Karley Vaughn was not a stranger to the darkness of abuse or the depths of addiction. After finding the courage to start over, she hopes to be a light to other women in the community.
A little over one year ago, Vaughn was trapped in an abusive relationship.
With two young children, an unimaginable amount of bravery, and $20 in her pocket — she fled. She needed to make a nearly 12-hour drive back home to Indiana. She had no idea what would happen when she arrived.
“I was terrified,” Vaughn recalled. “But I just made the choice in the middle of the day and ran. I made it as far as I could with what little money I had. I asked people for help at a gas station. I was pulled over by a police officer on the way. His help got us a little further. When I was closer to Indiana, my mom came and met us.”
Despite finding safety from the abuse she endured, Vaughn still struggled with addiction, a battle she fought on and off for over a decade. She recounted her initial period of time back in Indiana.
“I lived with my grandma in Marion for a few weeks,” Vaughn began. “It was bad being in my hometown. This is where I got into drugs in the first place. At one point, in the middle of the night, I was contemplating suicide. I called for help. Bethany made herself available to sign the paperwork for me and my children to get help. I had no idea who she was at that point. I went to Grace and Mercy and I was able to get out of the situation because of that call.”
Bethany Burns is the Program Director at Grace and Mercy. Vaughn said Burns was a critical part of her journey to recovery, which included regaining her cosmetology license.
“I met Karley before she started the program,” Burns explained. “She needed a safe place for her and her kids. She told me she was into hair and I knew she could do so much more in the industry. She genuinely expressed a love for getting more involved.”
Burns said she was a mentor to Vaughn when worked as a stylist during her time in the program, which she completed in six months.
“Bethany also did hair,” Vaughn explained. “After I was in the program for a while, she asked me questions. She wondered if I’d ever want to work in booth rent, or manage a salon. I was at Great Clips at the time. I told her it was a dream that I would love to do ever since I was a kid. One day she told me we were going to look somewhere — today — and to pray about it.”
Burns, a stylist for over 25 years, said she saw a need for women in recovery to find careers in the community despite prior charges from their past. With her beauty instructor license, she is able to help women like Vaughn regain their cosmetology licenses and reenter the workforce. This led her to open Beauty from Ashes, the new salon in downtown Bluffton. Vaughn is the manager, as well as one of the stylists, at the salon.
“I wanted to give her a space where she could build her career more,” Burns said in her decision to start the business. “I knew she had the tools and resources in her to fulfill dreams she held as a child, even if she didn’t yet. It just took one person who believed in me when I was 18 to change my life. I wanted to encourage her, as well as other women in the future. It has never let me down. She has stepped into that leadership so well. I love her heart.”
The name Beauty from Ashes is in reference to the verse Isaiah 61:3, which speaks to redemption through Christ.
“Crying out to God in the middle of all of this showed me He was real and true,” Vaughn said. “I didn’t name it, but that’s where the name of the salon comes from.”
“It’s always been a ministry to me, not just a profession,” Burns emphasized. “I have a client for sometimes 20 minutes to three hours, but in that time usually it’s in a bonding relationship. I have always felt like it’s a good time to pray over them and build that confidence in them. That’s what I want the space to be as it grows. I want women working there to feel empowered and it builds their self esteem as they make others feel good about themselves and know that they matter.”
Vaughn, the newly married mother of two, added that she wants the salon to be a safe space for women to excel, earn a sustainable income for their families, and still have time to be present with them.
“We want this place to be a light,” Vaughn smiled. “We want to provide an uplifting atmosphere and to make women feel beautiful, welcome, restored, and accepted.”
Beauty from Ashes is located at 122 North Johnson Street. The salon offers a wide range of services, including haircuts, color, hair extensions, massages, waxing, facials, pedicures, men’s and children’s haircuts, and beard grooming. Business hours are Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Appointments with Vaughn, Burns, and additional stylists can be booked through their Facebook page.