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

Sherrell Alicia , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?

Shortly after the birth of my daughter I began losing my hair and so did she. In that moment as a woman, I felt out of place. People come to me and trust me with the health of their hair. I was able to help them keep their hair healthy and could do nothing to save mine or my daughter’s. That led me to educate myself on health and restoration options. In 2017, I began pursuing the ethnic hair loss therapist certification and expanding my knowledge of holistic health.

Through this experience I learned lots about the different causes of hair loss and especially alopecia. Nutritional alopecia, auto-immune alopecia and many other causes of hair loss are most often due to genetics. Professionally I realized that my clients and a ton of my peers had no idea how to identify the difference. As a wellness coach, I realized that the effects that it had on confidence and overall quality of life was something I was not ok with! I rebranded in 2018 and ” restoring your idea of beauty” became my personal mission.

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?

To be honest, I never had a personal desire to become a beauty professional, it just happened. I grew up in foster care and my appearance was always important to me. As a young adult, I felt that my personal life wasn’t anyone else’s business unless I shared. I messed around with my hair and just so happened to be good at it. I later went off to college and had a ton of financial troubles. So, I had to became more intentional in that way.              I went off to cosmetology school, but never took my board exams. My first time working in a salon I wasn’t licensed. I ‘m so grateful for NeNe the salon owner.  She became a great mentor. She taught me so much about the beauty industry, business, and service excellence as a whole. It became embedded in me, I’m big on integrity so she only raised the bar higher. My personal life change and I went on to explore my life in a different part of the city.

I started to notice that it wasn’t hair that I enjoy most, it’s service. I love that I have a gift that serves the soul, but I had a hard to finding a salon that shared the same ideas. So, I opened Make Me Ova Salon in Pikesville. That was my first salon, and where I grew to become the professional, I am today. I made it my business to offer the staff the same support I had in the beginning. I assist them with continuing education courses, events, and  freelance work, such as weddings, photo shoots and movies. This landed us at least 6 Vogue Italia publications features and our first major motion picture “STEP” the movie!

You must intentionally grow with your industry. Always, be really discipline about your skills, providing the best products ,services and educating yourself all the time! For example, I started making units for women back in 2009. They are nothing like the wig units, medical grade replacements and toppers I offer now! That’s because I made it my business to intentionally surround myself with the things that support my mission in this industry.

I believe that what sets me apart for others is my heart. Beauty has nothing to do with your appearance and I fully understand that. My mission is to help everyone I connect with have a personal understanding of their idea of beauty and develop a firm belief in it so much so that anymore who meets them feels it. Feels that deep level of beauty because it radiates from within. It is in that we will all find wholeness.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I lost my both my parents early in life. My mom first in 1992. I was 8 years old and literally everything fell apart. Her absence left a big void in my life. My Dad, tried to keep things together but began battling addiction and all the trouble that accompanies that. He was rarely home or available to help me navigate anything. I physically lost my dad in 2016, and I was a ward of the state until I turned 18. I even experienced homelessness. Some see these moments as dark times, but I grew to understand that they were spaces for me to grow, nurture and expand as an individual. This was pivotal for me. A favorite quote that I share with my clients and mentees is “a seed needs both light and dark to grow.” When I consider my biggest challenges, which are someone of my darkest moments, I can see how that pushed me to achieve some of my greatest triumph. They were a blessing and I learned that there is nothing I can’t overcome.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

I think what’s most helpful in my success is knowing that I live a purposeful life. The fact that I’ve been able to touch hearts, minds and be supportive in the lives of others is like fuel for me. It makes me want to keep going, to learn more, to always grow and evolve so that I can come back and give that to those who come into my life. It’s because of this I am able to continuously perfect my art and continue to provide excellent services: hair replacement services, hair care products, wellness tools and different coaching options.

Contact Info:

• Website: linker.ee/makemeova
• Instagram: instagram.com/makemeova
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/DIXiF1f3oZs
• Other: #iamnotmyhairloss #yourmindfulnessmentor

Image Credits
C. Mathies Photography Blue Box Visions Sherrell Alicia Beauty