Tonisha is a master of her craft. A ball of energy who brings passion and drive to everything she does, it’s clear that Tonisha could quickly rise to the top of whatever she sets her mind to do. Good thing for the stylist world, she set her mind to hair artistry. 

She started her business, Your Hair Is So Pretty Luxury Salon, to create bold, beautiful transformations that make every client feel confident and empowered.

“My joy comes from giving Black women a space to experience things they've never experienced before with their hair,” Tonisha says. 

This Black History Month, she shares her experiences as a stylist, her secrets to success in any any field you choose, and her simple but impactful approach to beauty.

a pragmatic start to her hair journey

I'm the youngest of four girls and by the time my mom got to me, she did what was easiest and fastest for everybody. So, I was a relaxed girlie growing up because it was just a lot easier to maintain due to me playing so many sports and always being in some type of competition.

I didn’t really have a personal relationship with my hair when I was younger, because I never took the time to learn what it likes and what it doesn't. Back then, a lot of the products that are available now for people with hair like mine didn’t exist. We didn't feel like a lot of products were healthy or safe for us, and we didn’t have a lot of the tools that we have now to make taking care of our hair easier. We just took the route that was being shown to us as the norm, and went for looks that were more acceptable to society with products that weren’t made for us.

from criminal justice to cosmetology

It wasn’t until I went to college and enrolled in a criminal justice program that I started to see diversity when it came to Black hair on campus—that's when it clicked that I wanted to pursue beauty professionally.

It’s crazy because I was going to be on the SWAT team, which is the complete opposite of glamour. I remember I was in my last semester before graduation, and I called my mom to say I didn’t want to do it anymore. She replied, “Well, you have to do something. What is it that you like?” I told her that the only thing that excited me was getting up and doing my hair and makeup for class. She said, “You should go to cosmetology school.” And that was that. I left my program and enrolled in the Aveda Institute.

lack of Black representation, education + inclusivity in beauty school

When I got into school, they started fast-tracking me because they saw how good I was and how quickly I learned. However, they didn't teach anything related to Black hair in the curriculum. 

Everything I learned, I learned on other textures and then had to re-learn it on Black hair. Every time a Black person would come into the school, they would give them to me and send my classmates over to watch. In reality, I didn't know anything about Black hair yet, but I guess they assumed that because I was Black that I would be able to not only handle this person, but also teach everybody else about it. They didn't have products geared toward Black hair, but I did my best.

I also, unfortunately, had a couple of classmates who would call me super derogatory terms and nothing was done about it. I remained focused on what I had to do because I had confidence in my abilities and knew I would be successful if I stayed the course.

the joy of building her own business

My first real opportunity to get to know different textures and put my hands on them was when I went to cosmetology school. It wasn't until after I graduated that I started to understand what hair meant to other people who had attachments to their hair and felt that myself.  I wanted to make a space for Black women to have a luxury salon experience created for them. 

The joy that I get from what I do comes from giving Black women a safe, professional, respectful place to transform and see their hair do things for them that we did not think was carved out for us. We grew up with these harsh ways of making ourselves look presentable because people made so much fun of our hair, made it seem like it was so hard to deal with, and that the haircare available on the market was not going to work for us. One by one, getting my clients to believe in themselves and believe in the salon culture. It’s so fulfilling, so rewarding. 

I feel like I've created that space where I get to show people that less is more, it doesn’t have to be hard, and that ultimately we're all the same. You know, hair is hair, regardless of its texture.

authentic inclusivity and change from within 

One of the most important things we can focus on as a society is not putting the responsibility on Black people to teach others about Black culture. People have to be willing to dive deep within themselves and do their own research. It's a big responsibility for me to not only live as a Black person but to also teach people how it feels to live as a Black person. The biggest thing that people can do is to step outside of themselves and really try to see, hear, and understand people for what they have to go through by just being them. 

In the salon world, stylists need to go out and find information. They need to be willing to find courses that teach about textured hair. As Black stylists, we don't have a choice but to learn other textures. It shouldn’t be optional [for anyone].

When it comes to inclusivity, you have to internally, truly believe in it. You have to live, breathe, eat, and sleep diversity. Once that becomes the norm, it's a no-brainer for you to start acting on it. If you want your space to be an inclusive environment, it can just be that. 

a less-is-more approach to beauty

I feel most beautiful when I feel like myself. When I'm wearing my natural hair with no makeup, because I feel like that's how I'm supposed to show up to the world. I want to show other people that it's okay to show up that way, too.

When I’m wearing makeup, I love high-quality products but I use about five things. I'm so simple with it. I’m the queen of a 20-minute beat. Honestly though, when I put makeup on, I can't wait to wash it off. Less is more at this stage of my life.

That’s why I like K18 so much, it’s simple and it works. I have not gone a day without using K18 on my clients since I discovered it. I always find a way to incorporate K18REPAIR™ into every service and send them home with the leave-in molecular repair hair mask too, so their hair is healthier when they come back next time.

silence as a form of self-care 

I sit in silence a lot, because once you spend eight-plus hours listening to people nonstop, you need a break. I like shutting the world out for a little bit so I can regroup and collect my thoughts. This helps me get back in that mode where I can feel confident enough to go out for the rest of the week and be present for other women. 

Other ways I reset are working out, it makes me feel so strong. I love to dance. I love spending time with my family. I love making people laugh. I love my dogs, I have three. Staying close to those things makes me feel centered.

I’m also a lash girlie. I love getting my lashes done. I go see my lash girl once a week, which is ridiculous, but I think I just go for the naps. I love keeping my nails done, all of that good stuff. Making sure I make time for me outside of making time for everybody else.

advice for stylists just starting their careers

I ask stylists what they want to be known for, and I’d say, don't try and customize that to anyone else but themselves. 

This is an industry where people are very particular about what they want, what they need, what they're looking for. Figure out what you don't love as fast as you can so you can focus on what you do love.