Today we’d like to introduce you to Laniya Houston
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Hey, My name is Laniya, “Niya” to Friends and Family. I am a 21 year old Youtuber / Hairstylist. You can find me on instagram & youtube @mulaaniyaa I have over 1.2k Youtube Subscribers with a total of 170k views. Hair has always been a big thing in my family, My mom did me and my sisters hair all the time as well as hers, she’ was the hair stylist of her family. i remember my mom dropping me and my sisters off to home- based hairstylist to get braids all the time.
For me, I believe I started doing hair in middle school, 7th Grade. This is when crotchet twist and braids were popular. My mom also taught me and my sisters how to make wigs, I remember her getting us foam heads and having us glue tracks on the head. i used to play in my hair and unbraid and rebrands my braids. i remember my My moms husband let me start his locs off by twist his hair and letting them grow out, now he’s almost 50 and they are all the way down his back. I also used to braids my cousins hair as well locs as well, I’ve been the family hairstylist for as long as i could remember.
In Highschool, i was 17 when i moved out of my mom’s house to live with my dad. I started practicing even more on my hair, doing braids, wigs, trying styles of my natural hair. I had friend who were working in salons. This is when i got used to salon life.
After high-school I started going to community college for psychology. I was still doing hair on the side while working at a beauty supply store. I had friends who let me practice on them. I started posting on TikTok and the videos went viral. I was so happy but i still wasn’t sure if it was something i wanted to do. I lost my job at the beauty supply store and i had no choice but to go all in on my business . It started gaining a little traction. i was very consistent. More people were seeing my work. I did everything i could to make a living. I started slipping in school my grades were slipping. I eventually didn’t have the money to support my schooling. So I eventually made the decision to just drop out. I spoke with my parents about it they didn’t want me to just leave but I came to the decision that I wanted to go all in on hair and youtube. I knew I could make it to where I would never have to work a regular 9-5 ever again. I just had to do what I had to do. I eventually decided to go to school for cosmetology. They put me in a salon and I started gaining a bigger clientele from there. I posted a video on youtube “How to: Starter locs” it did so good in the first 2 weeks, it hit 1,000 views. It is now one of my most viewed video on youtube, it’s the reason i am now monetized on youtube and i just feel like i’m so blessed to even be in this position. Now i can say i am a entrepreneur/ youtuber.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely hadn’t been easy! Nothing good in life comes easy. it took lots of setbacks, heartbreak, betrayals, rejections, fear, doubt to get me to where i am and i know it’s only the beginning. i’ve struggled a lot with wondering what people were going to say. It’s also not easy when you don’t come from a place with lots of resources and people who were willing to invest in you. But i had a few people along the journey who have been there for me and i thank them all the time. Also my faith in God had always helped me.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a Entrepreneur/YouTuber. I specialize in cosmetology, I do all types of hair. I make content on youtube about my home/work life. I post all different types of content. I am known for my unique style, my leadership skills, and my personality. I am very courageous i take lots of risks, others might look at my decisions and shy away from it but the things i’ve went through made me who I am. I am proud of the facts that no matter what I stayed true to myself and my story and the things i’ve seen around me. I’m proud of the fact that no matter what happened i kept believing in myself and kept working towards my dreams. I’m proud that i’ve been the one in my family to show them a different way of life and give them hope for a better future! I believe what sets me apart from others is the facts that I always speak my mind and the talents that God blessed me with I know that no one can do things exactly how i do, I have my own mind and I stand firm on my beliefs.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
In west palm beach, i like how it’s pretty small, everyone knows each other! I don’t like how it’s kinda hard to get people to support you, but once you gain the right community you can thrive!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: mulaaniyaa
- Facebook: mulaaniyaa
- Twitter: mulaaniyaa
- Youtube: mulaaniyaa
- Other: niyastyleditt
