Life & Work with Adrianna Thomas

Today we’d like to introduce you to Adrianna Thomas.

Hi Adrianna, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
No matter how many times I tell my story, it will always amaze me. My start is so random lol when I explain it out loud, I can’t help but laugh but also thank God for the unexpected blessing that my start turned out to be. I was about 17 years old and had an assignment in my AP Psychology class. We were asked to go on a Public Forum such as YouTube to find videos about Colorism in America.

In 2007-2009, that was a huge topic for some reason, so our teacher wanted us to learn more about it and how it still affected our generation. I ran across a video of this rapper, I think Yung Berg, and he was talking about how he didn’t like “dark butts” and all dark skin black women need to be dipped in the pool prior to going out on a date. It was so stupid to me, even at my young age.

Lol, I made a response video (not knowing anything about YouTube) and I basically said that I was proud to be a dark skin girl and encouraged every brown girl to be proud and to not listen to rappers with his mindset. I still completed the assignment, while debating about it on YouTube. I may have expressed myself in an unorthodox matter, but I did what I was told.

Long story short, my video went viral lol back then, 20k-50k or so views was considered “going viral” and I made a few more videos about being dark skin and boom, people were hooked.

I later discovered a YouTuber named Atteya. She posted a video about her relaxed hair and did a giveaway for some hair products. I thought it was sooo crazy that this lady was talking about a relaxer on YouTube because I had the impression that it was solely about politics and such. I made a video entering her giveaway and I lost, LOL but people loved my video so I continued to post random beauty videos.

The most popular video was my video showing how I micro braided my hair in the front and sewed hair in the back. It was a regular Florida girl style at the time, and I thought EVERYBODY in the world knew about that technique. To my surprise, it was a game-changer on social media lol. From there, I accumulated over 45 million views, 200k subscribers and received my YouTube plaque in 2014 for reaching such a high number.

The rest is history.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, it has NOT been a smooth road.

However, the good always outweighs the bad. If I knew back then what I know now, I would have taken my success on YouTube more seriously. It was always just a “hobby” for me. Yes, I eventually partnered with the company and got paid a lot of money doing so. But I still didn’t realize how amazing it was to have income coming in from simply going what I love.

I always chose my career job over my natural-born talent. Doing so, made it extremely difficult. I graduated with honors from Florida A&M University and immediately jumped into a career. Being fresh out of college, you automatically think that you should take any and every opportunity that is offered to you. You spend thousands of dollars on a degree and you’re so eager to use it. That was me.

So, I took months and even years off YouTube and did hair to focus on my career. There were always rumors that I quit YouTube or something crazy happened to me lol I was honestly just working a demanding 9-5 job that didn’t allow days off. Eventually, hair and YouTube sucked me back in because I found peace doing what I love and would be crying pulling up to my office at work because it was that stressful!

Therefore, I had to balance both which was very hard. But I knew what I wanted back then and had to make it work. Mentally and physically, the road was tough. Now that I’m older and understand that doing what you love and making money while doing so is much more important to me and my peace of mind.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a self-taught hairstylist & instructor. I have over 13 years of experience. I specialize in sewing, braiding & custom wigs for all hair types including individuals that struggle with hair loss. I am also the creator of the Wig Rehab™ which is a wig and extension restoration service that is available to customers all over the United States.

Out of all of my self-taught skills, I am most proud of my accomplishments in the bridal industry. I have been specializing in bridal hairstyling and design since 2013. My work has been published in various outlets such as “A Chair Affair Inc.” Style me Pretty”, & Essence Magazine. What sets me apart from others is that I’m constantly innovating fun and creative techniques and services in the hair industry.

Bridal is my favorite type of hairstyling because it allows me to be very creative. I like creating freestyle looks that aren’t easily duplicated. For instance, the majority of my brides book me because they want a unique bridal look. So, I ensure that the example that my brides give me are executed with a twist to fit their personalities.

That is what I’m most known for, that’s what sets me apart.

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I don’t necessarily believe in luck. But I do believe that everything happens for a reason.

We are all on earth to fulfill a purpose. I personally believe that all the times I may have thought luck wasn’t on my side, it ended up being a lesson. Bad luck is a mindset. I never look at my low points in life as failures but as lessons.

Good luck, only exists when you manifest and work towards your goals. That good luck is actually the result from your hard work and faith.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://linktr.ee/thomasadriannaBeauty
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/thomasadrianna1?utm_medium=copy_link
• Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/thomasadrianna
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/c/thomasadrianna
• Other: https://instagram.com/thomasadriannabeauty?utm_medium=copy_link

Image Credits
@kendrabrysonphotography and @capturebybrahlee