We were lucky to catch up with Renay bossy Graham recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Renay bossy , appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
I am Bossy, a cosmetologist. My nickname comes from my father but my resilience, my perseverance, and my strong will and self confidence comes from the incredible women in my family, one in particular my great grandmother, Ann Ashton, RIP. She was an incredible wardrobe stylist who owned her own business and created incredible wardrobes through the 40s all the way through the early 90s. She was an independent Ethiopian woman who owned her own business and her own home. Understanding the time frame of when she did all of these great things she had to be resilient because women didn’t have the leeway or rights that we have today. She created some of your favorite outfits for some of your favorite first celebrities of the world. She was an incredible designer. This is the advice that she gave me that stuck with me from the beginning of my career. My grandmother told me to stand up straight and look life square in the eyes and tell it you will not beat me, you will not win. Life has a way of kicking you and throwing you to the ground, just don’t stay there. You may weeble and wobble but you keep swinging. Run in front of your dreams and go with your first love, the thing that you love doing the most, that’s your destiny identifying itself to you. For me it was hair. My grandmother continued to tell me love, honor, obey yourself. Respect and nurture your art, your craft, your talent. Work on it. You’re never too old or too young to continue learning. Never be the smartest person in the room. If you’re that person you need a bigger room. There is enough money for every person in this world to make it. All money ain’t good money. Don’t do things to other women to step on them to get a higher position. There’s a hot place in hell for you if you do that kind of thing and lastly never doubt yourself and your talent. Humble is something that an Ethiopian woman should never be. Let people read the definition for themselves. Be proud of who and what you are. You come from strength not weakness. Act like it. Now go accomplish the greatness that’s waiting for you. That statement was made to me when I was all of 11 years old or less. By the time I was 12, I was doing hair. My father had built me a salon in the second small garage and I was doing hair on the weekends and I had my little friends working for me and we were doing pretty much any style for $75. I learned money, what it is, and how it works, and I learned what a business is early and from there to the present day I’m a multicultural Master stylist who has found myself in rooms that women who look like me have never been in. When you get to those places it’s your responsibility to make sure you set the standard of professionalism for yourself and for the women who looks like you that walks into that same door behind you because a lot of times those doors that open for you the first one they’re not used to people who look like you, talk like you, dress like you, sound like you, etc., but it is your opportunity to take and seize it. For me it’s a lot of pressure sometimes being the first but I understand we have to keep knocking doors down and keep opening up spaces and opportunities for all women, I’m okay with that. I understand when I get into these spaces because I’m different my abilities will be questioned, my talent level will be questioned, but it’s up to me, to us, to execute, let it be editorial hair, let it be extensions, let it be cut or color, I will execute bring forth nothing but success being a multicultural stylist again ain’t easy but I stand on business. I know me getting into these spaces and being resilient and not leaving when it gets a little uncomfortable or when I’m getting asked questions that they wouldn’t dare ask other people. I remember my grandmother’s voice, I’m supposed to be here. I earned my way here and I’m going to make sure that more women who look like me will get to these places and into the spaces, That’s my little story of resilience. Hopefully it makes sense to whoever reads it. Bossy
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I’m the happy owner of a beautiful multicultural salon called hikey ya gorgeous LLC SALON. I have a few specialty areas and I found my niche in those particular areas. I specialize in hair growth, extensions, cut color and protective styles. I’ve been lucky to be able to partner with great companies and organizations. The National Cancer Society being one because I make beautiful amazing wigs for cancer patients, Texas Oncology and the Alopecia Society. I made a promise to a couple of my family members who have passed on that I would use my wig making and camouflage extension abilities to the cancer community. I have even gone as far as creating and making a home remedy of growth spray and serum that works amazingly on cancer patients recovering from chemo starting their hair journey. YES I CAN GROW A FULL HEAD OF HAIR BACK IN ONE YEAR. View my IG and my Website ,, working with the cancer community, it brings me great joy!
I have had the pleasure of letting my creative juices flow and I’ve created a cosmetics line that will be a full line coming 2024 holiday season blush, concealer and foundations under the same name, a hair line and wig line under the same name hikey ya gorgeous LLC SALON view on my website Hikeyyagorgeousllc.com.
Had the pleasure of taking my dreams and my imagination and making it a reality creating my salon my brand hikey ya gorgeous… A place where all women have a safe, judgment-free, laid back, very vibie zone that they love to come to the kind of salon that I grew up in as a kid… A real One stop shop. If you want braids, get them done. If you want beautiful extensions, get them done. If you are a multicultural client and you want hand tied extensions I-tips k-tips you can get them done. Cut color or you just need a beautiful quick date night look this is your place to come and get your hair done. Have a nice cocktail and some laughs.
I’ve created an amazing hair line that matches every texture of hair being that I’m a multicultural stylist. I’ve always had trouble finding hair for different clients. Every hair texture doesn’t match every client. I wanted to create something where we could solve that problem. I have accomplished that with my hair line. Please view the website. My products are 100% animal cruelty free vegan hemp base lashes and I’m a West Coast girl so I got a bit of a slick mouth so the products names are a little bit different. You can’t go to the website without having a good laugh. I have lashes by the name of hikey he paid. I have lip gloss called IDK him, View pictures on my website.
I’m a West Coast hair shop baby. I grew up on all of the greats from Elgin Charles to the amazing Ellen Lavar to the outstanding Kim Kimble and if you really know T-bird and Lois from Watts hair is a part of my DNA. It’s something that’s just in me that gives me great joy. Hair can change a woman’s whole outlook on life or her whole situation. Come get a great hairstyle and leave as a whole new woman. I love seeing that particular change. It’s amazing…for every young girl who reads this understand your situations are not who you are, they help shape us. You can be whoever you want to be because you come from a certain area doesn’t mean that you’re stuck there, you are not what they call you. You can grow up and do great things. Run in front of your dreams, not behind them. This is coming from someone who comes from what people will consider the rough part of the city. You control your reality, no one else.
So if you’re looking for, or need a great hairstyle, and you’re in Dallas, come see us. We do incredible extensions, camouflage services for clients with hair loss and we’re just an all around One stop shop and yes we do shampoo cleanse hair. LOL
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
#1. Have knowledge of self understanding who and what you are before you come into the cosmetology industry or any industry. Don’t allow anyone to tell you who and what you are.
#2. Be self-motivated, understand no one owes you anything. You have to work extremely hard to get whatever your level of success is, be independent.
#3. Love, honor, obey and respect yourself. Have self-esteem, have the confidence to blaze your own trail, never be envious or jealous of any woman next to you or beside you. Her greatness does not take away from yours. Be helpful to other women along the way, especially in the hair community.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
My ultimate goal is to partner with established hair brands in our hair community to partner and create hair care line products for cancer surviving patients starting the journey of growing their hair back. Styling products, salon furniture and I would definitely love to join a creative team for a company, maybe Joico or any other brand. Would love to be able to bring my level of creativity to a Brand’s creative team because I don’t always see representation like me a part of these teams. Thank you in advance to all collaborative creative partnerships in the near future. Thank you all for supporting everything that is HIKEY. YA LLC SALON ANY BRANDS THAT WOULD LIKE TO CONTACT ME MY CONTACT INFORMATION IS WITHIN THIS ARTICLE. THANK YOU
Contact Info:
- Website: www.hikeyyagorgeousllc.com
- Instagram: @hikeyysalon314
- Facebook: renayHIKEY
- Yelp: Hikey ya gorgeous LLC SALON
- Other: 8813 North Tarrant Parkway suite 121 North Richland Hills Texas 76182 hikeyyagorgeous@gmail.com
Image Credits
Hair by hikey ya gorgeous LLC SALON Makeup provided by Makiyanbrown Eyebrows provided by tahirah elahi aesthetics Photos artwork and products owned & created & takenby R.bossy Graham for Hikey ya gorgeous LLC SALON ™ Please keep all credit just like this please make sure this is posted an article thank you
