Raven Symone's New Hair Look...Yarn Braids

I can not stress enough of the importance of "who you know vs. what you know". I received a text message stating "Raven Simone wants some braids. Would you be interested in doing them at her house this weekend"? I couldn't believe what I was reading...not to mention the individual sending the text message was someone that I'd met only twice. But with meeting this person I was sure that they had all of my information including my resume and an idea of what I wanted to do with my career. (let people know what you want)!!!

As I happily accepted the job/challenge; considering I do not offer braiding services (although I am well eqipped in braiding). Since I knew this was a service that I needed to perfect I quickly ran to the store (goodwill to be exact because the day before I received the text I saw a box of yarn and debated getting it for another home project) purchased the yarn and began to practice on my mannequin(never be too good to practice). I received the message on a Tuesday and was styling Ravens hair that Friday (so three days to prefect my yarn braids). This is why I am always telling people that preparation is key...had I not prepared and practiced, I may not have done a great job on her hair (which I did) :).

So here comes Friday...The Day!!! The day that I was scheduled to style my first celebrity at their house. So I went on with my day as scheduled. Worked in the salon 10a-7p and then headed to Ravens place. I must admit I was somewhat nervous...thinking to myself "how is she going to be" Will she like me" Will she like the yearn braids"?!? All these questions boggled my mind as a rode the train to her house.

So here I am at Ravens house (trying to act all cool and like I wasn't extremely excited)...although I was with butterflies in my stomach. And there she is super cute and welcoming. She started to show me the yarn of her choice and described how she wanted the yarn installed. Inside I cringed because one I was still nervous and two I was trying to take in all the instructions that she was giving me (which weren't a lot lol).

Knowing that it was already 7:30 and that this style would take hours, I got right to work! I confirmed with her the size and style she wanted and went to work. After several hours we were done with half od her head. She now had multi- colored and small in size yarn braids down to her waist. It was truly a piece of art coming together with the multiple colors and styles of yarn. Time flew by so quickly...so quickly that 2am had creped up on us. A tired Raven then decided to call it a quits (whosh was I glad). Not to mention I had to be back at the salon the next morning at 10am!!!!

Day Two

After attending a hair event "Beauty Business Brunch" on that Sunday (two days later) I again headed towards Ravens house. The hair braiding began at 4:30 this time and because I wanted to make sure Ravens hair was immaculate I was there again until 2a...yikes...talk about putting in some hours! The first day we had ran out of the yarn we were using so Raven picked up more. Which was awesome as the new yarn complemented what we had been using.

To wrap things up, it was a pleasure to style Ravens Symone's hair. I was challenged to step outside my comfort zone of hair extensions and was able to explore my creative side. The most exciting part of all was that Raven show cased her new look on the popular day time show "The View" I couldn't be any happier to see my work featured on live television!!!

I'm forever thankful to my hair stylist friend for referring me for this amazing opportunity. Be sure to surround yourse with individuals who can assist you in pursuing your passion. Stay tuned...a new level as just began...