We were lucky to catch up with Elicia Specks recently and have shared our conversation below.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Ok I am 29 years old married and a mother to 3 boys and 2 girls. I started doing hair when I was 8 years old. Raised by my great grandmother she was already very much up in age when me and my siblings were born so I often had to step in and assist with tending to my sisters hair since she couldn’t do it anymore. I started out with just braids. The talent came very natural to me due my paternal grandmother also being a braider. I would braid the hair of my maternal grandmothers church members grandchildren for them and they would hand me money when I was done so I learned early I could make money doing hair. As I got older life took me away from my passion. I would always do hair on the side but never took it seriously. Until 2018 I made the decision to branch out and enroll at Ogle Dallas. I had a desire to do more and learn more. This is when I got into growing natural hair and learning to take care of it. I wanted to break the statistics that “black girls can’t grow hair”. I graduated in October 2019 took me 1 year flat to finish. I now specialize in natural hair care and braids. I have a mission to educate black mothers on how to care for their hair and their children’s hair while being able to be versatile. I also do wigs and weaves and educate on how to protect your hair while having the extensions. I’m continuously in a state of researching and learning how I can best service my clients. I am also getting into writing to come up with some helpful books with tips on how to further your own personal education about your hair. I am not a typical stylist and I tend to set myself apart by going above and beyond to get this knowledge out there. This mission is very important to me because I now have daughters and I want to do everything in my power to teach them what beauty really is and how it coralates with how you feel about yourself.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

The biggest lesson I have learned on this journey is you can not please everyone. Set clear cut rules and boundaries for yourself and your business and do not waiver for no one. In this is how you find success and feel joy and fulfillment in your craft. You can not and do not have to cater to everything and everyone.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

The source of new clients for me are my current clients. They are so supportive of me and what I stand for they are always referring people to me.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Melanatednprettyhair_
• Facebook: Elicia Monet
• Youtube: @melanatednpretty