Today we’d like to introduce you to Benjamin Frazier.
Benjamin, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Wellbeing honest, I’ve always had a fascination about doing hair, especially when I was younger. I use to always comb my mom’s hair or sometimes call myself doing my baby sister’s hair. As I got older, I bought a mannequin and tried other styles as well. My senior year of high school, I was debating on if I should go to school for psychology or cosmetology, eventually, I chose psychology. In college, I met a close friend of mine, she always wanted her hair braided and I was happy to do it, almost like a tradition because I was helping her braid her hair almost every other month. Eventually, one of our classmates asked us to help her braid her hair, which turned into one of my favorite R.A.’s asking me personally to do box braids and Faux locs for her.
Slowly my interest became a passion but at the time, I was still on the fence about choosing psychology over cosmetology. It was a real struggle for me to choose a passion of mine I really wanted to do rather than me choosing psychology. At the beginning of summer 2019, I decided to enroll myself in cosmetology school and started my courses and classes by the Fall. As of now, I am currently building my clientele at the Braid Bar South location and braiding at home and by Spring 2021, I will be receiving my certificate in Cosmetology and my license as well.
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?
Honestly, it was a struggle at first. First thing I will admit is that the saying “Do what’s best for you” is a real thing. When I was in college, during the first two months of fall semester, I knew that I didn’t want to be in school for my original major, but at the same time, I was battling the fact that I didn’t want to go into the hair industry because I wanted to make my loved ones happy. As time went even as I began to know the ropes of the industry, I constantly thought if this was meant for me. I was having a struggle with building clients, as well as putting myself out there. Being a stylist, you’re going to have your days. I was doing everything I could to make myself known between asking friends if I can practice a certain style. Being in school as well was a struggle for me because I didn’t know anything about beauty at all. It took me a minute to really grasp the fact that I was doing something I love and yet allowing my fear to creep inside of me. I was mostly struggling with the idea that maybe I wasn’t cut out for this industry and it was taking a slight tole on me.
We’d love to hear more about BenjiTrends.
BenjiTrends is an at home Trendy Bar specializing in braids, locs, and hair color. I am currently transitioning my basement into an at a home salon. My services would be Goddess locs, faux locs, knotless braids, box braids, Marley twists, loc maintenance. My Trendy Bar is known for freedom, allowing others to come in and express themselves in being who they are. I am mostly proud that my salon is slowly coming together and that my business is beginning to flourish, the vision and plans I have set for it is coming along very well and its the beginning! The Trendy Bar is a place where you can come and get any style you choose, expressing your true desire an image that you want to wear for yourself! Making others feel good, seeing the look on the clients face change when they get out the chair, seeing their confidence start to glow brighter and feeling good about themselves. My overall goal in the industry is to make the client my number one priority!
What were you like growing up?
I’ve always been a bubbly child. Always smiling, laughing, cracking jokes, being sneaky and just playing around. As a kid, I was always upfront about how I felt. My interest varied a lot, it was good three to four years of my life. I wanted to be a chef and have my own restaurant. I was always getting into things, to pretty much say I was a curious child. Anything that caught my eye, I was interested in it. As a child, I knew I wanted to do big things and great things, especially getting it on my own. Growing up, I’ve always had the “I’ll do it on my own” mentality.
Pricing:
- Goddess Locs $65, additional $5 for length
- Box Braids $75, additional $5 for length
- Faux Locs $65, additional $5 for length
Contact Info:
- Phone: 404-444-0338
- Email: bennofraz@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benjitrends/?igshid=1oh5axavd9l2o
Image Credit:
Justin Allison (Older Brother/Photographer)
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