Today we’d like to introduce you to Muriel Hollins.
Hi Muriel, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’m Muriel….Mississippi-born, model turned beauty entrepreneur, and the founder of Studio M Beauty Bar and SMS Hair Co.
My journey started on the other side of the lens, working as a professional model hired to bring someone else’s brand to life. But even back then, I knew I wasn’t meant to just promote someone else’s vision, I wanted to build my own.
At the time, doing hair was the skill I could lean on. I knew it well, and I knew I could use it to position myself for something greater. That’s how salon ownership became my entry point into entrepreneurship. But I never saw it as just doing hair. I saw it as the foundation to create something that would outlive me.
From day one, I was building standards, systems, and a legacy rooted in discipline.
When I moved to Texas, I didn’t have a lot of resources but I had vision, grit, and a deep understanding of the value of building beautiful relationships. That mindset carried me through every season of growth and every version of myself I’ve had to become along the way.
Over the years, I’ve evolved from being a solo stylist to leading a team, launching my own line of luxury hair extensions, and most recently Blackbird, my first fragrance for hair and body. A new beauty product that was born during a season of clarity, rebirth, and also during deep personal and professional transformation.
My brand has always been about more than beauty, it’s about becoming. Studio M is a space where women feel cared for, seen, and celebrated. And that intention is woven into every detail of what we do from the services to the scent to the experience.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There have been so many. One of the hardest was losing my original salon space. It was beautiful open concept, lively, full of potential. But the truth is, it grew faster than the foundation I had underneath it.
That space looked like success, but it was draining me. I was overcommitted and underprepared for the scale I had created. I hadn’t yet built the structure or clarity to sustain what I was holding.
There were moments where I was making it all work but barely. Quietly juggling payroll, production, client care, leadership, and personal survival. All while still trying to stay creative, inspired, and in integrity with my vision.
I also had to unlearn the belief that I had to do it all. I used to carry everything every client, every decision, every fire to put out because I thought that’s what strong leadership looked like. But that wasn’t strength. That was burnout.
What made it even harder was having to grieve the loss of what I built while simultaneously rebuilding from the ground up. Not many people talk about what it feels like to restart something you poured everything into. But I did. And what came from it was more grounded, more intentional, and more aligned than anything I’d created before.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
At Studio M Beauty Bar, we specialize in luxury silk press services, natural hair care, and premium hair extension experiences. Everything we do is rooted in healthy hair, high standards, and a client experience that feels intentional from start to finish.
We’re known for the Studio M Standard a signature approach to beauty that blends technique with care. Through my product line, SMS Hair Co., we offer luxury hair extensions and beauty essentials, including Blackbird, our signature hair and body parfum.
And now, we’re expanding. An academy is on the way designed to train the next generation of stylists in the systems, standards, and values that built this brand.
This was never just about doing hair. It’s about transforming how women experience beauty inside and out.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
The biggest lesson? Don’t romanticize resilience. Build something sustainable.
I used to think pushing through was proof I was strong. Now, I know that clarity, rest, and structure are just as powerful if not more.
I’ve learned that discipline will take you further than motivation, and that growth doesn’t always look like expansion. Sometimes it looks like pausing, refining, and choosing better over bigger.
I’ve also learned that being multi-talented doesn’t mean I need to do everything. Letting go of the need to prove myself through overwork has been one of the most freeing things I’ve ever done. I’m still ambitious, still creative, still passionate but now I build from a place of alignment, not survival.
And maybe most importantly, I’ve learned that success isn’t about proving anything to anyone. It’s about creating something I’m proud of something real, something that reflects the woman I’ve become and the standard I’ve set.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.studiombeautybar.com and www.smshairco.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/studiombeautybar
