Today we’d like to introduce you to Sherelle Thompson.
Hi Sherelle, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Born and raised in Michigan, I started my journey as a hairstylist in 2007. At the time it was just a hobby to pay my little phone bill that I had at the moment in high school. I never really looked at my craft as a career because I was always told that “doing hair” was something that was more of a side hustle than a career, so I didn’t take it serious. It wasn’t until I graduated high school and I was taking my prerequisites for nursing. Someone told me to get my foot in the door at a hospital so that when I finished schooling for nursing, I would already be in the place I wanted to work. With that, I took on a job as a janitor. I was miserable in the hospital setting and I knew at that moment that it was not for me. I knew God would not have me somewhere that I had no true desire in my heart to be. I had desired to be in alignment with God’s will for my life to fulfill His purpose through me and I knew this was not the route. At that moment I reevaluated what I had a true desire for within my heart and it was hair! That same day I ordered a salon chair and I told myself that when it arrived, I was quitting my job at the hospital, dropping out of college, and pursuing a career within the beauty industry no matter what others said or thought. I was laughed at and told “you’re dropping out of college to chase a little side hobby?”, but I knew that this was God’s will for me. The day my salon chair arrived, I quit my job and set my parents’ basement up as a salon; that’s where it all truly began for me in 2013… doing family and friends hair. In 2014 my best friend and I opened up our full-service salon, that drove me to get professionally licensed so that I could start servicing the public and operate within ministry. From there The Hair Ministry 2517 was birthed after I graduated from Paul Mitchell. Our salon was open from 2014-2017, once it closed, I decided to take a break away from behind the chair as I began to lose my passion. After a year off and truly fasting and seeking The Lord and The Holy Spirit for direction, I was led back behind the chair with a renewal of mind and firm instructions from The Lord on HOW to operate within my ministry. I opened my private salon suite in 2018 and created an environment where the peace of God could be felt and where women could come and truly receive a relaxing hair experience and be edified spiritually. A space where women could receive prayer, an ear to vent to, and a space to just be free within. The Hair Ministry 2517 has always been more than just hair for me, but an opportunity to truly minister to those who I have the honor to service and encounter.
In 2021, I started my hair care line to provide my clients with quality salon grade products, and my family and I packed up and moved to Ohio by faith after The Lord told my husband that we were to move here and this is where I continued my ministry behind the chair as a now Hair Loss Practitioner and creator of my trichology-based hair care line, ROOTED scalp + haircare.
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?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. I have dealt with moments of feeling inadequate within my career over the years along with financial struggles and making the wrong choices. I remember when I first walked away from behind the chair as a puffed-up salon owner, I had a steady clientele, so when I returned it was truly a season where The Lord had to humble me. I was working in a small barber/beauty shop and all of my clients that I once had, did not return. I went from servicing 15-20 clients a week to servicing only 1-2 a week. The Lord had to strip me of so much to prune me for where He needed me to be, but I could not go with the former mindset I had.
Looking to my haircare line, there was so much trial and error with developing it. I had to endure 5 months of continual education, experimenting on myself and family as well as various clients and ultimately securing a design that I would love for many years to come. The process took a lot of endurance, patience, and prayer.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
The Hair Ministry 2517 is what I do behind the chair as a Licensed Cosmetologist and Hair Loss Practitioner. I specialize in natural hair care and I’m known for healthy hair growth, educating my clients, and giving them a spa-like experience that includes an environment with piano music playing, microscopic views of their scalp, spa mist hair treatments, scalp massages and so much more. With every client, my goal is to make them feel like they’re more than a vehicle for financial stability but to set an atmosphere where the Holy Spirit may move. Many people are dealing with trials of some sort but when they sit in my chair, I am sure to make them feel seen and heard while assisting them in a way that’ll make them feel beautiful. I am set apart because what I do is about more than money but it is ministry and an opportunity to deliver the best experience possible. I am not just being used to impact their look but to impact their soul.
ROOTED scalp + haircare is a vegan, trichology-based hair care line that focuses on scalp and hair health. It was created to give the entire family a proper balance between protein, hydration, and moisture to help the hair be restored and truly thrive. Hair can make or break some and what I’m most proud of brand wise, is that I’ve put so much effort, research, and schooling into building a brand that would be able to help restore the lost hope that some may have when it comes to their hair and simply those who are looking for safe, vegan pH balanced products that’s great for the whole family.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Growing up I was very outgoing and creative. Some things that I wanted, my parents told me I would have to work for it so I would always find ways to create something and turn it into a profit. From bracelets to lemonade, to candy… literally everything I made a small business out of and enjoyed it! I think that those small moments are what contributed to my heart for entrepreneurship as an adult. I’ve always had a deeper interested in hair though. I would literally take all of my parents’ hair products and sit in the mirror and just try different hairstyles back-to-back, lol.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.rootedshc.com and www.thehairministry2517.com
- Instagram: @_SherelleMarie and @Rootedshc
Image Credits
@Breeleaphotography
