We were lucky to catch up with Juquita Martin recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Juquita, thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

The mission behind JSLAY is to be an inspiration to all women, no matter the circumstance, who may be doubtful of ever having success in their own lives, that they too can have success. Also, to provide women of all ages and backgrounds with the best quality of truly all organic hair and skincare beauty products, all while showcasing the natural beauty of my clients with my hair styling/braiding services.

My journey hasn’t always been easy, yet, it’s been so rewarding! In September of 2019, I filed for a divorce from a marriage of 10 years. Of course that was the last thing I would want to do, however, it was the best decision for me. In November of that same year, our daughter was diagnosed with Kidney disease. After her diagnosis, she had to be hospitalized for about a week. I was devastated, and not just because of the shocking news and hospitalization, but also because I couldn’t service clients to make any money for bills that were due. I didn’t know what to do. I had no savings, and barely any money to get me through the week. It was at this point that I felt like my world was turned upside down, but little did I realize that those two unfortunate events would be the start of my “Why” behind being on a mission to starting JSLAYBraids&More and now JSlayBeauty. My faith in God had been tested and activated! I had been so comfortable with the life I had in the marriage, that I didn’t realize that I was settling for mediocre. It took me leaving the marriage and my daughter’s diagnosis for me to see that God always had a bigger purpose and plan for my life, I just had to get serious about my relationship with Him and allow Him to lead me on the road to success.

Although I’d started following God’s will for my new life, it wasn’t until 2022 that I became serious about starting a business from a talent that I was born with. Planning with hardly any money, in February 2022, now divorced and my daughter’s health in good condition, along with the support of my family, JSLAYBraids&More LLC was formed. As if God didn’t do His thing with that, I also introduced my very first line of hair care products in late 2022, and I went on to launch my first official website for JSlayBeauty hair and body products in April 2023. Both businesses has allowed me to connect with so many beautiful women from all walks of life, while connecting with each one of them in one way or the other. Enhancing the outer beauty of women is what JSLAY is best known for, so in combination to the hair slay, I felt the need to provide the skincare to match. Being that my own daughter was born with eczema, me dealing with excessively oil skin and several of my clients suffering from various skin and scalp issues, I knew that my products would definitely need to be a safe and effective way to treat the various types of skin and scalp problems for all. So, I began to formulate products that would be free of harmful ingredients, all while making sure we give them quality over quantity, and one that will bring out a healthier skin glow.

So to every woman who wants to be in business for themselves, don’t allow self doubt to steer you away from what you want to achieve. I’ll always be passionate about the mission behind JSLAY. First, because I am always reminded of my “Why”. Secondly, because I, too, not once saw myself owning, not one but two, businesses that I‘m working tirelessly towards becoming one of the largest companies in the world. I also understand that we can sometimes get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of being a wife and mother to our children, that we forget about our own passions and desires. I had to start believing in me and doing so has opened doors for me and my brand and it can for any other woman. I so desperately want women to see that no matter if you’re single, still married, just left a marriage, a single mother or just someone who doesn’t have the support that they desire to have, that your success is on the way! All you have to do is trust God and keep the faith!

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

Born and raised in Lowndes County, Alabama, 27 miles south of Alabama’s capital, JSLAY Products owner, Juquita Martin, has always had a passion for all things hair related. At the tender age of 6, I most enjoyed playing house and beauty salon with my dolls and younger sibling Kashonna. While Kashonna mostly wanted her baby dolls to play house as an adult with a family, it was a must that my dolls came with hair, and lots of it. This was how my gift was discovered. By the age of 9, I was in the mirror styling my own hair. Although I could style my own hair, I wanted nothing more than to begin styling my friends’ hair, and one day adults. By the age of 12, my oldest sister Laticia and big brother Cedric would allow me to braid their hair. From that point, with my parents Eddie and Alfredia’s permission, I began to braid my youngest sister Kashonna hair, as well as my friends and some of the girls from school too. By the age of 15, I had become well known around my area for how unbelievably well I could braid. Adding in that I’ve always been a perfectionist, the proof was in the pudding if you’d ever come across any of my work, you’d I was the one that did it. To this day, my work is always very detailed. A little later on, I’d built my very own little clientele while in high school. come from a very talented family, so now I know that I was destined to take on my calling of braiding hair and birthing my very own line of hair care products. I still remember me at 6 years old, pretending I had relaxer to use on my dolls hair by mixing baby powder and water in a bowl. After graduating high school, I attended one year at Auburn University at Montgomery. When I wasn’t in class, I was servicing locals and other girls on the campus. I’d finally realized that I would discontinue my time at AUM and pursue my career in being a hair stylist/braider. In 2008, I gave birth to my beautiful daughter, whom I named JaCailee. After giving birth, I didn’t waste any time getting back behind the chair to do what I loved so much.
After many years of doing hair, going through a divorce, a health scare with my daughter, and with God as the lead, I finally decided to make a legit business out of what I loved doing most. Making hair care products wasn’t anything new to me because my daughter suffers from eczema and once lost a good amount of hair due to a flare up. After taking her to dermatologists and not seeing any real results from prescription meds, I made up my own organic hair regimen to treat her scalp. My regimen is what grew my daughter hair back and I’ve been using it, with consistency, ever since. After servicing client after client for years as a hobby, I decided it was time to tie a name to my God given gift. In 2021, after much prayer and having a strong, rooted faith in God, I was determined to build a brand. I carefully thought out what I would want my business name to be. So, I went on to name my business JSLAY, in honor of both myself and my daughter JaCailee’s name. Now going by my brand name JSLAY, I knew that I didn’t want to stop at that, I wanted to offer more than my braiding/styling services; I wanted to offer women the same hair care regimen that she’d handcrafted for her daughter. In 2022, I started legitimately formed JSLAY Braids&More, LLC. I love all of my clients, and they will tell you that I do not hesitate to get on to them about the care of their crown because it’s never been just about the money to me, I care more about the healthiness of their hair more. I always tell them that if they don’t take care of their hair and scalp, then they won’t have any hair for me or anyone else to braid or style. Because of my love for nurturing the crown underneath the styles, in November of 2022, I went on to introduce my first line JSLAY Products. With my new line of hair and scalp care products handcrafted with 100% all organic ingredients, I was sure to provide quality products that would benefit the hair care needs of everyone. In April of 2023, I launched my first official website for JSLAY hair care products. Later, I added my very own body and skincare products to my site. Our site offers everything from hair accessories like our Precision Parting combs to our hair care products like our Peppermint Infused Hair & Scalp oils. We also offer various skin and body care items like our Gentle Exfoliating sugar scrubs, Foaming Facial cleanser, not to forget our most loved product, the “TUME Nicely” Turmeric & Honey sugar scrub. I truly love what I do, so owning and operating my own business has never been primarily about the money for me, and that’s what, I feel, sets me apart from everyone else! I love the fact that I can enhance the natural beauty of so many women by offering them the same line of hair and skin care products I handcraft and use, to those who have hit a dead end in finding a good hair care regimen to start their journey to healthy hair and scalp, all while at an affordable cost. As a perfectionist, I also believe in quality over quantity, so my main focus was to ensure that each product was made with the best organic ingredients, leaving out those harmful ingredients that you might find in your usual retail store bought products. So, I can surely say that our products are handcrafted with you in mind and what makes it even better is that our products can be used on children as well.

I always tell anyone who asks, that being a business owner was never in my plans, it was all God’s plan. I am most proud of myself for fully surrendering to Him, giving Him full control over my life, and for allowing Him to lead me on this journey of peace and success!

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I think what helped build my reputation within my market is surely my customer service skills. Before becoming a business owner myself, I’d my own experience with, horrible customer service or knew of someone who’d experienced horrible customer service with other businesses not mentioned. So, before becoming a business owner, I knew that I wanted to provide clients and customers with exceptional customer service satisfaction. I always make sure that I’m giving the same service that I look for in other companies. That being so, my business has flourished off of that alone. Then you add the quality of my work and our products, I would say that my reputation holds weight within my market, and I can say that’s a great thing for JSLAY.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

First, let me say that manufacturing your own products is surely not for the weak and the faint at heart. Before launching JSlay Beauty Products line, about 10 years back, I’d my own concoction of a conditioning hair grease that would stimulate hair growth for my daughter who suffers from eczema. The eczema attacked her scalp so badly that it caused hair loss around the circumference of her entire head. After taking her to a dermatologist and not getting the results I’d hoped for, I decided to create my own regimen to regrow her hair and after using it for about a month, we started to see healthy hair growing back in. So, I would say that when deciding to produce a line of hair care products for others, it was a no brainer. Before buying any ingredients for my products, I’d many sleepless nights doing the necessary research for various scalp conditions, oils that stimulates hair growth, but more importantly what type of product would greatly benefit the buyer. I would say that when it comes to skin care products, things were a little more complex. However, starting up any business you’d go through trial and error, and whew, did I? Of course! I can tell you that I wanted to give up plenty of times during the manufacturing process of the skin care products. What kept me going though was that I’ve spent tons of money on brand name products to treat my oily skin and discoloration in some areas that didn’t give me any positive results. So, I felt that I wouldn’t lose any more than I’d already lost on products that claimed to be safe and effective for my skin. All in all, I can say that the lesson I’ve gotten out of all of this is that, never place limits on what you’re capable of doing. With God on your side, your capabilities are limitless. I’m proud to say that I started with one product in November 2022 and in 7 months, I’ve manufactured 7 hair and skin care product.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jslaybeautyprod.com
• Instagram: @jslaybraids
• Facebook: JSLAY Beauty
• TikTok: @jslaybraids

Image Credits
Professional photos -Michael Moorer Photography