Joy Ingram

Beauty became a necessity for me and my mental well-being. People commonly say “When you look good, you feel good”! I personally stand by this statement. As a Black girl who was adopted by a White woman, I can remember the struggles my mother had with learning my sister and I’s hair. At the age of ten, I was bullied for my hair and my mother decided to connect with her Black friends for advice. My mother knew a young girl that would often babysit us and she began doing our hair. The price of getting our hair done became expensive to upkeep. In order to maintain, I eventually learned to braid from her. It was then my responsibility to take care of our hair. Suffering from occasional depression and severe anxiety, getting my hair done was, and still is, therapeutic. Culturally, the salon (or in many cases a loved one’s home), has been a breeding ground for open and unapologetic dialogue and expression, joy, love, and escape. This, in addition to the final reveal of your style and new glow, is unmatched.
At the age of seventeen, I became a mother. Working tirelessly, I graduated high school on time and attended college. During this time I became a single mother of two and this made it difficult to remain focused and motivated. I attempted college for six years trying to find what fit. I had so many ideas yet none at all. I needed truly to do some self-discovery. Beauty is the one thing that made sense to me. After years of trying to find my passion, beauty was the first thing that clicked and felt right. children. Today, I am married, a mother of three, and attending cosmetology school at Bella Capelli Paul Mitchell. Initially, I wanted to attend cosmetology school to help my family and close friends cut the costs on salons but still get salon-quality. This is only where I TT will begin.