We recently connected with Samantha Bromfield and have shared our conversation below.
Samantha , 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.
The life of styling hair for me began at the tender age of 7. I started braiding my Barbie dolls and American Girls Dolls because I wanted them to look pretty. Around age 9, I knew that I wanted to be a Registered Nurse or a Cosmetologist, or both. By the time I was 11, I was an amazing braider, and I knew that I wanted to work. So, my stepfather called up a friend and within a week I was braiding at an African Braiding Salon. By the time I was 13, I had worked at two African braiding salons, which ultimately lead me to working at salon in South Philadelphia. I worked with an amazing hair stylist who had a steady clientele, who in turn helped me build my clientele as well.
While attending high school, my mother who was an immigrant from Jamaica, told me that I cannot work on a school night, so I only worked Friday and Saturday at the salon for 5 years until I went to college.
While attending Philadelphia Mennonite High School in Philadelphia, PA, I gained the knowledge to understand that I wanted to become an entrepreneur and own a salon, but my mother wanted me to go to college. In my senior year, I was the first person in my senior class to be accepted to Pennsylvania State University, which was an amazing feeling. I already expressed to my principal, Dr. Barbara Moses, that I had no desire to go to college, but she continued to explain the benefits of a college education. After long deliberation, talks with my principal and my mother’s persuasion, I attended PSU in fall of 2007.
While in college, God placed great people in my life that I would not have met otherwise. After several years in college, I realized that I was not living in my passion or in my purpose. After praying to God about my life and my future, I made a promise with God that if I received straight A’s that last semester of college that I would not leave to attend beauty school. Despite knowing that I could have been a registered nurse.
At the end of my Fall Semester of 2013, I achieved straight A’s. So, you know what that means? I dropped out of college and took a trip to Jamaica to visit family and reset my mind.
January 2014, I enrolled into a beauty academy in Sharon Hill, PA. I started the program with the intentions on learning everything that I needed to know about hair, the scalp, and the body with 1250 hours. I started January of 2014 and I graduated with my cosmetology license in December of 2014. I was so determined to graduate in the shortest amount of time; so, I only missed one day of school due to a death.
A few months passed and my cosmetology instructor, Ms. Laurie, shared her thoughts that I should join the Teacher’s Program at the Beauty Academy. She reminded me of how I would help my fellow students, while I was attending beauty school. She felt that I would be a great teacher. With great thought and prayer, I decided to enroll in the next Master Educator Program. We started in spring of 2015, and I graduated six months later in Fall of 2015. The following school year, I was presented with the opportunity to be the first cosmetology instructor at a high school in Philadelphia. I gladly accepted the offer.
In August 2017, DaEssence of Perfection officially became an LLC, and I was happy with my decision to live in my passion and purpose. Since that day, I have been on a mission to help women, men and children understand and embrace their natural hair texture!
Samantha , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Hello everyone, my name is Samantha B. and I am the owner, operator, and lead hair artist at DaEssence of Perfection LLC. As a serial entrepreneur, I have many titles: Cosmetologist, Master Educator, Texture Specialist, certified Hair Loss Expert & Trichologist, Entrepreneur & Mom-preneur. I founded DaEssence of Perfection Hair Restoration, which is hair loss clinic to people who are suffering from all forms of hair loss and alopecia. I am also the creator and founder of the Virtual Hair University™ (VHU), which is a textured based hair education to help people understand how to cleanse, maintain, and style textured hair. I have also created The Sammie Loc Experience™, which is a textured interlocking method that allows my ladies to enjoy their natural texture of curls while embracing a loc’d method. Within DaEssence of Perfection™ brand, I have created products to helps clients and people with their nightly care and their daily regimen for healthy hair care.
DaEssence Of Perfection™ was created to help women understand that they shouldn’t be afraid or embarrassed to wear their natural hair. This business was built on healthy client/stylist relationships so that it would ensure that each client has the best hair experience possible during every reservation.
DaEssence of Perfection Hair Restoration was created to help women, men & children grow their natural hair back along with their confidence. I declare that all hair loss is not permanent. I have learned a multi-therapeutic & holistic way to substantially grow a person’s natural hair back from the root with my 12-week treatment plan.
The Virtual Hair University™ is created to help everyone who does not understand textured hair. This university is a textured based education to help everyone with textured hair learned how to properly cleanse, manage, maintain, and style textured hair. I realized that people associating textured hair with people of African American or African decent, but in all reality, hair textures nothing to do with skin color. As a cosmetologist, I have met women, men and children of Caucasian, Middle Eastern and Indian descent with textured hair. In all honesty, most people do not have the proper knowledge on how to manage their specific texture of hair, so this is exact why I am here to help! I saw the need to help foster and adoptive parents understand how to manage their children’s hair.
After being in business for only five years, I am very happy with my decision to start my own business and live in my purpose and passion. I proud that I have clients, that have been with me since I was a teenager. I am honored that they trusted me enough to allow me to help them with their hair journey. God gifted me with passion to grow people’s hair and here living exactly in that purpose!
Have you ever had to pivot?
Now we all know how Covid-19 stopped the world. Well, around that time in my life my eldest son was graduating from middle school and preparing to attend high school in Fall of 2020. At the time, I was very unsure of how I was going to be able to afford my son’s Catholic school tuition. After prayer and much thought, I thought of creating my own locs for textured hair that would allow women to wear this natural curl, while having an interlocking method along the hair shaft. In September 2020, I started taking my ladies through the Sammie Locs Experience™, and the rest is history! I have installed my method to over 15 ladies and each lady loves their hair and do not regret this decision to loc their natural hair. The Sammie Locs Experience™ technique, grid and method has allowed me to pivot my business to a new lane of its own. I was able to scale my business on a new elevated level by creating a technique that allows women to embrace their textured hair in a loc’d method.
The Sammie Locs Experience™ is launching The Sammie Locs Experience™ University, where I will teach others how to properly install locs depending on a person’s hair density, hair texture and hair length. I will allow students to learn Sammie Locs, Micro Locs, Traditional Locs, Sammie Locs Extensions and Locs Extensions techniques over a 1–2-day course in-person and virtually through the Virtual Hair University™.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
My most effective strategy for growing my clientele is to remain consistent and continuing to elevate in my craft. I realized that everyone’s time is very valuable, so I’ve built my salon on a reservation only schedule. This appointment only schedule allows for clients to come in and out of the salon in a timely matter. We do not overbook; we book according to the experience being rendered. I also realized that life does happen and sometimes a client will or may be late. So, if one client inadvertently pushes back my schedule by 15-30 minutes, I make sure to inform my next client of this lateness. A common courtesy is all people want because their time is very valuable, and I respect that.
Each year, I make sure to take at least 2-3 hair and business courses to elevate my craft as a Cosmetologist, Master Educator and Businesswoman. Taking each class has taught me to continue being open-minded and willing to continue learning from others. I have learned that if I take away at least one gem and a few techniques from each class, it makes it all worth attending.
As a I continue to grow, I see that my clients witness that same growth as well. In this stage of my life, I’ve realized that every time that I complete a task and I think I’m done, God gives me another assignment in life. I proudly accept all my blessings, clients, and accolades.
Contact Info:
Website::
Instagram:
- @DaEssence_of_Perfection
- @Certified_HairLoss_Expert
- @VirtualHairUniversity
- @TheSammieLocsExperience
- @TheBridalExperience
- @DaPerfectSleepCollection
Facebook:
- DaEssence of Perfection
- DaEssence of Perfection Hair Restoration
- Twitter: DaEssence of Perfection /@DaEssencePerfec
- YouTube: DaEssence of Perfection
- Other: DaEssence of Perfection™ website: www.DaEssenceofPerfection.com DaEssence of Perfection Hair Restoration website: www.DaEssenceofPerfectionHairRestoration.com Virtual Hair University™ (LAUNCHING SOON) website: www.VirtualHairUniversity.com (LAUNCHING SOON)
Image Credits:
@TayloredGenius DaEssence of Perfection™