Slayed: Cedar students launch hair-related businesses

As students flood the halls of Cedar Shoals High School tropical scents of conditioners, gels and hair jams follow the crowd. These products go into the creation of heart-designed cornrows, knotless braids with wooden beads and locs with blond highlights, which are just a few examples of the wide variety of hairstyles sported by students. 

How one’s hair is styled can play a large role in their confidence and self-identity. For senior Jordan Smith, the importance of her hair appearance goes deeper than the follicles growing from her scalp.

“I love my hair simply because of its versatility. When I change hairstyles it feels like a new me,” Smith said.

Because Afro-textured hair takes more effort to maintain and is prone to breakage in its natural state, protective styling is a more popular choice. 

“I feel more confident in a protective style like braids not just because it looks cute but because I know my natural hair is being kept safe and growing,” Smith said. “It also takes a way shorter time to get ready in the morning so that’s a big plus.”

Hairstyles like braids, wigs and twists are known for preserving hair health by tucking away natural hair from damaging factors like extreme temperatures and over-manipulation. 

This reality was one of the driving factors behind junior Xavier (Zae) Wymb’s hair vendor business “Hair Lae.” He sells closures, bundles, wigs and frontals.

“My support system is full of girls and women, so I thought why not create a business to cater to them and their hair?” Wymbs said.

Wymbs found inspiration for his business in a marketing class he took in the spring of 2020 when he was assigned the task of designing a business. 

“That’s when I came up with the idea for ‘Hair Lae.’ When I presented my idea to my classmates I received a lot of great feedback from the African American girls and my teacher Ms. (Michelle) Paterick,” Wymbs said.

On July 22 Wymbs turned his classroom assignment into a profitable endeavor and launched his business. 

“I’m not even a month in and I’ve gotten over 10 sales and have over 150 girls signed up to be LaeBaes, which is what I call the customers on the mailing list,” Wymbs said. 

He credits the attention HairLae has received to his large social media presence, having business accounts on Instagram, Pinterest, Tiktok and Twitter. 

“I’m everywhere because I want to get my business out there any way that I can,” Wymbs said. 

In addition to showcasing the hair he offers and customer reviews, Wymbs utilizes trending jokes and themes with the posts he creates.

“I make sure that all of my posts generate customer engagement. One example was a post I made that had a reference to the movie ‘Mean Girls.’ The post stated ‘On Fridays we wear frontals,’” Wymbs said. 

Sophomore Skylar Brightwell was one of the first few HairLae customers. What caught her attention when purchasing was the price of the hair.

“I purchased a frontal wave wig from Zae and the hair was soft, there was no shedding and it was so thick,” Brightwell said, “I really expected it to cost way more because with this type of hair anywhere else it definitely would.”  

HairLae prices range from $150 to $510. Products can be purchased through Hairlae.com. 

“I put myself in other people’s shoes when I was making my price list. I asked myself how much would I want my mother or sister to pay? And the result was prices that were affordable. Not cheap, but affordable for great quality hair,” Wymbs said.

For senior Ramyia Adams, braiding hair was a skill that came naturally.

“I started doing my own hair around sixth grade then in ninth grade I started doing the hair of my family members and friends that asked me,” Adams said. 

It wasn’t until Adams felt she displayed the necessary expertise that she decided to create an actual business.

“After a while when I saw that I was getting better I thought ‘okay, I can actually make some money from this,’” Adams said.

Her prices range from $90 to $130 and she offers hairstyles with or without hair extensions.

“I can do twists, locs, braids, and I do re-twists as well. It’s really fun for me to try new styles,” Adams said. 

Cedar Shoals graduate Deshauna Foote Is one of Adams’ customers.

“She did some faux locs on me and I loved the finished result,” Foote said.

“Ramyia is just an encouraging and sweet person overall, she kept me laughing throughout the whole process.” 

As a home-based stylist, Adams finds time for her clients in her busy schedule.

“Over the summer I was averaging five clients a week, but now with volleyball and school it’s more like one or two or whenever I can make time,” Adams says.

Clients book Adam’s services through her Instagram account, @creationsbyram, where she also showcases her work. 

As she makes plans for college, Adams also plans for the future of her business.

“I plan on owning my own salon in the future, I’m going to college for a business degree and then I’m going to take cosmetology classes,” Adams said.