We were lucky to catch up with Karra Kolura recently and have shared our conversation below.

Karra , appreciate you joining us today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea?

As far as I can remember I always had my own style, and my own way of doing things! I became a hair stylist after facing life challenges and years of legal holds on my life. A mother of 2, I struggled to make ends meet after relocating for Atlanta and dropping out of college at AIU Buckhead. I haven’t always made the best decision but I always put in the work to change my circumstances.

I decided to become the “Go To”creative hair colorist in my area. I structured my business offering a variety of services to include signature blowouts, flawless sewins, cuts, wigs and most importantly hair coloring services on natural and relaxed hair. I wanted to educate everyone on hair color and eliminate the idea… that color ruins your hair or you have to be a certain complexion to wear haircolor.

I wanted to give my clients options. Hair color can be worn professionally it does not always have to be over the top! My mission was to show everyone “you can have healthy hair and still rock color! ”

After obtaining my Cosmetology license; I started to invest in hair coloring classes and I later work at two corporate salons to gain as much knowledge about hair color and hair texture. I later created the brand Khromaticstrandz..which means colorful hair and I also secured my LLC. I spent years researching extensions and countless hours studying and upstanding different hair color lines. I later established my e-commerce business allowing clients to both book their hair appointments and order custom wigs/extensions.

I located my vendor to create my bandz and labels for my wigs and also took a wig construction class to ensure the durability of my custom wigs!

I later launched my Lace Melt bandz and Exotic Curly Wig Collection after realizing I wanted to offer more then just colored wigs during the summer months and it a big success!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

A Savannah, Georgia native, Karra Kolura also known as Toccara Washington has been creating healthy, seamless and creative hair color on textured hair, extensions and wigs since 2010. She is best known for her beautifully blended coloring techniques. She is often sought after by rising stylists and clients to recreate trending extension Looks from both Instagram and Pinterest.

While attending AIU, in Atlanta, Georgia in 2004, her interest in hair was sparked when she learned about career opportunities in the hair and fashion industry.

From sketching and painting on her bedroom walls to painting hair, Karra Kolura has a natural eye for complimenting tones on various complexion. Although, Karra Kolura considers herself a color specialist she created Khromaticstrandz, which offers an array of services to include Flawless sewins,signature blowouts,cuts and custom hair color and wigs.

Karra Kolura believes in giving each client a professional experience by sharing at home haircare tips and ways to encourage hair growth. Her love for healthy hair and color transcends through her work. With a passion for authenticity Khromatic Strandz by Karra Kolura philosophy to life is to ” Stay True to yourself” and “Never Blendin”. She is well on her way to leaving her foot print in the hair industry as a gifted stylist and creative hair kolorist!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

If someone would have told me it would have taken all of this to because a business owner, I would have quickly chosen a different path. Having to depend solely on your own plan for financial stability was stressful, not to mention raising 3 kids with no financial support is another level. It comes with so many ups and downs.

When I started my journey as a business owner, I didn’t make much money, most people forgot the part in entrepreneurship when you have to build and I jumped in head first after leaving cosmetology school into a booth rental scenario. The struggle was real some days I only made gas money to get home after paying my booth rent that week but I always knew that someone would call and I would make more money. But some days were just that slow I would have to count every dime until I had another client.

Learning how to navigate in my business was not a easy road, trying to be present for my children while struggling to maintain a sense of normalcy was hard to juggle. My insecurities screamed louder then anyone else around me. Coming up with marketing strategies and trying to please clients was my daily task and the more people I serviced the more I realized there was so much more to this hair game then just doing hair… you need a strategy!

Each year passed and I never gave up, I would learn new skills and acquire more knowledge to keep up with the new trends all while struggling both emotionally and financially.

I finally came up with the idea to open my e-commerce business by creating my website so I would have more time to focus on marketing…I continue to promote on my social media platforms and things soon begin to turn around for me. I begin to gain my financial freedom and my income being to increased.. I began to book more clients and gained the reputation for being the hair color specialist in my city.

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

I pride myself on producing quality work! If I’m not able to create a client’s request I simply just tell them the truth but I offer other suggestions. I focus on the details and customer service. I ask alot of questions and I listen to what the client likes and dislikes about a particular style or hair color.. I offer my expertise but I’m always open to what my clients wants. Most importantly, I’m honest and straight to the point! I used the best professional products and techniques and I’m consistently
enhancing my skills. I am a student at heart and I’m passionate about my craft as a healthy hair colorist!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.khromaticstrandz.com
• Instagram: Karrakolura_strandz
• Facebook: Khromatic Strandz

Image Credits
Westbestmedia