Conversations with Breyana Respress

Today we’d like to introduce you to Breyana Respress.

Hi Breyana, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I graduated high school and initially wanted to go to college for film production, however I mentally was not ready to be so far from home at such a young age. There was so much that frightened and intimidated me at 18. Two days before school started, I decided to stay home in the metro Atlanta area and work for a bit. I worked for a semester and was persuaded into going to beauty school. A soft passion I never fully tapped into until I actually went to beauty school. So grateful I did. I graduated from Empire Beauty School at 19 and began assisting in the metro Atlanta area. I explored different areas and specialties in beauty and decided Natural hair was a great fit for me. It allowed me to learn foundations and stay true to the authenticity I’ve always wanted to embody as a woman; it was teaching me through hair.

For four years, I worked as an assistant and stylist in a salon learning the industry. At 22, One of the most challenging and developmental times of my life, being a stylist who interacts with multiple people and personalities on a daily had been diagnosed BPD, anxiety, and depression, and the spaces no longer served enough for the type of vulnerability I needed to navigate in healing those diagnosis’. I’d always wanted to play the background but couldn’t anymore; as I began growing it was apparent I couldn’t keep hiding and build the business I wanted to. I decided it was time for change and to stop playing it safe and trying to fit where I no longer belonged. I took a leap of faith, blind and scared, and God led me to a new community that I was able to flourish, heal, and grow in and exponentially fast at that. I signed my first salon suite lease, and eight months later, the clientele and flow God sent pushed me out of that small room. I began continuous therapy and leaned on my clients for support in my transition, and realized so many women went through the exact same thing and had also lost relationships and friendships trying to navigate emotions and feelings and imbalances that had no guidelines! It didn’t stop there, I needed to create the space to match the type of healing I needed, and my small room was not going to cut it. A suite around the corner from mine but in the same building became available, and I felt the space growing smaller as my clientele continued to grow. I wasn’t exactly in the best position to be paying more money for a larger suite, considering I was still finding my footing and really just trying to figure out what worked and what didn’t, but I took another leap and decided to move into the larger room as well. I stayed in that room for a full 10 months and now had a vision for how I wanted to structure and run my business and the vibes I wanted clients to experience when they sat in my chair.

While I’m so grateful for the growth, I knew I had to take another leap in order to continue seeing this vision into fruition, to truly learn and experience for myself what my women wanted and deserved. I ended up signing another lease with the new luxury chain that debuted on the Southside of ATL before even really knowing if I could afford the territory God was taking me in. He didn’t fail and hasn’t failed yet! Since creating what he put in me and welcoming women into that space, I have grown 3x more clientele I’d ever experienced, gained a confidence I never knew I had but always wanted to tap into, helped so many women in their healthy hair journey regain their confidence and created amazing relationships from a safe space I curated to heal more than just hair. I’ve laid the foundation to a business that will forever cater to the needs of women and the support of women in a world where we just don’t get enough credit or peace to be women! My only mission in continuing to run this business is changing the narrative of how we as women interact and support each other while creating a space we can be ourselves in, no matter how that looks! As of now, I currently specialize in natural hair care and own a line of silk pillowcases to continue aiding in healthy hair even outside of the salon. While my product is an extension of my specialized craft and servicing, it is also a piece of reminder to me that I get to support women even in their own homes and a reminder to them to continue taking care of themselves and the importance of self-care.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Of course, it was never easy and still isn’t. So many days, I had to find the strength to put how I felt aside to hear women and their stories. Especially because their stories were insight of what they could be experiencing in their hair journey. I have taken losses in servicing even by overextending products and services, but I felt it was needed to show my commitment. So many personalities and having to adjust to clients while suppressing my own personalities. Like many business owners grinding it out, finances were a GREAT part of the struggle. It’s like having the vision, but not having the budget can be disheartening. I always made the decision to invest in my business before myself and putting my business before myself and going through periods where the money just wasn’t “moneying”, but I remained faithful to my journey and always put my customers and their needs first. Essentially, because servicing them is how I was able to afford taking care of myself. In some cases, it did ending up costing me, but I like to think it was sacrifices I needed to make in order to learn and grow.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a Natural Healthy Hair Specialist. I am primarily known for my long-lasting silk presses but have since expanding my service list and knowledge to cater to more than just silk press, which led me into my full natural, healthy hair specialty. I am most proud of being able to cater to clients in their journeys and building relationships that feed their hair and soul. I am mostly proud; I didn’t let the difficulties change me or persuade me into hating my career. There is a NEGATIVE stereotype against African American hairstylists, and clients continue to express to me their gratitude that I don’t fit that stereotype, and the truth is I never want to! I want to always operate in love and understanding while still being firm and standing on business respectfully.

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
As a GA native, Forever I’ll love Atlanta. Our hustle is UNMATCHED and the old ATL influenced me in the authentic vibes it carried. What I like least about Atlanta is the change it is currently undergoing. I’m all for people continuing to move here to explore their passions and even need a fresh change of scenery, however the materialistic and unrealistic notions of the service industry, entertainment industry, and other prominent industries make it hard to feel growth here. As well as the vanity so many residents carry is such a turn-off to who people actually are. We used to go anywhere, and no one had to feel less than because of what they could or couldn’t afford or what they could and could not do. There was a greater sense of community which is no longer, which directly and indirectly has led to so many issues we have been experiencing.

Contact Info:

• Website: beacons.ai/breeaylissa
• Instagram: BreeAylissa
• Facebook: BreeAylissa
• Youtube: BreeAylissa
• Other: TheHairSpell.Co

Image Credits
Image credits: @capturedbyque – headshot Image credits: @bashircotterell – product images