Today we’d like to introduce you to Shandreka Bernard.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Shandreka. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’m a Master Cosmetologist. I was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, but now I reside in Marietta, GA. My hair journey began when I was 12 years old, which is the age I started doing my own hair. I used to wear my hair in a ponytail for months until my aunts showed me how to use hair rollers and rods. From that point on, I wore spiral curls in every way I could. My hair was ‘relaxed’ and very easy to manage so I rolled it often. By the time I was 13, I perfected the curl game and friends and family began to pay me for doing their hair. I thought that was the best idea ever! It may not seem like alike these days, but $20 per client was a lot for a 13 years old. As time passed, my skills increased and I was able to get more creative with hairstyles. My favorites were pincurl ponytails, straw curls, roller wraps and cornrows! I continued to fix hair all throughout high school and college.
I attended Dillard University for two years before transferring to UNO where I received my double Bachelors in Theater & Communications in 2004. In 2005, my boyfriend, (Eddison), of three years and I welcomed our 1st son, Elijah, one month after graduation. In August of the same year, Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and we relocated to Georgia. With little money, I immediately began to print and pass out flyers stating that I would be fixing hair. As weeks passed by, I began to build my clientele slowly. I soon realized that no one really wanted the styles I did back home. Everyone wanted weaves, blow-outs/silk press, braids and sew-ins. I quickly had to learn the Atlanta hair culture so I practiced often. In 2007, Eddison and I got married and moved into his apartment together. I used our dining room as a salon and made money that way. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a job in my field of study because most jobs wanted me to intern there for a year or two before receiving pay. We were newlyweds with a two years old so that just didn’t work!
In Fall 2007, I enrolled in the cosmetology program at Chatt Tech College. I was beyond ready for my dream of being a hairstylist to come true and I had a great time achieving it. I excelled tremendously and received the ‘Outstanding Student Award’ at graduation in 2008! Months later, we found out we were expecting our 2nd son, Isaiah, in December 2009. My dad, who is great with real estate, came to visit and to meet his new grandson and thought we should start looking for a house for our growing family. By the next year, we became homeowners at age 30 and we were so grateful to start another chapter in our lives! In 2013, we had our last child, Josiah. Yes, three boys! Even with his arrival, we were blessed to have an extra bedroom in the basement, and that’s where I set up ‘BlessedHandz Beauty Salon.’ (God gave me that name at age 21 in a vision).
It’s been ten years after receiving our house keys and I still love working from home! Over the years, I’ve been offered multiple positions in hair salons and two salon owners even asked me to manage or buy their business, but I politely declined. I love the peaceful atmosphere of being 1-on-1 with my amazing clients and getting to know them personally. I don’t just see them as clients, they are my family! We laugh together, pray together and sometimes cry together….all while I get to enhance their beauty! My hair assistant, Dionne, is a great stylist, friend, and makes working even more precious to me. Being a hairstylist is very therapeutic for me and I never feel like I’m at work! That’s a great feeling and I don’t take it for granted!!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
By no means has this journey been smooth! Some struggles I faced along the way were not having enough money to pour into my business like I wanted to or not making a true a profit the first few years. Another was accepting the fact that clients can cancel an appointment at any moment, even when your rent is due and you desperately need the money. Also, because my husband worked full time outside of the home, I had to figure out how to fix hair and take care of babies at the same time. Sometimes I strapped them to my back as I worked. In addition, one of the worse struggles was clients paying me unfairly or less than my set price! I would do my part by performing the service but when it was time for them to pay, I got ‘messed over’. There were many nights I cried because of this, but after a while, you just have to stand up to people and for your business. As hard as it may be, in this business you just have to learn to say ‘No,’ sometimes! Although I may have lost clients throughout the years, God had twice as many to replace them all. Everybody cant takes the full journey with you!
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Blessedhandz Beauty Salon gives you the peaceful and loving salon experience. If you’ve had a long week, we look forward to encouraging you, praying for you and wrapping our ‘blessed handz’ around you for hugs. Our clients must leave satisfied with their service and the smiles on their faces are very satisfying. After all, our motto is: ‘Come in looking a mess, leave out looking Blessed!’
My specialty is Updo’s for weddings, crochet braids, and creative styles for fashion and hair shows. However, I do lots of other styles as well, from roller sets to sew-ins.
As a company, I am most proud of the Joy I see on my client’s faces while they’re here and the heartfelt environment that was created years ago. No matter what a client may be going through in life, our God-given job at Blessedhandz is to give hope, encourage, inspire and follow-up. When I received the name for this salon, I knew it would be set apart from the typical salon. I’m so proud of our progress and can’t wait to see what the future holds.
Now that we’re in quarantine, I have to be creative with my clients. Since I’m not fixing hair at the moment, I am doing 1-on-1 consultations on ZOOM and leading my clients through hairstyles weekly and biweekly. I’ve also had Virtual classes where clients can ask me hair questions and I give advice. The whole process has been very helpful and my clients know they don’t have to journey through this season alone. Because the classes are virtual, I’ve gained clients from other states and it’s been very exciting.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was actually a tomboy and very shy! I played basketball and ran track up until college. My dad primarily raised my siblings and I so we did lots of ‘boy stuff’ and remained active throughout childhood. I was totally fine with it all because I stayed out of trouble. Honestly, I was just a tomboy who fixed hair and always kept her hair done…lol! Furthermore, I was heavily involved in church activities and enjoyed doing liturgical dance, singing in the choir, and writing skits for the youth department. I also excelled throughout all 12 years of school and graduated Salutatorian from my high school, John F. Kennedy.
Although that was cool, I never felt like I ‘fit in’ with most peers. My self -esteem was low and I was bullied for being too smart and too skinny. By the time I was in middle school, I became much tougher with my attitude and wanted to start helping other girls who were bullied for just being themselves. At 16, I decided to start my 1st ‘Girl Talk’ group for younger girls to express themselves verbally and to just be themselves without being judged. It was during this time I also started to develop an eye for fashion. By the time I was 17, I started creating my own clothes, and I still have that ‘passion for fashion’ today! I must say, now that I’m older, I really enjoyed my childhood.
Contact Info:
- Email: drekastyle@gmail.com
- Instagram: @blessedhandz
- Facebook: @blessedhandz
- Other: @PrettyPeacefulPowerfulProtest
Image Credit:
Eddison Bernard, Jonathan Speights
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