Margaritas and Updos

Hey, guys! This blog today is a chance for you to get to know me better. My clients often ask me how I became a San Antonio makeup artist and hair artist. I thought I would take some time today and share my story.

I am originally a Louisiana girl. I grew up just outside of Baton Rouge.  Many people envision folks from Louisiana as crawfish guzzlers and alligator wrestlers. This isn’t exactly true! We do eat a lot of Cajun food but we tend to stay away from the gators!

My original plan in my younger years was to become a dance professor and own my own dance studio.

I attended Southeastern Louisiana University where I earned my B.A. in Business Management, a B.A. in Marketing, and a minor in Dance. I was an overachiever to say the least! I pursued business degrees as a back up in case I was too short to become a New York Rockette. (LOL)

Upon graduation, I then moved to Denton, Texas, right outside of Dallas, to attend Texas Woman’s University planning to earn my M.A. in Dance. These plans were derailed when, with only one year remaining of school, I became pregnant with my first daughter in 2004. I quickly discovered that dancing does not buy diapers!

After giving birth to our first daughter, my dreams changed. My new dream was to be a stay at home mom but we were not in a financial position at the time for me to do so. We then moved to San Antonio to be near my husband’s family.  I got a job as a Mortgage Processor at USAA and quickly became a supervisor. I was thankful for my business degrees!  I worked there for four and a half years while my husband and I worked diligently towards my dream of being a stay at home mom. My dream was realized when our second daughter was born in 2009.

I enjoyed being a stay at home mom but always knew that I would return to the work force once both of my daughters were in school full time. Just cleaning toilets and cooking dinner was not the life that I wanted. I had no idea what I wanted to do, though.

At the time, my girls were going to school with hairdos that make me cringe today! I couldn’t even execute a neat ponytail! I decided to do something about it. I started studying and copying Pinterest and YouTube hairstyles for little girls. I quickly became obsessed with learning new hairdos! I loved it! Once I learned the basics of braiding and other easy hairstyles, I then progressed to more detailed and intricate hairstyles. I discovered that I had a passion for updos! I had no idea this talent lived inside of me! Who knew! My new favorite thing to do on Sundays was to drink margaritas and practice new updos on any head that I could get to sit still for me. At the time, our neighborhood street was filled with little girls with long hair so I was never lacking for volunteers!

I played around with this, just having fun, for about a year. Then one day my husband posed the question if I thought I could turn my talent into a business. This question lit a fire in me and I was on a mission to build my business which I named Braid N’Hairpins. I thought this was a cute, catchy name and I went with it head on!

Once I got my feet wet, with a few clients under my belt, I discovered that many clients wanted their makeup to be done along with their hair. I determined there was a clear market for both of these services. I didn’t feel confident enough to teach myself makeup as I did with hair. I decided that I  wanted formal training for this.

I then attended Vizio Makeup Academy where I was taught many different makeup techniques and was challenged creatively with many different makeup looks. Vizio Makeup Academy gave me a firm foundation of makeup knowledge and education. I graduated after six months of training.

Upon graduation, I added makeup to my hair services offered. Braid N’Hairpins then became Braid N’Hairpins Makeup and Hair. The rest is history, ya’ll! After winning many awards and doing well into the hundreds of brides over the past 5 years, I am still amazed at the twists and turns of life. You just never know where life will bring you or how your dreams will change.

By the grace of God, support from family and friends, and my lovely clients, I am here today!