Today we’d like to introduce you to Jolene Hayes.
Jolene, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
There have always been three main loves in my life… art, writing, and hair. My mom catered to those three interests for as far back as I can remember. She provided paper, pencils, and anything else so that I could draw and write to my heart’s delight. She also taught me how to braid and would let me play in her hair, twisting and plaiting it however I wanted.
Outwardly, art and writing have always been at the forefront of things that fuel my passion for living, while hair has been a secret interest. Hair, a secret interest because I struggled with loving and doing my own hair in its natural curl pattern. I wanted silky, straight hair like my mom’s and not the coarse, frizzy curls that stood from my head. It wasn’t until I began having children of my own that I realized the importance of caring for and loving hair in its natural state. I did not want my children growing up hating what grew naturally from their heads. So, I learned to love my own.
When my oldest daughter was about 8 or 9 years old, I began styling her hair in twist and/or braid styles. Intermittently, for about three years, other people would ask me to braid their or their children’s hair. That’s when I considered getting licensed to do hair, except I did not want to work with chemicals nor did I have nine months to a year of time to go to school full time. In the summer of 2012, a career counselor at the Dallas Urban Inter-Tribal Center of Texas contacted me to let me know there was a program that would fund tuition for me if I chose to return to school. With that, I found out that becoming a licensed hair braider was only a five-day course and so, I went.
After completing the course and receiving my license in December of 2012, I went to work at NappyBliss Natural Hair Salon, a local shop now located in Duncanville, owned and operated by Keisha Ricks. It was there under Keisha’s leadership that I learned valuable techniques of styling natural hair and the basics of maintaining the health and integrity of hair of all curl patterns. She also introduced me to the world of locs and loc care. After working a year in her salon, I branched off on my own, working from home and traveling to clients for about two years. During this time, I also studied other natural stylists and locticians. I enrolled in Rare Essence Academy, an online course founded by Essence China of Arizona, to learn more creative braiding and loc styling techniques.
As my clientele began to grow, working from home and traveling to clients became tiresome. It was then I decided to look for a space of my own. As I was scrolling Facebook one day in the Spring of 2016, I saw an ad for a salon suite to rent. In April of 2016, I signed a lease at The Village Salons of Lakewood and opened up JO LENE Gentle Braids & Natural Hair Care.
Has it been a smooth road?
The road has not been smooth. I sort of fell into entrepreneurship via the beauty industry. It’s crazy, but I never saw myself as an entrepreneur. When others began to use words like boss, business owner, and entrepreneur to describe what I do, I felt overwhelmed, reaffirmed, frightened, encouraged, and awkward all at once! Entrepreneurship, in my mind, was a brightly lit road the bold extroverts of society happily danced down. Not at all the way I thought of myself. I’ve always seen myself as more of a helper to others or as an employee of a company. So, getting over my own feelings of insecurity and ideas of what being a business owner looked like was/is my biggest struggle.
How I see myself in this role shapes the way I face the challenges of being self-employed. I have to view what I do simply as something I love doing and sharing with others. I have to view the upkeep and management of my business simply as the tasks necessary to be done to be able to continue doing & sharing what I love. I’ve also had to learn to see myself as the person I’m “helping” and as “an employee” of my own company.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
At JO LENE Gentle Braids & Natural Hair Care, I braid, twist, and coil natural hair into a variety of styles with or without the use of extension braid hair. I, also, style locs and tighten locs using the interlock or palm-roll methods. I specialize in performing these services without using too much tension to prevent my clients from having issues of hair loss associated with traction alopecia.
I am known for working patiently with children, providing pain-free braid services, and being honest with my clients about what styles are most beneficial to the care of their hair as well as which are not. My mission has been to help as many people as possible to fall in love with and care for their hair in its natural state. I am proud to say I have done just that. Many of my clients and friends over the years have told me and posted online how much they love their hair and how I have helped them get to that point. That’s what sets me apart from others.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Dallas is definitely a good place for those interested in natural hair care, especially since the city has grown tremendously in population within the last three years and more women are shying away from having chemically straightened hair. By my observations, I think it’s safe to say that with this growth, a large number of people are moving to the suburbs and outskirts of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. I recommend anyone starting fresh into providing natural hair care services to research all areas around and within the metroplex to find out which areas are seeing an increasing demand for natural hair stylists.
Pricing:
- Adult Natural Styles start at $75
- Children Natural Styles start at $65
- Extension Cornrow Braid Styles start at $135
- Loc Services start at $55
Contact Info:
- Address: The Village Salons
7331 Gaston Ave., Ste. 175, Rm. 105
Dallas, TX 75214 - Phone: 469-222-9760
- Email: jo.lenegbnhc@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.
instagram.com/jo_lenegbnhc - Facebook: https://www.
facebook.com/jolenegbnhc - Other: https://jolene.as.me
Image Credit:
Anthony Coleman at DejaBlu Photography
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