Conversations with Ayana Johnson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ayana Johnson.  

Hi Ayana, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
So, my story started when I was in elementary going into middle school. I saw girls with their hair done up all nice and I wanted that for myself as well. At the time since I had no one to do my hair and all my mother taught me was to put my hair in a ponytail. I decided I would take it upon myself and teach myself how to do other styles. My nana had some old cosmetology heads and I searched up endless videos on YouTube on how to braid and flat iron my hair. Every day I practiced until I was confident enough to try on my own hair. Looking back at it know I wasn’t the best but I knew that if I kept going, I would get to where I wanted to be. Fast forward to going into high school I started using my best friend and my little sisters as practice heads. Little by little I started noticing my progress and so did others! It got to a point where I would do my own hair so well that I would have strangers and people in school asking me to do theirs! For some reason, I never did, because I was too shy and nervous as to what people would think of my skills at the time. In 2019 I graduated high school and finally worked up the courage to take on real clients. I started out doing hair in my bedroom out of my grandparents’ home. My clientele slowly but surely started to increase to a point where I had regulars! Now in 2022, I have a logo with a hand-drawn butterfly I designed. I decided to incorporate it because for so long I felt like a caterpillar for not using my talent sooner. Now I feel like a butterfly since my business has grown tremendously! I have regular clients more than I can count on both hands, along with an LLC for my brand! 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It most certainly has not been easy; some struggles I faced were a lot of discouragement. At times I thought my business would never be successful since I was doing hair out of my home. At some point, clients would book but never show so I would think I wasn’t good enough and just wanted to quit. Luckily, I had my best friend there to always talk me out of it and feed me inspirational messages! 

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
So, I specialize in braids for men and women, wig installs, and sew-ins. I do offer many other services like locs, ponytails, etc. I believe I’m known for my knotless braids and being open to trying brand new styles I’ve never done before. I’m most proud of how far I’ve come and the dedication I have towards building my business. I feel like what sets me apart from others is my professionalism, understanding, and dedication! 

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
What I like best about my city is that it’s super easy to get my name out there since it isn’t that big and everybody knows everybody. What I like least is that since the city isn’t that big it is a lot harder to find clients who don’t already have a set stylist. 

Contact Info:

• Website: Yana-j-styles.square.site
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yanajstyles/?hl=en
• Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UClkpNfKftdaBhPmTd3jDrkA

Image Credits
Ayana Johnson
Iyana Murray