hairdresser lyudmila koltonyuk on growing up in barbershops, the best coffee in nyc, and coming to america from ukraine
meet lyudmila koltonyuk
Lyudmila Koltonyuk always knew she wanted to be a hairdresser — ever since she saw her grandparents working at their barbershop in Ukraine, where she was born. She grew up in the states and put herself through beauty school, which she started when her oldest daughter was nine months old. These days, she works at a salon in the East Village. To her, the neighborhood represents freedom, and she’s found joy working at a salon there. We stopped by her home in Coney Island to talk about finding the courage to leave bad relationships, the music that takes her back in time, and buying a whole new outfit on her lunch break.
“I got married right out of high school. I was 18. Then I had my baby at 19. The marriage lasted about three years, maybe a little less. I tried to make the marriage work. I was patient, I gave it a shot. I believe in giving people chances, but I don’t allow people to mistreat me. I have always tried to have respect for myself and the strength to stand up for myself and other women. So, I decided to leave. It took courage, but you can't be unhappy forever. Life is too short. I was in beauty school at that time, and I made up my mind that as soon as I got on my feet I would leave the relationship, so I did.
I took the baby, and I didn't take anything else. After that, I was a single mom. My grandmother had just arrived here from Ukraine, and she was staying with my parents, so there wasn’t space for me to go back there. It was rough at first. I was starting with no money, giving the divorce lawyer my last dollar. It was hard, but I survived.”
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