We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kiara Carmon. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kiara below.

Hi Kiara, thanks for joining us today. Do you have any thoughts about how to create a more inclusive workplace?

In the beauty industry, there are a multitude of opportunities to create a more inclusive workplace. This can range from representing more women of color authentically in makeup to encouraging all races to educate themselves on the proper way to care for and style ethnic hair rather than being afraid and shying away from it. As an official Seint Artist, it is my mission to bring more representation for women of color inside and outside of the company. When you search “Seint”, unfortunately, not many women of color pop up–and this isn’t to say there aren’t any at all, however, there is not enough! I not only want to recruit more women of color to be part of this brand but also show them that this makeup is great for us too! Seint provides so many shades and has recently released more, anyone can find their color! In the salon I work at, I noticed that the pricing for services regarding ethnic hair could use improvement. I voiced my concern to management and stated that the prices for braiding are not accurately represented. There are only two prices for braids, when in reality, there are 10+ types of braiding services that should each have their own respective price as they do anywhere else. This will attract more clients as they will see that our salon is inclusive to the services they desire.

Kiara, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am Kiara Carmon, MBA, a fall 2021 graduate of Florida A&M University and 2023 graduate of Paul Mitchell. Since I began my transitioning journey to natural hair at the age of 15, my love for natural hair and the community has immensely grown, so much that I decided to obtain my cosmetology license and become a curl specialist to be the change I want to see. ​I always knew I wanted to attend cosmetology school, however, I wanted to ensure that I achieved my degrees and knowledge of the business world first before diving into entrepreneurship. This way, my clients can trust me because I put in the work to achieve the necessary education. Along this journey, I learned that there is a poor understanding of what it takes to properly style and treat natural hair of all textures because stylists do not actively seek the education, especially when it comes to type 4 textures. I have unfortunately been seated and treated by stylists as such. I even have clients come to me and express their gratitude for taking the time to treat their hair because they have been turned away from other stylists claiming their hair is “too thick” or “too unruly”. It is now my mission and passion to spread awareness of the troubles the natural hair community faces and instill trust between clients and stylists in the community, starting with arKadia Studios. Although I am a curl specialist, I am also well versed in all types of hair because I enjoy doing hair period–curly, wavy or straight. Another talent that sets me apart is my experience with makeup. I used to dance in middle school and high school and was always requested by my team to do their makeup. I never took the makeup side seriously until I realized that I had clients who wanted their hair and makeup done simultaneously. Now, I am developing a plan to offer bridal services and cannot wait to launch it. You can find all updates on my instagram @arKadiaxstudios !

Have you ever had to pivot?

Although I am a graduate of Paul Mitchell, that was not the first cosmetology school I attended. I started out at Shear Excellence Hair Academy at the beginning of 2022. Before continuing, I would like to state that I have no intention of bashing anyone. I am simply sharing my experience and I have every right to do so. There were a few things that I learned at this school, such as braiding techniques and tips on doing a great silk press. However, I could feel that there was a lot that I was missing out on in my education which, for those who truly know me, know that my education is something I do not play about at all. Also, I could feel God pulling me from that environment. I was walking into school miserable and was constantly getting sick. Around this time last year, I took the leap of faith and decided to transfer schools along with some of my classmates, who are still my friends to this day, because they felt the same way. The decision to transfer was great but I did not expect it to be so costly. Unfortunately, we had to pay off our balances and although my classmates and I started at the same time and left at the same time, my balance happened to be higher than theirs combined–thousands of dollars more than what they had to pay, money I barely had. Typically, my loans were supposed to pay off my balance but because of a misunderstanding, they sent my loans back to my creditor. This caused them to be held up for about 5 months leaving me no choice but to pay an additional thousands of dollars in tuition out of pocket to attend Paul Mitchell. However, I was determined and did not let that stop me. The transfer took about two months and I had to take a practical and written exam to have my hours transferred over to Paul Mitchell and it was all worth it! Honestly speaking, the two months I spent out of school were not easy at all. There were individuals calling me asking why I dropped out of school and because I decided that I didn’t owe anyone an explanation at the time, they decided to create their own narrative of why I left instead. I was also afraid that being out of school for so long would cause me to lose motivation to go back, especially since paying off my balance and no longer having my loans to lean on wiped my emergency fund for rent tremendously–I truly did not know if I could afford to go back, but I’m glad I did. Paul Mitchell gave me a multitude of resources, specialty classes, professionalism, and so much more! If I had to do it again, I definitely would. Even though I transferred, one might say I had the best of both worlds, I learned a different set of techniques and skills at each school. Thank you to everyone who stood by me throughout my journey and gave encouragement and prayers during my tough times and thank you Voyage Tampa for giving me the space to speak my truth!

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

I began learning more about styling hair in high school and had friends who trusted me to practice on them. Once I got to college, I began practicing more with sew-ins, wig constructions, and wig installs. Special shoutout and thank you to everyone who let me practice on them and who provided tips! Once I created my vision and mission statement in college, I began my business page on instagram and started charging for wig constructions and installs. The lockdown that happened when COVID first came about was a key milestone for me because that was when I began turning my side hustle into a true business. I obtained my EIN, invested into a website, and began pre-constructing wigs to sell rather than creating them on demand. I also used this time to enhance my skills in makeup because I discovered that it was something I truly enjoyed. Many people may think that getting my cosmetology license is the start of my business, but the reality is it started back in 2020 when I launched my website with my mission and services. Although I don’t have thousands of followers or a huge clientele yet, my business is thriving and will continue to thrive through every stage!

Contact Info:

• Website: hairbyarkadia.com
• Instagram: arkadiaxstudios
• Facebook: Hair by arKadia
• Youtube: arkadiaxstudios
• Other: Link to buy compact cream based makeup: https://arkadia.seintofficial.com/en/shop/party-380450/new-releases

Image Credits
Headshot by StretchLifeVisuals