Kimmie Stylz present for styling hair came so effortlessly that she nearly missed her calling. “I had buddies tell me that I ought to do hair, and I become like, ‘Everybody can do that. They had been like, ‘Kim, you have a gift.’”
That gift has paid off for Cornner, additionally called Kimmie Stylz.
“I’ve been working for myself complete-time for eight years now, and it's far without a doubt a blessing being capable of simply come again to that which simply got here smooth to me,” stated the stylist, who obtained a $25,000 enhance in April because the winner of an Alabama Launchpad pitch competition.
“It’s a program that lasts approximately six weeks or so, [during which] you are matched up with advisors and pitch coaches to attempt to role you that allows you to present your organization at a unique stage,” Cornner explained.
The reward is proof that her ardor is paying off, she stated, adding that she believes she gained the pitch competition due to things — the presentation of her merchandise and her private story behind the Introduction of Kimmie Stylz.
“For years, too many Black ladies have suffered fitness troubles from the use of harsh and dangerous hair care products,” stated Cornner. “I have suffered on both ends. One, having my hair damaged from products with dangerous ingredients, and, I obtained a hysterectomy because of fibroids, which I trust changed into from the usage of certain chemicals for so long on my hair.”
Her testimony fuels her enthusiasm for providing safe merchandise that comprises natural substances for African American hair—and is the riding pressure in the back of the Kimmie Stylz hair care line.
“Creating the hair care product line changed into smooth for me because this is what I do each day. I work with many products, and I’ve seen products that didn’t work. I wanted to create something for my customers that labored,” said Cornner, who makes almost all of her merchandise in her Birmingham domestic.
It started with her blending her merchandise using natural oils “via trial and blunder” and took time. The Kimmie Stylez product line now has a total of nine items, together with shampoos and conditioners, along with Biotin and Tea Tree Scalp Treatment, Aloe Vera Moisturizing Spray, Avocado and Jojoba Anti Breakage Oil, and a Coconut and Olive Oil Curling Cream.
Clients have informed others about the products, and that has caused even greater commercial enterprise. To hold up with a call, Cornner has a dedicated crew that consists of a circle of relatives—her mom, Wanda Little, daughter, thirteen-yr-vintage Eva, and son, 8-12 months-old Zae—to not simplest assist her to satisfy orders and however, also preserve her advocated.
“They consider in my product, and I have [their] guide,” stated Cornner, a 2005 George Washington Carver High School graduate.
Moving to the Magic City
She is at the start from Trenton, New Jersey. Her family relocated to Birmingham in 1997, following one of her aunts who moved to Alabama for an activity. Because the family was new to the country, they leaned on every different for aid—and that closeness is something the stylist values to this present day.
“We didn’t recognize everybody, Kimmie Stylz so that compelled us to rely upon every different and live very tight-knit. We are very family-orientated, and we continually rejoice in vacations together. That’s what I love most about my circle of relatives—how close we are. I accept as true that moving to Alabama brought us nearer,” she stated.
While developing up in Trenton, Cornner desired to be a pediatrician or medical doctor’s assistant. A loss of finances prevented her from deciding on that route, but she launched into every other one.
Meeting Customers’ Needs
Corner factors into 1 product her customers love: the quality-selling No Oooch And Ouch Detangling Serum. She stated customers revel in her provider due to the fact she takes on their ache factor, and this particular detangling product enables that.
“The largest trouble I’ve visible with styling natural hair is lots of girls had been fearful of [hair washing] because they couldn’t get [their hair] or their youngsters’ hair to detangle,” Cornner stated. “I created this serum that, whilst carried out to natural hair, allows the curls to slide aside from each other.”
Customers often do a double-take while she puts the product on their hair: “They spin round inside the chair, admiring the effects, and ask, ‘What did you place on my hair?’” stated Cornner, whose customers often confess that her product offers outcomes they’ve in no way seen earlier than.
Kimmy Stylz is run out of Cornner’s home, which has been demonstrated extraordinarily useful and convenient for the mom of two. “It has been a blessing to have a home-primarily based enterprise and be able to watch my youngsters grow up. … The convenience of it all has simply helped, too,” she stated.
Corner cares for all forms of herbal hair, which includes braids, and she or he focuses on loc hair patterns. “I love to train humans about their hair, now not just the way to fashion hair, however … the way to care for their hair. I recognize now that hair care is a lost artwork,” she said.
