Speaking & Education
Talks and trainings that professionals can use the next day.
For schools, salons, brands, conferences, and healthcare organizations. Keynotes, panels, workshops, and trainings, shaped around your audience.
Topics
What I speak and teach on
These are starting points. I'll shape the session around your audience and your goals.
What stylists see first
Hair loss and scalp changes behind the chair: how to notice, document, and refer to a dermatologist, without diagnosing.
Beauty and healthcare, working together
Why stylists and dermatologists need each other, and what a working partnership looks like.
Building a natural hair business that lasts
Pricing, managing money, building a team, and growing on purpose.
Natural hair is a specialty
Technique and education that go beyond the straight-hair box, for schools and salons.
Growing as yourself
Recognizing your strengths, continuing to learn, and making intentional career decisions.
Past teaching
Where my education work has shown up
Business education
Led business education at the Natural Hair Industry Convention's virtual event, with Diane Bailey and Anita Hill-Moses.
Cosmetology school training
Natural Hair Industry Convention education at Paul Mitchell ESANI: a guest-artist lecture and a learning-leader training.
S.T.R.A.N.D. training
Hair loss and scalp health training for cosmetologists, built with dermatologists. More than 100 certified.
For event organizers
Short bio
Susan L. Peterkin is a Senior Licensed Cosmetologist, Hair and Scalp Care Educator, and Thought Leader with more than 40 years in natural hair care. She opened Jaha Hair Studio in 1996, which grew to 10 stylists and more than 20,000 clients, and founded Jaha Natural Hair Academy in 2003. In 2014 she co-founded the Natural Hair Industry Convention with Angela Walker. In 2024 she co-founded S.T.R.A.N.D. with dermatologist Dr. Chesahna Kindred, which has trained and certified more than 100 cosmetologists on hair loss, scalp health, and when to refer clients to a dermatologist. She is based in Maryland.