The birth of Mane Characters: Sparknotes

Before I ever picked up a pair of shears, I was working with kids in a completely different setting. My first job in the world of ABA was at a precision teaching learning center in the heart of Atlanta. We supported children with learning disabilities, and most of them were on the autism spectrum. I was brand new to the field, still learning the ropes, but I absolutely loved the work.

One of my very first clients was a kid I ended up working with for several hours a day, five days a week, for nearly three years. We built a strong bond, I loved that little dude.

Whenever it was time for him to get a haircut, his mom would give us notice weeks in advance so we could help him start preparing. We’d talk about it together, role-play what to expect, and practice coping strategies. Still, the experience was so overwhelming for him that he’d describe it as “torture.” It wasn’t just hard in the moment – it dysregulated him for days, sometimes even a week afterward.

I remember thinking: “If only I knew how to cut hair. I know he would let me, and I’d try to make it, at the very least, a step above torture.” That was the first seed of what would eventually grow into Mane Characters… even though I didn’t know it at the time.

His story is all too common and I went on to work with countless kids and families who were facing very similar obstacles. I heard way too many horror stories about how kids with sensory differences were being treated in the salon setting.There was a clear lacking for reliable and knowledgeable resources. This was more than an isolated incident, this is systemic.

I stayed in the ABA field for another three years before that little seed of an idea started to bloom again.

When COVID hit, everything stopped. I lost both of my jobs, the learning center by day, bartending by night (classic young adult in the city). Like so many people, I felt completely aimless…I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life.

During that time, I took a beach trip with my best friend (she was a BCBA at the learning center — shoutout to our workplace meet-cute). While we were there, I casually floated the idea that had been living in the back of my mind:

“Maybe I could go to cosmetology school and learn how to cut hair? Then I could offer a more sensory-friendly haircut experience to the kiddos we know who really struggle with them.”

She thought it was a great idea. But even then, I didn’t believe it was something I could actually do. Me? A hairstylist? Starting my own business?! LOL. It didn’t feel like a real option. I brought it up casually two more times before I started to take myself seriously.

The next time was during a job interview in the summer of 2021 for the ABA clinic I’d end up working at for the next three years. My interviewer (who would later become my boss) asked me where I saw myself in five years. I told her about my “little idea.” Her response changed everything. She loved it. She said that if I ever went to cosmetology school, she’d rent me a space in the clinic to cut hair (spoiler! She did just that).

That was the first time it felt like more than a fantasy. It still felt far away, but now there was a real-world possibility attached.

The final time I brought it up as a “just an idea” was during dinner with my then-boyfriend (now fiancé). He was spitballing business ideas — very entrepreneur-brained — and I figured, why not throw mine into the mix? I told him the concept, expecting to move on like usual. But he lit up. We ended up talking about it for over an hour.

Still, I gave him all the reasons it wouldn’t work: I could never go to hair school. I knew nothing about cosmetology. I barely even got my own haircut.

Three weeks later, as we were walking out of the gym, he looked at me and said,
“I’ve only heard two ideas in my life that absolutely blew me away. Yours is one of them.”

And just like that, for the first time in six years, I thought: Maybe I could actually do this.

One month later, I enrolled at Paul Mitchell the School Esani. Two months after that, I started my 9-month program.

I love this part of the story because I can clearly see the journey I was on: the self-doubt, the fear of failure, the risk-aversion, the crippling perfectionism. But despite all of that, I did the hard thing. I bet on myself.

Now, here I am, two years out of school, building a business I never thought I’d be brave enough to start. Along the way, I’ve met so many kids who just needed someone to meet them where they are. Someone who could approach haircuts with patience, compassion, and a deep understanding of their sensory world.

I’ve met so many parents who were told that meltdowns and trauma were just part of the process. That this was the only way.

I’m here to show them that’s not true.

There is another way — one that’s led by kindness, consent, trust, and a genuine desire to make an impact.