless, the call to do hair was too loud. After her second year at college, Bailey relocated to Florida, studied at Wilford Beauty and got married to Sylvester Bailey. They had two children Michun and Sylvester, Jr. She worked at Southern Belle for five years before opening her first salon, All Dolled Up (ADU) and receiving her Bachelor’s of Cosmetology from Dudley University in North Carolina. Over thirty-five years later, she is the Founder of four multi-cultural salons which partnered with Sylvester Bailey, Jr., Lisette Rojas, and Kernisha Hardy with two locations in South Florida as well as two locations in the Central Florida area.
She is a sought-after stylist and colorist who has produced spectacular hair shows where stylists display their creations while raising money for the community and social causes. “We are a team,” says the soft-spoken Bailey, referring to her tight-knit group of stylists. “The [past] shows were actual productions with dancing, competitions, and skits, plus a full course dinner for attendees. About 3 to 400 people would attend. We [would] allocate a portion of our profits for a scholarship to a high school student and we have also given money to the African-American Research Library that has been built in Fort Lauderdale.” In 2000, “Bailey” developed Hair in the Spirit, Inc. which birthed ADU School of Cosmetology. Community involvement is not her only measure of success. Through the ADU School of Cosmetology and Hair in the Spirit, Inc., Faye has been known for molding and shaping the careers of young stylists. “My main objective is to build up every stylist that works at All Dolled Up,” explains the Visionary. While Faye has held steadfast to her convictions, over the years it has not always been easy. Faye explains, “I’ve always had control over the ‘business’ aspect of running the salon. My biggest challenge has been trying to build a team. I had to learn how to maintain an atmosphere that is warm, friendly, yet still professional. This made it easier to have all the stylists focus on being a team because without a team effort, it will not work.” Faye attributes the success of All Dolled Up, the dream of a teenage girl from Macon, Georgia, to: God, Faith, Family, Team, Clients, Hardwork, Consistency, Passion, Discipline, and Will.
In 2021, Bailey-Lucas passed the torch to her son, partner Sylvester Bailey, Jr. who currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of All Dolled Up Salons though she remains an active presence in the organization’s daily operations as a mentor and administrator.
