Yasmina Adamo Desouza

I attribute my success to a combination of client loyalty, consistent self-promotion, and a strong work ethic. Building lasting relationships with clients has been essential to my growth, while continuously promoting my work and staying dedicated to excellence has helped me create new opportunities. Above all, my faith has been a guiding force throughout my journey, and I believe that my achievements have been made possible through God's grace and blessings.

My advice to young women entering this industry is to create their own opportunities rather than waiting for them to appear. Be confident in speaking up, advocating for yourself, and promoting your skills and accomplishments. Embrace your ambition and pursue your goals with determination, while also recognizing the importance of being present for your family and loved ones when that aligns with your personal values. Success is about finding a balance that allows you to thrive both professionally and personally.

The braiding industry is really growing right now. Women are going away from using synthetic braiding hair, and now people are using human hair and better products. People are taking the health of their hair more seriously nowadays compared to before. It's already great, but it's going places. However, the beauty industry, like the braiding industry, is so looked down on. It's literally the only industry where the clients want to decide how much you're supposed to charge as a provider. It's saddening, but we're working on it. It's getting better. In the braiding industry, we really don't have a lot of awards or conventions and stuff like that, so that's something that I would like to break into, like even create if I have to. I've been looking for conventions around the beauty industry braiding, but we really don't have any of those. Those are things that I'm working on with my team. I would love to create stuff like that. The community side of the beauty industry is kind of gone a little bit. This era is more kind of self-centered. People want to work for themselves, which is great, but the community side is lacking.

Being present for my children is extremely important to me, which is why I left the corporate world to start my own business where I could make my own hours. I'm passionate about making people feel beautiful inside and out, and I take pride in my work. When you walk in a room, most of the time, the first thing people see is your hair. When you're confident with the way you look, your hair and everything, you just own the room. It's really important for women to always get their hair done and everything. That's part of our day-to-day confidence ritual, I always say that. I also value being original and authentic. I love when you look in the mirror and love what you see, like your curls, being your original self. That's amazing. It brings a definite level of confidence because you're like you, not trying to be like other people. I believe in making thoughtful decisions with my husband as a team. We try not to make decisions without talking to each other. I'm not really an emotional shopper. I like to sit and make sure that I know exactly what I'm doing.