Inspiring Conversations with Sharita Ramsey of RitaKuttingup Ace of Fades & Locs

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sharita Ramsey.

Hi Sharita, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My journey is one of faith, resilience, sacrifice, and perseverance. I often say that sometimes God has to completely dismantle the life you know to prepare you for the life you’re destined to live.

Before becoming a barber, loctician, trichologist, instructor, and entrepreneur, I was a teenage mother who married at 19 and was raising three children. I experienced the loss of both parents at a young age, battled seasonal depression, and navigated many of life’s challenges while trying to figure out who I was outside of being a wife, mother, and caregiver.

For years, I worked as a STNA/ Life Enrichment Specialist dedicating my time to caring for others. Although I loved what I did, I knew there was something more I was called to do.

In September 2019, I made one of the biggest decisions of my life. I quit my job and enrolled full-time at LaBarberia Institute of Hair to pursue my dream of becoming a licensed barber. I was excited, motivated, and finally doing something for ME.

But just five months later, in February 2020, my excitement literally came crashing down a flight of icy stairs.

I remember lying at the bottom of those stairs like a broken Barbie doll, with a dislocated right shoulder and a shattered right ankle. In that moment, I thought my dreams of becoming a barber and loctician had shattered right along with my bones.

I underwent surgery in early March 2020, and shortly afterward, the entire world shut down due to COVID-19. There was no normal recovery process. No physical therapy, no regular follow-up appointments, no school, no work, and very little interaction with the outside world. I was physically injured, emotionally exhausted, and mentally fighting to hold on to the future I had envisioned.

I was forced into survival mode.

During that season, I began my professional journey under a boutique services registration at Kingdom Kutz Barbershop in Maple Heights, Ohio. Unfortunately, the pandemic brought even more uncertainty as the beauty industry was deemed nonessential businesses.

And as if recovering from a major injury during a worldwide pandemic wasn’t enough, my personal life began falling apart. I lost my marriage, my vehicle, and my home.

My three children and I eventually relocated to low-income housing in Canton, Ohio. Yet, despite everything I had endured, I refused to abandon my dream. I commuted approximately two hours daily to Kingdom Kutz Barbershop in Maple Heights, determined to build a clientele and create a better future for my family.

What many people didn’t know was that the woman standing behind the barber chair, smiling, servicing clients, and encouraging others was fighting battles they couldn’t even imagine.

My clients saw the barber. They didn’t see the broken woman who was rebuilding her life one haircut, one loc, and one day at a time.

But God!

Within a year’s time, I began watching God transform my circumstances right before my eyes. What once felt like the end of my story became the foundation of an entirely new beginning.

I graduated from barber college in 2021, but my journey toward licensure was far from over. I attempted my state board examination twice, missing the passing score by just four points the first time and ONE point the second time.

I was devastated. After everything I had survived, failing by one point was enough to make me question whether this dream was truly meant for me.

But I didn’t quit.

I eventually found Levels Barber College in Canton, Ohio, where I completed the required 200 continuing education hours in 2024 to become eligible to sit for my licensing examination again. The exceptional instruction, encouragement, and confidence instilled in me at Levels helped restore something that life had nearly taken away—my belief in myself.

Today, I am proud to be a barber, loctician, trichologist, instructor, and owner of RitaKuttingup Ace of Fades & Locs.

I am also the co-founder of RAR Crowns Academy, where we provide professional education, hands-on training, mentorship, and business development opportunities for aspiring and established professionals in the loc industry.

Additionally, I am a co-owner of The Crown Collection, a complete loc and hair care product line created to support healthy hair and scalp care.

One of my most meaningful accomplishments is founding 3K Crowns Community Care Initiative, a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving underserved members of our community. Through our Crowned With Care project, our mission is to provide free mobile grooming services to seniors and bed-bound residents who may otherwise struggle to access these essential services.

My background in life enrichment and senior care has come full circle. What I once did as a career, I now have the opportunity to incorporate into my purpose as an entrepreneur and community advocate.

Looking back, I realize that every obstacle helped shape the woman I am today. Becoming a teenage mother taught me responsibility. Losing my parents taught me strength. My marriage and its ending taught me lessons about life and rebuilding. My injury taught me patience. The pandemic taught me survival. And entrepreneurship taught me that faith without action will only take you so far.

I didn’t take the traditional route to success. My journey was filled with detours, disappointment, physical pain, financial hardship, and moments when giving up seemed easier than moving forward.

But every setback was preparing me for something greater.

Today, I don’t just cut hair or maintain locs. I restore confidence, educate professionals, create opportunities, and serve my community.

I’m no longer just building a career. I’m building a legacy for my children, my industry, and the generations coming behind me.

And if my story teaches anyone anything, I hope it’s this:

Your current circumstances do not determine your final destination. Sometimes the very thing that almost breaks you becomes the foundation of everything God is preparing you to become.

My story is still being written, and I truly believe the best chapters are yet to come.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Definitely not a smooth road. I’m a divorced single mother of 3, lost my home, car, and job. Broke my ankle before my career could even start. Then the pandemic deemed my career of choice nonessential. Failed my barber theory exam twice and had to pay $2000 out of pocket for 200 CE hours required by the state in order to qualify for the test. I drove 2hrs daily from Canton to Maple Hts. in order to build my brand and clientele.

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?
I like to say that I’m in the business of restoring crowns, building confidence, and changing lives—one person at a time.

I am the owner of RitaKuttingup Ace of Fades & Locs, where I specialize in barbering, natural hair care, loc installation, maintenance, restoration, and scalp health. As a licensed barber, master loctician, trichologist, and instructor, I pride myself on offering more than just a hair service. I provide an experience rooted in education, professionalism, healthy hair practices, and individualized care.

What sets me apart is my ability to combine the artistry of barbering and loc maintenance with the science of hair and scalp health. My background in trichology allows me to take a deeper look at the concerns my clients may be experiencing, including hair thinning, hair loss, scalp disorders, and damaged locs.

I believe that healthy hair begins with a healthy scalp, and understanding the why behind a client’s concerns is just as important as providing a beautiful finished style. I educate my clients on proper maintenance, product selection, scalp care, and when medical evaluation may be necessary.

I’m especially passionate about loc restoration and advanced crochet techniques. Whether someone is beginning their loc journey, experiencing thinning or breakage, or looking to restore locs they thought were beyond repair, my goal is to provide realistic solutions while protecting the integrity of their natural hair.

However, my vision extends far beyond the barber chair.

I am the co-founder of RAR Crowns Academy, a professional training academy dedicated to elevating the standards of the loc industry through hands-on education, mentorship, and business development.

At RAR Crowns Academy, we specialize in advanced education, including our Crown Standard™ Micro Loc Certification, Crochet 101, loc installation, maintenance, restoration, and introductory trichology education. We don’t just teach students how to perform a service. We teach them the importance of sanitation, scalp health, professionalism, client consultations, pricing, financial literacy, and building a sustainable business.

One of my favorite sayings is that we’re not just teaching techniques—we’re teaching skills that can change your tax bracket!

I’m also the co-owner of The Crown Collection, our professional hair and loc care product line. Our collection was developed around the importance of maintaining healthy hair and scalp care routines between professional appointments. We offer products for cleansing, hydration, scalp care, styling, and everyday maintenance.

What makes our brand special is that our products and educational services complement one another. We want our customers to understand not only what products they’re using, but why they’re using them and how to incorporate them into a healthy hair care regimen.

Another part of my work that is extremely close to my heart is my nonprofit organization, 3K Crowns Community Care Initiative.

Before entering the beauty industry, I spent years working with seniors and individuals who required assistance with everyday living. That experience never left me. It actually helped shape the community-centered mission behind my nonprofit.

Through our Crowned With Care Mobile Grooming Project, our goal is to provide free grooming services to seniors and bed-bound residents who face physical, financial, or transportation barriers to receiving routine personal care.

Something as simple as a haircut, shampoo, or grooming service can restore a person’s confidence, dignity, and sense of self. I believe everyone deserves to look and feel their best, regardless of their age, mobility, or financial circumstances.

What I’m most proud of, brand-wise, is that everything I’ve built has a purpose beyond generating revenue.

RitaKuttingup represents artistry, resilience, and personalized care.

RAR Crowns Academy represents education, empowerment, and economic opportunity.

The Crown Collection represents healthy hair care, quality, and confidence.

And 3K Crowns Community Care Initiative represents compassion, dignity, and giving back.

Although these brands serve different purposes, they’re all connected by one common thread: CROWNS.

To me, a crown represents more than hair. It represents identity, confidence, self-worth, and the responsibility we have to uplift one another.

I want Voyage Ohio readers to know that when they support my businesses, they’re supporting a vision much bigger than one individual. My long-term goal is to expand our academy, create opportunities for future professionals, continue developing our product collection, and grow our community outreach efforts to reach more people in need.

I’m proud to be building something that my children can look at and understand that their mother’s struggles were not in vain.

I didn’t go through everything I went through just to become successful. I went through it so I could become significant in the lives of others.

And that’s what I want my brands to be remembered for—not simply the services we provided, but the people we empowered, the confidence we restored, and the lives we positively impacted.

Because at the end of the day, we don’t just maintain crowns. We educate, restore, empower, and uplift the people wearing them.

Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Growing up I always wanted to work in a gratifying and lucrative career and my chooses were nursing field, CDL’s and/or do hair. I already have two out of three accomplished. I was always the favorite growing up, loving, caring, honest, passionate, outgoing, outspoken, personable, goofy, funny, upbeat, joyful, and stern,

Contact Info:

• Website: https://3Kcrowns.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/rita_kuttingup?igshid=NzZlODBkYWE4Ng%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RitaKuttinup?mibextid=LQQJ4d