Today we’d like to introduce you to Adrianna Thomas.
Adrianna, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I taught myself how to braid my own hair when I was 12 years old. My mom was paying a braider $65 every two weeks to braid my hair and she got tired of my hair frizzing up after a week. So told me that I should learn how to do it myself. I spent hours in my room looking at pictures of braiding styles in those old school black hair magazines and tried my best to duplicate it. I then started doing micro braids in the hood, so much, that I had lines of girls in my dad’s house waiting to get their hair done. It’s funny when I think about it now, a young teenager with grown woman clientele. Eventually, I taught myself how to do sewins by practicing in my room. I’ve had some issues at first because my weave ponytail that I put in my head, fell out in class and I was so embarrassed LOL but my friend grabbed it and clipped it back in my head with a paper clip.
However, over time I got better with practice. In 2008, my 12th grade year in high school. My AP psychology teacher gave us an assignment to do research on the “colorism war” that was a popular topic that year. I can’t remember the exact assignment requirements, but he told us to do research on social issues in the black community. So in my search I ran into the website YouTube. At the time, YouTube wasn’t a popular platform so I used it to watch videos related to racism and other issues such as colorism in the black community. I seen a video of a rapper degrading black women and something in my spirit lead me to create an account. I wasn’t sure how to use YouTube, that’s why my influencer name is “thomasadrianna” because when I made the account, I thought I had to use my real name. I made a video on the floor at my mom’s house expressing how much I loved being a black girl as well as voicing my dislike for the rappers views on black women. To my surprise, the video ended up getting a lot of views. People were more fascinated at how young and fearless I was to speak on the topic.
Shortly after, I ran into a lady by the name of Ateya. She was doing product reviews on hair care and I decided to post a video of my hair. One thing leads to another, I gained millions of views and followers. As social media evolved, the more people were discovering me. It wasn’t; a lot of black girls on YouTube at the time. Next thing you know people all over the world were watching my videos. Today I have over 445,000 subscribers, over 44 million views on YouTube and counting. I had no idea that my video about colorism would turn into this brand of influencing people all over the world with my love for people of color and beauty.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Being exposed to social media has been a blessing however, challenges come with the territory. Although I’m known on social media, I’ve always been a very private person. Privacy and being a Public figure don’t always work well together. People feel entitled to information about your life because you’re exposed to social media. For my safety, I just keep my personal life “personal” and only post what I want people to see and know. I try my best to be transparent with my followers because I look at them as my distant cousins, lol but you have to always be mindful to not overshare. It is also difficult to remain consistent on social media. It takes a lot of commitment, time and energy to maintain a YouTube channel and a social media presence when you work in real life and have other obligations. I’ve taken breaks because I couldn’t handle working my 9-5 work, running my hair business, traveling and social media at the same time. I’ve felt guilty for my breaks because I feel like my online family deserves content but sometimes you just can’t do everything. So, I had to really work on being okay with not being able to serve everyone. As a black woman, it can be challenging being exposed because of society standards. I’ve always been myself and sometimes not conforming to what others expect of you, can backfire because you then become “the out cast”. I’ve always been okay with being “regular” and sometimes others can’t accept that. So staying true to myself is a worth the disapprove I may get from viewers. I’m unapologetically, myself.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Thomasadrianna – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
My business is called “thomasAdrianna beauty LLC”. I am a licensed braider/hair wrapper who specializes in weave extensions. With over 15 years of experience with extensions and braiding. I’ve also been a brand ambassador to hundred of small businesses. Some of those small businesses are now million dollar companies. I’m proud to recognized by big brands such a being selected as one of Essence Magazines Digital Diva in 2010 as well as working with brands such as Black Radiance. Besides being known for “that girl from YouTube”, I’m known for the girl who does hair. My followers and clients even created the name “Adri Bob” for my signature bob hairstyle. I’ve taught millions of people my self taught techniques via YouTube which is very proud of.
I am most proud of my clientele who has been supporting me for years. I’ve had clients from as early as 2011 who still come and sit in my chair. I ventured into bridal styling in 2014. I must say that I’m super proud of how much I have evolved with my skill. I start out as a young self-taught stylist to now a licensed hairstyle who is known for specializing in bridal. That acknowledgment is a huge accomplishment for me. At the time, Bridal was NOT in my description and within a short period of time, I was doing 2-4 weddings a WEEK! I am also proud of all the thousands of people who tell me how much I’ve inspired them to start their businesses in the beauty industry. I’ve gotten emails from students in cosmetology school saying how they watched my videos in class to help improve their skills. It’s a huge honor to have such a huge impact on complete strangers. I believe what sets me apart is that I stay in my lane and stay true yo myself.
Even with the large influence I have online, I always show love to other women, especially black women. I’ never look at other women as competition, and I think that freaks people out who meet me because of my large social media presence. I truly enjoy seeing women around me WIN. I take pride in hosting events such as “The Dreams do Come True Empowerment Brunch” giving women hope and inspiration to keep going! As far as my hair business, it sets me apart because there’s not a lot of well known black women who specialize in bridal. I’ve been bless with work on women from different ethic backgrounds which gives me an edge as a black hairstylist.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I want to continue improving my knowledge in the bridal industry. I absolutely love being behind the chair, however I know the day will come when I’ll want to physically stop doing hair. I would like to create my own bridal business, somewhat of a one stop shop to provide women full access to everything they need for their big day. People always ask me “when are you going to get your own shop?” and I always tell them that a salon isn’t a goal for me right now. I know that sounds crazy, but I’m an artist at heart, I enjoy creating, interacting with my clients and having the flexibility to host events, be a social media influencer and traveling hairstylist. A shop is something I see years down the line when I’m ready to stop traveling, I’m content with my private studio.
Since my comeback to YouTube, my goal is to continue to focus on helping upcoming black businesses get exposure. With my voice, I’m confident that I can help these amazing smaller brand get more exposure. It’s very important that black people support their community by giving back. I also would like create my own foundation to assist young black women in all aspects of life. Although I help young girls on my free time, as well as every year during the women empowerment brunch. (The Dreams Come True Brunch) I would like to create a safe space for young girls growing up in areas where they may be limited to opportunities for growth.
Pricing:
- Free bridal consultations with all bookings
- $25 promo for small business every 2 weeks on my social media pages
- Basic extension services start at $90
- $50 crochet style specials
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.youtube.com/user/thomasadrianna
- Phone: 352-541-0747
- Email: TAbeautybookings@gmail.com
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