The Hype
Hair Academy
Private hairstyling school in Rio Rancho, NM with a hands-on program built to turn your passion for hair into a thriving, profitable career.
looking to book with a student?
Our academy students work inside The Hype Hair Studio under the supervision of licensed professionals. If you’re looking for quality services at student pricing, book with a student today.
Maybe you’ve spent years in a career that pays the bills but doesn’t light you up. Or maybe you’ve always loved hair and finally feel ready to do something about it.
The Hype Hair Academy is for people ready to develop a career they can build a life around. Our students come from all stages of life, and leave with the technical skill, business knowledge, and confidence to create a fulfilling and profitable hairstyling career.
You belong here. No matter where you’re starting from.
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Train Inside a Real Salon From Day One
From day one, you’re learning inside a successful, working salon.
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Build The Business Skills to Make Real Money
An emphasis on career development, financial literacy, & client relationship skills.
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Graduate in About a Year, Career-ready
You'll leave with your license and the real-world experience to work at a salon.
The program
1:5 Instructor-to-student Ratio
1,200 hours / ~1 Year to Licensure
3 Days a Week / 8 Hours a Day
Train Inside a Working Salon
What You'll Master
The technical foundations you need to get behind the chair with confidence and stay there.
Cutting
Precision techniques, layering, texturizing, and modern approaches that clients are actually requesting. You'll develop the ability to adapt any cut to suit an individual client's hair type, face shape, and lifestyle, not just execute a technique by the book.
Texture Services
Perms and chemical texture with an emphasis on placement, technique, and maintaining hair integrity. You'll understand not just how to apply texture services, but when to recommend them and how to set accurate client expectations from the start.
Color & Lightening
All-over color, dimensional work, blonding, toning, corrective concepts, and formulation — including techniques many cosmo programs don't even require. You'll build the problem-solving skills to formulate confidently, troubleshoot in real time, and deliver consistent results on every hair type.
Styling & Finishing
Blowouts, thermal styling, event work, and natural texture — the full range of what a working stylist needs. You'll learn how to read a client's hair and deliver results that hold up in the real world, not just in a controlled school environment.
BEYOND THE CHAIR
Technical skill gets you licensed. What we teach beyond the chair is what gets you booked, keeps you booked, and makes the career sustainable long-term.
✹ Business of Hair
How to price your services, manage your time, and understand what it actually takes to make real, sustainable money — whether you're commission or independent.
✹ Client Relationships
The skills that turn first-time appointments into long-term clients including how to consult, set expectations, handle difficult conversations, and build the kind of chair-side presence that keeps people coming back.
✹ Industry Connections
You're training inside a working salon from day one, building real professional relationships before you graduate. Every graduate to date has had a job before finishing.
Unlike traditional cosmetology programs, students at The Hype Hair Academy complete their education inside a functioning salon environment.
Through hands-on training, real-world observation, and direct mentorship from experienced professionals, graduates leave with a level of practical understanding that many stylists do not develop until after spending their first year or two in an assistant program.
Not all hair programs are the same:
Other Hair Schools:
✗ Hair, skin, and nail education split across limited hours
✗ Instructors who may not actively work in the industry
✗ Simulated classroom or school floor environment
✗ Standardized curriculum that doesn't move with the industry
✗ State board prep only (career readiness largely on your own)
The Hype Hair Academy:
✓ Hair-only curriculum with deep expertise, not a generalist education
✓ Instructors who are actively working behind the chair
✓ Trained inside a real, operating salon from day one
✓ Curriculum updated in real time — current techniques, not a 2005 standard
✓ Career development and financial literacy built into the program
What Students Are saying
✓ 100% of students pass the State Board on their first attempt
✓ 100% of students are Employed Before Graduation
✓ Most Recent Graduates Entered the Industry Charging $75/hr
Staff & Educators
Every instructor at The Hype Hair Academy is an active, working professional. They bring current technique, real-world judgment, and no gatekeeping.
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Kristine Templeton
FOUNDER & OWNER
Kristine Templeton is the founder of The Hype Hair Academy and the visionary behind its studio + academy hybrid model. She began her career in the early 1980s and has become a trusted and respected figure in the Rio Rancho community.After years of working across multiple business models—including booth rental and operating a home salon—Kristine opened The Hype Hair Studio in 2015. Since then, she has built a reputation for developing talent, mentoring stylists, and creating a salon environment rooted in high standards and long-term career growth.
With over 35 years behind the chair, Kristine is a precision cutting specialist and color expert. As Director of Education and owner of The Hype Hair Academy, she brings decades of real-world experience into the classroom, with a focus on simplifying complex techniques and preparing students for immediate success in the industry.
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Bek Sanders
CAREER COACH & RECRUITING
Bek Sanders co-founded The Hype Hair Academy alongside Kristine, helping bring the academy vision to life through structure, strategy, and student experience. She serves as Director of Admissions and leads the business and career development side of the program.With a background in psychology, management, and business coaching, Bek brings a systems-driven approach to the academy. Having grown up in the hair industry, she offers a grounded perspective on both the creative and financial realities of the profession.
Her role focuses on helping students not only become skilled hairdressers, but also build sustainable, fulfilling careers. Through a combination of emotional intelligence, practical strategy, and real-world insight, Bek ensures students leave with the clarity and tools needed to succeed both behind the chair and beyond it.
IG: @WITHBEKSANDERS
TIKTOK: @WITHBEKSANDERS
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Dellyna Salazar
STYLIST & EDUCATOR
Dellyna (she/her) was born and raised in Rio Rancho, NM. She took interest in cosmetology early into her teenage years. After high school, Dellyna went to school at NM Tech for 3 semesters for biology, and promptly found out it was not where she wanted to be. Instead, she decided to follow her true passion and pursue cosmetology at the Aveda Institute of New Mexico.Now, she loves being able to connect with guests while doing their root touch ups, bold fashion colors, balayages, and long-hair haircuts!
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Mari Sanders
STYLIST & EDUCATOR
Mari (she/her) began her hair journey 7 years ago right here in Rio Rancho and has since built an impressive career, including time honing her craft in New York and earning her license as an instructor. Now back home, Mari is thrilled to share her expertise and passion with her clients and the next generation of stylists.
Specializing in precision haircuts (short & long!), curly hair, dimensional brunettes, and weft extensions, she brings both skill and creativity to every service. Mari is dedicated to helping you look and feel your absolute best while empowering you with the knowledge to care for your hair like a pro.
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Kayla Maxwell
STYLIST & EDUCATOR
Kayla (she/her) began her journey in Farmington, New Mexico, before making the move to Albuquerque in 2021 to pursue her dreams as a beauty professional. From the start, Kayla has been passionate about forging genuine connections with her clients, treating each one as a unique individual rather than just another face in her chair.
As she has immersed herself in the beauty industry, Kayla’s love for color has truly flourished. She has a knack for creating low-maintenance, lived-in color that effortlessly enhances her clients' natural beauty, yet she also excels at crafting bold, vivid looks that turn heads. Beyond color, Kayla finds joy in styling long, layered haircuts and creating fun, textured bobs. She’s excited to work with you, bringing out your most authentic and beautiful self.
@kaylas_beautylooks
Academy Investment
Below is a full breakdown of tuition, kit, and textbook costs, along with our payment plans and in-house grant.
tuition
2026 Tuition cost: $18,225
The Hype Hair Academy is a licensed private academy, which means we don't participate in federal financial aid programs. What we do offer are three in-house payment options, including a grant applied when tuition is paid in full. Interest rates on our payment plans are comparable to federal student loan rates.
Payment options are as follows:
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Pay in full — $16,225
Pay your tuition in full and receive a $2,000 in-house grant applied automatically. No interest. No balance.
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25% down — $4,556.25 at enrollment
Remaining balance of $13,668.75 financed in-house at 6–8% interest. Monthly payments begin after enrollment.
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50% down — $9,112.50 at enrollment
Remaining balance of $9,112.50 financed in-house at 4–6% interest. Lower overall interest cost with a larger upfront payment.
Note: All tuition figures are subject to NM sales tax. The down payment and kit option cost are due at the time of enrollment. No portion of kit expenses (listed below) can be financed.
Kit & Textbook
Unlike most cosmetology schools, you build your own kit here. With your educator's guidance, you select every item based on your specific goals — all at wholesale cost, which nearly doubles the retail value.
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Core Essentials — $2,000 at enrollment
A focused kit covering the essential tools needed to complete the program. A solid starting point you can build from as your career grows.
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Pro Kit — $2,500 at enrollment
A comprehensive kit for students who want to arrive with a full professional toolkit from day one. Every item selected with your educator based on your goals.
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Textbook — $500 at enrollment
Required for all students regardless of kit option. Due at enrollment and cannot be financed.
Note: All kit and textbook costs are due at the time of enrollment and cannot be financed.
Application process
We accept a small number of students per cohort, typically 5-6. This ensures fellow students share your level of commitment, which is exactly the environment you want to learn in.
1. Fill out the form below and schedule a tour.
2. Submit an online application. (There is a $75 non-refundable application fee.)
3. If your application is approved, schedule an in-person interview with our Director of Education.
4. If approved, you’ll pay a 10% deposit toward tuition to reserve your spot.
5. Full tuition must be paid at least 5 business days before the first class.
Academy FAQs
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The Hype Hair Academy is licensed and approved by the New Mexico State Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists. That means our program meets all state requirements for students to sit for and earn their Hairstyling License.
However, we are not federally accredited. Accreditation determines access to federal funding like Pell Grants and federal student loans. It is not a measure of educational quality, curriculum strength, or how prepared a graduate is to actually work in the industry.
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Yes.
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Graduates receive a “Hairstyling License.”
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We do not participate in federal financial aid programs. We’re a private academy, and that independence is part of what keeps our curriculum current and our education high-level.
However, we do offer a pay-in-full grant and financing options:
Pay in full: $1,000 in-house grant applied
25% down payment plan — 6–8% interest rate
50% down payment plan — 4–6% interest rate
Interest rates are comparable to federal student loan rates. We’re transparent about the investment because we’re equally confident in what you get on the other side.
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Our program focuses exclusively on hairstyling, so you build real depth rather than surface-level exposure to multiple disciplines. You’ll train in cutting, color and lightening, styling and finishing, texture services, product knowledge, consultation skills, and real salon experience from day one.
Beyond the technical, you’ll also develop client communication and relationship skills, workflow and time management, and the financial and career knowledge to build a stable, long-term career.
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We accept a maximum of 6 students per cohort, with a 1:5 instructor-to-student ratio. Classes overlap, so at any given time there may be multiple cohorts in the program simultaneously, but your class stays small by design.
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Our schedule is designed for balance.
Classes meet Tuesday through Thursday, 10am to 6pm — 8 hours a day, 3 days a week, accruing 24 hours per week. At that pace, most students graduate in about a year.
Schedule accommodations are available upon request for students who need to end their day early due to personal or professional obligations.
Late-start accommodations are not available. All students are expected to begin at the designated start time.
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Every graduate of The Hype Hair Academy has passed both the practical and written state board exams on their first attempt — above 85%. (New Mexico’s average written exam pass rate is 60%.)
We have relationships with local salons, and students are welcome to apply to The Hype Hair Studio at 75% program completion. Employment with the studio is not guaranteed, but to date, 100% of our graduates have had jobs before graduation.
Our most recent graduates entered the industry charging $75/hour for all services from day one.
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We focus exclusively on hairstyling, we're not locked into a fixed curriculum, and we train inside a real working salon. Most programs split hours across hair, skin, and nails and graduate students with surface-level exposure to everything. We do one thing and we do it well.
The bigger difference is environment. Our students aren't limited to a classroom or school floor. They're inside a successful, operating salon from day one, learning what it actually looks like to build a career behind the chair.
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Founder Kristine Templeton kept seeing the same problem while hiring new stylists: graduates were passing state board but couldn't perform the services clients were actually requesting. They had credentials, but not the confidence or working knowledge to operate in a real salon environment.
Co-founder Bek Sanders identified the other side of the gap: even technically strong stylists were leaving school without the business skills to sustain a career — no foundation in client retention, time management, or what it actually takes to make a stable living behind the chair.
The Hype Hair Academy was built to close those technical readiness and career sustainability gaps in one program.
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Fill out the form below to start the process and schedule a tour.
After your tour, if you’d like to apply, you will submit a written application. (There is a $75 non-refundable application fee.)
Get started
Ready to learn more? The first step is to fill out the form below and schedule a tour.
Note: immediately after submitting this form you will be prompted to schedule a tour.