For as far back as I can remember as a young girl; watching with curiosity, observing the way my grandmother pressed and curled hair. At age 12, the desire to learn began. Not knowing it was a natural, God-given gift, soon after attending high school at Percy L. Julian, I discovered that they had an elective program for cosmetology. I will never forget how thrilled I was to sign up for the program and receive my new kit.

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My former teachers, Ms. Gamm and Ms. LaVore, were the sweetest and funniest instructors I've ever known and it was my major from my sophomore year in 1980 until 1982. But because I lacked the discipline to wake up early, having history as my first class, my attendance affected my eligibility and resulted in me not graduating on time. My pride got in the way of me attending summer school, which caused me to work harder to then receive my GED. Feeling discouraged about not being able to obtain my license sooner, I took a job at McDonald's.

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Then life began.

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As a single mother at the age of twenty-two, now feeling the pressure of giving my girls a better future, I changed careers and found myself in nursing because my father was in the medical field. I took the job for the better income and was always searching for ways to help people in order to provide for my children. I found Christ early on and He became the foundation of my faith. With His help, I have become one step closer to my destiny. Through prayer and my trust in God's word, I have learned to seek wisdom and counsel. Through words of wisdom from previous pastors and mentors along with encouraging words from family and friends, my path was redirected. I resigned from nursing to fulfill my call in the beauty industry in which I received my cosmetology license in the early nineties.

 

I competed in various hair shows such as Bronner Brothers, Midwest Beauty (makeup show), and the SuperCuts Millenium Man show in 1999. The experience taught me how to bring out the inner beauty in one's self. I discovered, through my own personal journey, that there were other men and women like myself who had struggled with different insecurities and the desire to be expressive in their artistic form. I found myself encouraging them to be who God had created them to be because God made you who you are for a reason. I could relate because in my early thirties, I began noticing I was thinning in the crown of my head. Over time, circular patches began appearing behind my ears and the back of my head in the nape area. Then, my texture started to change. I started to realize, "Oh my god! I have what my mother has!" which was alopecia areata (an immune scalp skin disease resulting in the loss of hair by attacking hair follicles). Living with alopecia for over 15 years has taught me to love myself and accept what I could not change.

 

Now, I can empathize with those who share the same challenges. In doing that, I discovered my purpose. I would help people with those same struggles to find their inner beauty and self-confidence by educating and teaching them the tools and techniques on how to execute the look they were trying to create. Meanwhile, I was tired of working with unprofessional management and insecure coworkers who loved to bring animosity to the atmosphere of the business, I realized that companies were benefiting financially from my gifts. I maintained a level of professionalism and a commitment to the field and  my clients. The lack of appreciation once again gave me courage to branch out to my own business. One day in particular that I will never forget when I was told by a owner-operator of a well-known chain salon who hired me "because of my high standards of professionalism and leadership skills", that I was too professional for his organization, I later realized I wanted to make an impact on others. Very shortly after, Rinuu Image was born. I see now that this is what God had been planning all along. He was making all things new for me.