Today we’d like to introduce you to Shawna Williams.
Hi Shawna, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Wow, where do I start? To say this has been a journey is definitely an understatement. My curiosity for hair started when I was 5 years old. I would spend hours with my mom at the hair shop. My aunt would braid hair for our family. I just had to learn how to do it too. I begged my mother for a “Kenya” baby doll because she had tons of hair unlike my Barbie dolls. I would practice for hours. This birthed my talent for styling. I did my own hair for school to create my own style and identity then all the kids in the neighborhood would line up to get their hair done from me as well. My mom was so proud, she created my first business cards at Kinko’s. I loved it enough that I would do it for free, then I was told that it was ok to make money off the work you do. So then I would charge a flat rate fee or barter my favorite snacks from my friends. I never thought I would become a professional hairstylist. Honestly, I never cared to be. I just loved making ppl feel good about themselves. I grew up in Baltimore. At that time, people really cared about what they looked like. Especially if they didn’t have much, they wanted to still look the part of their peers. That being said, I would overhear kids getting bullied for not having their hair done or the dopest shoes. I couldn’t do much about the shoes and clothes, but I could help with the hair. I went to college after high school as a newly young single mom at 18. My major at the time was psychology. I wanted to become a family and marriage therapist. Little did I know I never gave up on that goal, I just became a therapist for everyone who sits in my chair. My childhood friend, whom I spent years styling her curly hair, suggested I go to hair school to be able to find a job since we were just broke college kids trying to make it. I finally gave it a try and I’m so glad I did. Everything changed the moment I step into the school. It was vibrant, music was loud, people were laughing and having fun. I couldn’t understand the feeling but I felt at home. I fell in love with everything beauty related. From the history, science, and art I was locked in from the first day of school. Cutting hair became my next obsession. Like braiding and styling, it was something that came natural to me. I love that I could have control of something even when things were very much out of control, it grounds me. I found myself educating other students and my clients with things I knew and learned. I knew I wanted to have my own business one day. I wanted to offer people the ability to not only feel good but have healthy hair. Before I graduated, I became a mentor at my local salon where I assisted. I lost my job during my time in hair school. Midway through the program. I was devastated. I wanted to quit. I couldn’t imagine not being able to provide for my son and little sister when I knew about homelessness all too well. I had been homeless several times in my childhood. I was the new kid so often at one point that I wouldn’t even want to make friends because I knew I wouldn’t be there long. I already was such a shy person and with doing hair I was forced to open my shell. From there, I went through some extremely tough times. I was trying to catch up after the money I had saved that kept us afloat was running out. I used my last $150 for my cosmetology test. I had to pass because it was all the money I had left. I would study by reading my cosmo book and notecards to my son as a bedtime story so I can get him to sleep and extra time to study more. Needless to say, I passed first time with flying colors. So I was able to find a job at a BlowDry Bar where I learned from a talented New York Fashion Week stylist. The bootcamp taught me to build a foundation and to maximize my time without compromising the quality of the work. Later I used this training to build my own BlowDry bootcamp and taught new stylist hires. I worked for another salon and trained as a cutting specialist and learned more about hair color. Yes, I then found a new skill to fall deep for. The entire year and a half of working there, my little family and I were homeless. Living with friends that could spare us a room or sometimes only a couch, to living in an extended stay hotel. No one knew at work. I showed up every single day early, dressed my best and produced beautiful hair day after day. Then the owner of the BlowDry Bar told us she was closing down permanently. Again, in a panic because we were already struggling to find a place, I had to figure out a plan. The plan came to me, I had learned about a position with jetBlue Airways as a flight attendant. I was excited for the opportunity although it wasn’t anything I imagined, I took it. I traveled and did hair for other flight attendants and pilots I met on flights. I started to believe this was my dream job. It helped us get a townhome, gave my family experience and memories I couldn’t have dreamed we would have after witnessing so many lows. I learned to have confidence in public speaking. I would be talking to 150-200 strangers every shift. My son started to miss me being home, so I immediately looked for another job. It took a lot for me to decide to leave. I got a job as an Educator for my cosmo school, Paul Mitchell. I taught there for over 5-years and got back behind the chair. It really became the building blocks to my success. I was teaching others while also being educated and trained. During the pandemic, the school just wasn’t the same. I became the Education Leader and I just felt I was lost. I wasn’t growing anymore. I worked for a spa that was opening and learned everything that came with running and starting a business. I was training and hiring staff, developing inventory system, learned the CRM, etc. I found myself at the salon again while working at the spa and I started to teach classes again. The fire in me was slowly coming back. I reminded why I started. The stylist were so excited to learn and the clientele I started building loved that I would teach them about their hair. Crazy enough, I had an idea about starting my business. I was just in fear. Not in the ways you would think like “what if this doesn’t work out?” But actually, “what if this will workout”?” I had to actually bet on me, and trust the community of people that support me, I had to apply myself and get out the rut I was in. I had to have faith that when I bought it to God about my finances, it would actually work out. I started my business headsUP Studio at the end of 2024. My sister helped me pick out the name which actually comes from our mother’s words of encouragement. “No matter what, you must keep your head up, it will help you stay confident in the moments you aren’t, it will attract the energy you need, and it will give you strength. I believe my love for beauty and knowledge has a lot to do with confidence. The more that you know, the more you’ll grow so it’s a beauty simple phrase that explains everything about me and what I do. I love my business and working for myself. I get to meet dope people, have amazing conversation, use clean incredible products, create beautiful hair, and keep other’s heads up. All the things that I have been through, the fighting through adversities and closed doors lead me to this amazing opportunity to be the boss babe I have always wanted to be.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Absolutely, Not! haha I am the middle child that subs as the oldest daughter. I became the guardian of my siblings at a time I needed my mom the most. Mental illness and mental health was one of the most taboo things that just gets swept under the rug, however, I wasn’t fortunate enough to run away from it, I had to face it head on. I had to learn to navigate being a single parent and be there for my family. Sometimes I was striving so hard for success in all that I did because I needed everything to work. I had no one to depend on, we had no family here in Florida and we didn’t have any support. Often times being the one responsible makes making decisions extremely difficult because everything you do effects someone other than yourself. I had to learn to become extremely transparent and to rely on vulnerability with my family when the hardships came just as I did with the joys. We had all experienced some tough times, homelessness and not having all of our essential needs at different points during our childhood so I didn’t want to be another person that let them down. I thought I failed that goal as we became homeless in my early 20s in 2014. Yet that was the last and final time. I had to work hard for my son to have such a different life than I lived. It has all made me the strongest version of myself. I had to learn to trust my tribe. We put all of our strengths together and relied on one another. I am most definitely not self-made. I have my family to thank for all the support that has placed me in the space I am today.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a hairstylist specializing in lived-in and vivid color, cutting, and curly hair. I’m known for customized precision haircuts, and creating voluminous, long-lasting styles with my blowouts as well as my passion for education. Teaching is where I truly shine–my classes leave people feeling confident, seen and valued. Hearing someone say, ‘I never felt this beautiful,’ No one has ever made this so simple for me before,’ or ‘I had so much fun learning from you,’ is what I’m most proud of. What sets me apart is my ability to create a space where people feel acknowledged and cared for. In a world where so many feel ignored or misunderstood, I’m here to provide knowledge, guidance, and support. I genuinely care about helping others build confidence in themselves–whether it’s through their hair or their education.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
Something that is surprising that most people wouldn’t know about me is that I am a poet. I love creating poems and writing stories. I have a very imaginative mind and I can write for hours. How I prepare for my writing is the same way I prepare for a class or if I am doing a detailed haircut. I need to be alone with calming music to allow me to full relax my body. I do some breathing exercises to clear my mind so I can see what I want to create. I usually listen to artist like Alina Baraz. I begin by getting everything out of my mind and then I go back and refine the wording, the style and/or the rhythm much like I do when building a class and cutting a bob or pixie.
Pricing:
- First-Time Client enjoy 20% off their first service as a welcome to the salon
- Services are customized to meet each client’s unique needs– haircuts start at $75 and color services start at $120
Contact Info:
- Website: headsup.glossgenius.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headsupstudio/#
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/shawnadotcom/
Image Credits
JAR Photography Yvonnella Photography Herskitchen_ Shawnadotcom
