Alanna Reid

Im Alanna :) pronounced Uh-Lay-Nuh. Everybody gets that wrong. i am 25 years old from the Bronx NY. My hair story really started in 2011 when my parents told me that they couldn't afford to dens me to FIT to become a fashion designer. My mom then encouraged me to figure out another way i could be part of the beauty industry so after trying to be a makeup artist (FAIL) i landed in a cosmetology course at a vocational school in my area. But, what changed everything for me was going on a field trip to IBS here in NYC for the first time with my cosmetology class in 2012. when i walked into the Jacob Javits Center and saw this beautiful black girl on stage doing this crazy geometric curly cut on a model and i just instantly saw myself on that stage. That day i decided this is where i belong. Fast foward 4 years i just got married and i landed my first assisting job in Manhattan. I loved my boss and work was so exciting but i still just wished that i could work with curly hair like my own. So at that point i was forcing anybody i could find with curls of some sort to let me do their hair in addition to working full time as apprentice. I would have to wait another 3 years to meet my current mentor who helped me dive deeper into what it means to care for curly hair and make the women who have it feel beautiful. Since I've been working for her in her salon suite called A Curl Can Dream in Manhattan and having the time of my life.