Today we’d like to introduce you to Jasmine McGraw.
Hi Jasmine, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Growing up, I was taught that God gives everyone their own gifts and talents. However, it became very clear to me early on that hairstyling was not a gift or talent that anyone in my family possessed. This was very much so affirmed by the lineage of women in my family
rocking the “Jackson 5” Afro, or seeing childhood photos of my mom and grandma wearing lopsided pig tale ponytails. Although God did not bestow the gift of hairstyling to literally anyone who came before me, little did I know what would later be birthed within me.
Unlike my cousins, who were fortunate enough to have standing weekly salon appointments, my young mother (who had identical twins at the age of 22) could not afford the luxury of paying for routine salon visits for herself as well as my twin sister & I. So what did she do? She figured it out the best way she could like any amazing mother does. Often the magic of motherhood is creating magic even in situations of lack. My mom
taught herself to do some trendy braid styles that were popular during the early 90s & 2000s, which was the prime of my childhood. Thanks to her, my sister and I were able to have decent styles even though we still did not escape wearing an afro or two, like all of the women before us. Imagine two 5th grade twins running around the streets of Nashville with tiny weeny Afros in 2001, before the “natural hair movement” took the black community by storm.
We were able to survive our early preteens by wearing lots of braid styles. When I say survive, I mean it literally. These were not the professionally done, neatly parted cornrows that were rocked by Alicia Keys, that we wore. These were what I would call ‘braids on a budget’. My mom was a warrior for trying to give us some type of aesthetic while saving a dollar. However, the kids at school were ruthless. They made jokes and fun about my sister’s and my hair. Getting your hair done should leave you feeling confident, yet we would be fearful of what butt of the joke we would be the next day school.
Eventually, my mom was able to connect with a young family friend named Chanda , who worked at a popular quick haircut salon. She arranged for her to come to our house and style our hair. This was such a pivotal moment in my life. Chanda was cool, hip and knew how to do all the styles we wanted to wear. We went from being bullied about our hair, to receiving compliments and the kids at school anticipating our next hairstyle. As fun and as memorable as this era was in my life, it seemed like it would last forever, and turned out to be only a short-lived couple of months. Chanda typically came bi-weekly like clock work to style our hair. But when she missed a week, my sister & I naturally assumed we had gotten our weeks mixed up and she would be coming the next week. The next week came, yet still no Chanda. After a month of wearing the same hairstyle, our mom called us into the kitchen one night and started to empty a big bag full of hair supplies including a curling iron. The items were newly purchased from the local dollar store,
We quickly realized, our appointments with Chandra would be no more and instead our mom was investing in an at home salon.
I love my mother for her resilience despite the circumstances she faced. As I watched her style my sisters hair, we both noticed that the style was just not measuring up to previous hair styles that we had grown accustomed to receiving. While the style was cute, I was sure it would not be a compliment magnet at school like our other styles. In efforts to avoid going back to our days of being bullied about our hair, I knew I had to speak up. When I sat down to get my hair done. I began to tell my mom “Chanda did it this way” or “I need mine curled like this or that”. It was at that moment that I learned two valuable lessons: 1) Moms are tired individuals and get overstimulated too, and 2) always be ready to help form a solution if you’re going to throw out demands.
Before I realized it, my mom threw the hot curling iron up in the air and screamed “ YALL JUST DO IT YOURSELVES”. To which I followed with “ yes ma’am, I will”. Those simple four words would literally change my life. That night I made the adjustments to my sister’s hair and then did my own hair. This was a Spring night in Nashville, TN circa 2002. I haven’t looked back since that day. For the past 23 years, I have not only done my hair, but have inspired my twin sister to do the same.
I was blessed to get my practice in early at the age of 13. I started braiding hair for my little sister and her friends, many of whom, are still my clients today. By the age of 15, I started to do hair for paying customers. I couldn’t believe that people would actually pay me to do their hair. I thought I was just having fun, but was actually being blessed by God to never have to work a traditional job. I styled hair on the side throughout high school, then moved to Memphis to attend The University of Memphis, where my gifts sustained me through college as well. Things started getting serious when I realized actual university employees would clock out of work and head to my townhouse, centrally located by campus to get their hair done. The traffic from servicing my clientele during college was so bustling it even led to me being issued a citation for running a “hair salon in a non permitted residential area”. Yeah, I became a pretty big deal. I was known all over campus and eventually throughout the city of Memphis for being the “sew in girl”. By my senior year of college, I quit my internship in a fashion boutique that paid very little but was useful for my Fashion Merchandising major. I’ll never forget the owner of the boutique told me I had no personality, in her words as evidenced by my Twitter following, and that I was scared to approach customers, This criticism was yet another pivotal moment in my life. I decided that as soon as I graduated from college, I would focus on hair full time.
It was ironic to me that the very things I was bullied about, my hair, and my lack of personality, are actually my callings in life. I am now a celebrity hair stylist and social media influencer. I have partnered with major brands like Design Essentials and have been featured on platforms like Netflix. I’ve been paid to speak on platforms and asked to volunteer my time to go back and speak to my college and hair school Alma maters to show the students how they too can chase their dreams.
I’m just a wife, a mom, and a girl who just recently found a love for avocados that wants to inspire anyone to chase their dreams and control their own narratives.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
After sharing my story, in the last question, I definitely skipped over the struggles. My story is not a story that came easily. I didn’t start doing my hair and it magically turned out perfect. Instead of the kids at school having strong opinions, it was my extended family members who had ideas of how my hair should look. I vividly remember overhearing some distant family members asking what was wrong with my hair. They ended up making a hair appointment for me to get my hair done. As a preteen, I thought it was a nice gesture, it wasn’t until I got older that I connected the conversation I overheard with the hair appointment that was made for me without me asking, to be a backhanded gift. I used lessons like that to motivate to learn how to do a better job at styling my own hair. Throughout ages 12-15, I practiced, practiced, and practiced more until I was then being asked by those very same family members who talked about me, to style their hair as well.
Any entrepreneur will tell you that finances can be a struggle. But for me, it is my faith that is always the biggest thing for me to grapple with. My faith in God would waver in my earlier years of business. I had to learn that God gave me this gift and could give me much more if I simply trusted him. I learned in college that paying my tithes would serve me so well, by giving God back 10% of what he blessed me with, no matter what. I remember a time during my sophomore year where I was starting to gain some clients but my core clientele was mainly based in Nashville. Since I was in Memphis, I would have droughts, sometimes spanning weeks, of no bookings. One particular time this drought occurred, I recall having no money. None. Thankfully I was blessed to have a meal plan on campus and could use the plan to buy a single breakfast and dinner meal, under the allotted amount. My favorite meal was the large chicken tender dinner , which was $2.63 over my meal plan. I loved this meal because it was big enough to hold me over to the next day before being hungry again. Remember, I told you I had no money so ensuring I was full and sustained until the next day was important. The $2.63 may seem nominal but to me with $0.00 to my name, it was substantial. Despite my circumstances,
every single day for almost a month, I would randomly find $2.63. I don’t know where the money came from, I just know God provided. Little did I know, those times were preparing me for the ups and downs of entrepreneurship. It’s about stewardship and doing the best with your finances that you can.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’ve been a licensed Cosmetologist for 9 years, however my experience span’s 14 years, as I spent my younger years honing my craft, prior to getting my cosmetology license.
I specialize in providing luxury hair extension installations with the most common styles being sew-ins and wigs. I am blessed to have a loyal clientele yet I am always open to taking on new clients. With my extensive clientele, I’m always busy and in this industry to be busy, is to be sustained.
I am also very notable as a Bride hairstylist in Memphis, specializing in captivating bridal hairstyles.
I’m most proud of my flexibility in the hair industry. We now live in a “tutorial video” era where people are all learning to do the same styles, the same way. It’s very cookie cutter right now. However keeping my strong foundation yet keeping up with the changing times, keeps me as a forerunner in the industry.
While being an instructor at my alma mater, Paul Mitchell The School Memphis, I was able to see the new generation of hairstylists, and how they were so inspired to be the next version of their favorite hair influencer instead of just being themselves. I encourage all new stylists to develop signature techniques, small touches despite receiving inspiration from other popular stylists. Being versatile is a bonus in this industry and I pride myself on being able to work with clients from all backgrounds. I work closely with women who experience hair loss due to cancer, alopecia, and lupus. Making them feel a sense of normalcy about their self image after experiencing hair loss, makes me feel like I know my purpose in life is to restore women’s confidence.
In an ever evolving & growing industry, outside of my skill, what also sets me apart is my personality. My social media presence will give you a true look into who I am beyond the chair. I shout my family out, post cooking videos, and take my followers along for adventures all from one account. Although I rarely post styles I’ve recently created in the salon anymore, I still am able to gain new clientele through my engaging social media presence.
What makes you happy?
I make myself happy. Whether it’s taking myself on a walk, reading a book, or recording voice memos; I love alone time. I have been married for 11 years and am a mother to two daughters, ages 11 and 7.They bring me so much happiness. I love being there for my family, yet I have discovered joy that can only be sourced by pouring into myself.
I love avocados, coffee, getting my nails done and the color sage and mint green. Thrift shopping is a favorite of mine along with watching Food Network tv shows and rom-com movies.
Contact Info:
- Website: Weaviewonder.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/weaviewonder
- Youtube: @weaviewonder
- Other: @jassie.latrice on TikTok
