My name is Alyse DeBellis, and my story is one of resilience, reinvention, and remembering who I’ve always been.

I was born on October 2, 1983, in Westchester, New York. At 14, I started sweeping floors in local salons, not because I had to, but because I was drawn to the energy of transformation. I loved watching people walk in carrying the weight of their lives and leave a little lighter. That feeling of being part of someone’s return to themselves never left me.

In high school, I enrolled in a BOCES program that allowed me to graduate in 2002 with my cosmetology license. After graduating, I received a scholarship to Vidal Sasson in Santa Monica, California and studied some of the worlds most amazing hair cutting techniques. Once I returned, I began working with some of the best in the industry. I started in my small hometown, learning the foundations, discipline, and humility that real mastery requires. From there, I worked my way to Greenwich, Connecticut, where I assisted Joel Warren at Warren Tricomi salons, absorbing world-class technique, pace, and professionalism. I later moved to New York City, assisting Rita Hazan at Rita Hazan Salon, where I refined my eye for color, precision, and elevated beauty at the highest level.

Learning from the best of the best shaped not only my skill, but my standards. Around that time, I discovered my deep love for updos and special-event styling, which naturally led me into the bridal world.

I went on to found Alyse B. Salon: In-Home Expert Hair Care, where my team and I traveled directly to clients’ homes for color, highlights, haircuts, and styling. Bridal hair became my specialty, and we traveled across the country styling brides and wedding parties on one of the most meaningful days of their lives.

In March 2012, I met my husband. We were married in the Bahamas in April 2017. Our daughter, Valentina, was born in January 2019. Later that year, we moved into our dream home, and by July 2020, I was pregnant with our son.

Then, the unimaginable happened. In August 2020, my husband passed away suddenly from a Widowmaker heart attack. He was 37 years old. I was 12 weeks pregnant. The day of his funeral, I found out we were having a boy. In March 2021, I gave birth to our son, and I knew life would never be the same, but it could still be beautiful.

I needed a new beginning. So I opened my laptop and searched, “Best place to raise children in the U.S.” The answer was Apex, North Carolina. I didn’t overthink it. I trusted it.

At nine weeks postpartum, I packed up our lives in New York and moved with my two children to a town where I knew no one. That was May 2021. Since then, Apex has become our home. I’ve built a village. My children are happy, safe, and thriving. And slowly, I’ve been rebuilding myself too.

Now, I’m coming back to the part of me that started it all, the girl who swept salon floors because she believed in the power of beauty to heal. I’m opening a salon here in Apex, a space for transformation, self-expression, and self-love. Because I’ve learned that when we feel good in our own skin, everything begins to shift.

This isn’t just about hair. It’s about coming home to yourself. And that’s what I’m here to help people do, one guest, one story, one heart at a time. 🖤