Today we’d like to introduce you to Alijah Francois.
Hi Alijah, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
have a business called @jahhstyles. I am a hairstylist who relocated from New York to Georgia to work on my craft Aswell as attend college. The process of transitioning here has not been the easiest but it was definitely worth the struggle. I have been doing hair since I was in middle school maybe 7th or 8th grade. I would do my own hair Aswell as family members, and then later in high school, I started to service people outside of my family. When I was younger, I would never really take care of my hair that much, it was honestly too much work for me, I wasn’t a fan of my texture or curls and I was too lazy to give it the treatment It deserved, and it never came out how I wanted it to. So I would simply flat iron it all the time to get it more manageable for me, after asking my mom to let me start doing my own. hair. I wanted to break out of the barrets and childish styles, lol. When I started realizing a shift in my texture and density, I got really worried, like oh no am I balding?! So I changed up my routine and would watch YouTube videos on other hairstylists who had similar natural hair textures as myself. I would compare products and see what styles I would be able to attempt to do to get similar results. When I would go to school people would ask me what I did to get my hair the way it Was. I would get comments like, “your curls are so beautiful, what do you use? Can you Make a tutorial to show me how you got those results?” Now, I wanted to take it up a notch. If I can do this, what else can I do? I would often get my hair braided by my cousin or at the salon paying big bucks. One day I needed to get those braids and she was, unfortunately, unavailable to do them for me. I was so sad and confused like what do I do now? So, here I was going on YouTube, “how to do your own box braids, diy braids, how to braid with extensions, products to use for braids, best braiding products, best quality hair for braids” Lol, I was searching for it all!
At this time I was in high school, I believe my freshman year. One day I got to it and it looked really good for my first try lol. My parts were all over the place, til this day I’m not sure how stylists do such amazing parts in the back of their head lol. After practice and practice, and again people asking me who did my hair, I’d say me, and they’d say “by yourself?” and I would be like yes by myself, lol. My friends would want me to do their hair, and family would ask me to style them Aswell. I believe when I was a junior in high school, that’s when I started servicing others. At that time I did not have much of a passion for it as I do now. I started working when I was 15. I love having my own money and being as independent as I can be. I started working at Mcdonald’s, this was still my freshman year of high school. Doing hair was a once in a while type of thing, I honestly was not interested In doing it as a full source of income because I felt like it would feel like a job and not be fun for me. When I realized I should definitely take it more serious was when I would find myself needing some extra cash and somehow God sent someone who wanted to get serviced by me. I eventually made myself a styleseat account to start taking clients at home. My junior year is when I started taking actual clients. I was working at Panera bread now at this time and doing hair. The pandemic had started somewhere around that time so school was now online, and hair was getting a little slow. Now going into my senior year, I was working at Mcdonald’s again and Panera bread and doing hair.
Whenever I wasn’t at one job, I was at the other and hair was mostly on the weekends. I loved the hustle, I’ve always hustled and I enjoy the grind. Doing all of that was not easy, and my mom would always ask me why I’m doing so much when I truly didn’t need to at the time, but having my own money and being able to do as I please with it satisfied me. I had control over what I was doing, I hated asking for money, and I knew the hustle would pay off, which it 100% did. Now a months before I graduated high school I quit both jobs and did hair full tie which was such an amazing experience for me. I took all the money I worked hard for and earned from McDonald’s, Panera bread and for servicing clients with knotless braids, passion twists, butterfly loss, and soft locs and brought that to college with me. I was beyond proud of myself for actually saving my money and not blowing it all off. When I started college in New York, I was a criminal justice major still wanting to pursue my new dream of being a full-time hairstylist. I was located in New Rochelle which was not a popular town. I found a salon there called “bellaglobeautyspa”. I honestly loved it there for the time I was there. The owner of the shop, Saye was more than just my boss. He was a teacher, mentor, an amazing stylist, etc. He had reservations hiring me so young, at the time I was 17 starting college. Yet he took me on his team and has taught me so much, and til this day I reach out to let him know how grateful I am and how I took him for granted.
I was staying on campus at the time and realized that was not the right route for me, I was not making money like I was in Long Island and I didn’t like staying on campus. So I moved back home to Long Island where I was taking more clients. It was hard getting clients in New Rochelle since I was fairly new there and the stylist at the shop had clients who would request them. Saye would send clients to me and recommend me if someone was not available and he would to get my name out there Aswell which I am very grateful for. On weekends I would travel back home by train to take some weekend clients in Long Island, especially if it was a little slow back in New Rochelle. When I moved back home after my second semester, I worked at another salon where I was renting a chair, it was an upgrade from doing it at my house so I was so very proud of myself. Eventually, clientele went down for me and now that I am renting a seat, I have to find a way to pay for it right? So I needed to take up on another job…I started working at both Mcdonald’s and Panera Bread again. I, unfortunately, had to withdraw from school, so with the extra time I had, I was working to save up, be able to pay for my salon chair, and fix my living situation. My dear mommy and I didn’t always have the best relationship, there’s such a big misunderstanding between the two of us. As a teen, you go through things mentally, emotionally and I was really struggling with feeling loved and seen and appreciated. So I wasn’t staying at home often, I would either be at my friend’s house then go to work and really be home once in a while.
Eventually, I moved out and stayed with my sister for a little while. During that time I was still doing it all, hair, and working two jobs. My clientele had went down so much it was heartbreaking, I was truly in a place of confusion with work, my family, with myself. It was extremely hard, I was really going through stuff that a now 18 years old should not have had to go through. My mom and I were barely speaking, I was not speaking to my dad, my brother and I don’t speak about these types of situations, my sister and I started to bump heads a lot and I had to leave. They were all I had at the time and I wasn’t able to have access to them if you understand that…The only person I would talk to about this who really knew the entirety of the situation and how I was feeling was one of my closest friends Victoria, as we were going through very similar situations. I would also speak to my cousin, but I understand she has her own life and things to take care of, so I was very reserved with how much I told her or how much I spoke to her. This is when my relationship with God grew tremendously. I knew if anyone could help me it was him. I was very isolated and really working on my discernment to know when he was the one speaking to me. It was already hard for me to hear from anyone else because I never really felt the genuine energy and sincerity. I knew what I needed to do and where I wanted to go with my life. Here I am 18 not in school, with three jobs, and having a deadline of a month to find somewhere else to go. Like my mental health was declining tremendously and I was crying almost every day. When I think about it, I’m glad I was not doing hair as often because as strong as energy is I would not have wanted mine to transfer to my client’s crowns. I’m a very positive person but positivity was not in me at this time of my life.
Again I knew I had to save my money because a change was coming, I had a plan and date of when my change would come and all but things shifted beforehand. Thankfully I was ready to do what I needed to. I knew I was not going back to my mom’s and there was really nowhere else for me to permanently stay, comfortably…New York is very expensive and even with my three jobs, I knew I was not going to be able to pay rent there. Moving to Georgia was something I have always wanted to do so it was the perfect time for me to make that move. I knew my hair business would flourish here and that I would be able to stay with my aunt and uncle until I was making steady income and ready to get a place of my own. My mom came with me to look for apartments but I needed a car first. So I Got one and then the apartment search was coming later down the line.
Growing my hair business here is not easy. I am in a whole new state nobody knows me, I barely know where to go. I have found some salons here that I can work in but none of them were right for me. The past few years and months I haven’t felt like I’m in a permanent place, I have been changing locations often, been treated unfairly, and have had to do a few unexpected moves. I Moved here to change that. There are certain moves I can no longer make. I do not want to be in the same position that I was before relocating, dealing with the same scenarios. I’ve learned from a lot of my mistakes, and I need to do things differently. That includes doing things that might scare me… With my relationship with God is growing, I know to consult with him before I take certain actions…right now, I am waiting for him to be clear with me as what to do with my next steps. I am one to examine my situation in all aspects to thoroughly see what route to take, although I’ve done that, I still need an answer from my father. Currently, I will be starting school in October at Mercer University studying Criminal Justice. With my degree, I will be a Criminal Defense lawyer and a prosecutor. I also plan to open my own law firm and teach law. I am searching for a cosmetology school to go to to be licensed with the textured hair I service in so that in the future I am able to open my own salon.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
No, it has not been smooth at all. Clientele goes up and down sometimes but I Never give up. I’ve seen how far consistency can get me. With salons I’ve worked at out here the treatment has not always been fair. Ive worked somewhere off of commission where the lady contacted me the night before to tell me that she sold my chair to someone and for me to get my things the day after, keep in mind I had a client. I have worked somewhere else, family-oriented where the energy was very off to me when I would enter and I was not getting any clients referred to me as I was told I would. At this salon, the lady wanted me there every day but I had another job at Publix for until I built up a steady clientele here. After expressing that to her she told me to let her know the days that I would be available and I did, but she would never tell me if there was a client for me. I would go by the salon and see plenty of people but she would not reach out to me. Even when I would say my availability, she would not respond, I felt like the communication was off. I’m not sure if it was because she felt like I was not dedicating time but…It did not feel right to me. Another struggle is deciding whether to rent a chair in a salon or not when I can get a fully equipped suite to for almost the same price monthly and be in my own space.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Jahhstyles?
I am a natural hair professional. I specialize in knotless braids, passion twists, soft locs, twist outs, flat twists, natural braids, sew-ins, silk presses, wash and gos, starter locs, etc. I feel like what sets me aside from others is my intentionality, purity and the fact that I care. It’s not 100% about the money. I know how it feels to go to someone for a service and it did not come out the way you desire, I know how it feels to get your hair mistreated because it is rushed, I know how it feels to not feel truly cared for. I want my space to feel like a safe space for clients whether it’s mentally, or emotionally. Your stylist cares for you and your hair! I am also in search of a chemist. I’d like to start an all-natural hair product line with shampoo, conditioner, deep conditioners, leave-in conditioners, etc. I also have a discount for first-time clients! When I moved here I knew I would really want to network with other stylists, creatives, and artists in my area…a mentor is also on my list as I love to learn and am very open to receiving when it’s with the right intentions.
Being a full-time entrepreneur as well as a hairstylist is my goal and being that I don’t know many people in my area, I am hoping this will be a good way for me to get in contact with someone.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
People can work with me by contacting me through my personal Instagram @_.alijah.f or my hair page @jahhstyles._. I look forward to working with you guys!
Contact Info:
Image Credits
Alijah Francois. I TAKE ALL OF MY PICTURES.
