SaBrina Reece, owner of 'Braids by SaBrina,' celebrated 15 years of service last Saturday with an open house celebration in Los Angeles.   During this celebration, she received awards from the City of Compton from Bernard Parks and presented with another award from the California Legislature Assembly by Councilmember Jan Perry.  It's hard to believe that it's been that long since she's opened up shop because I was one of her customers 3 years after she opened her doors.

In 1999, I started letting my natural hair texture grow out.  My friend at the time had told me about Braids by SaBrina and encouraged me to get my hair braided.  She told me, 'All you need to do is wash your hair.  Don't press it or blow dry it or nothin'.  Just go with your hair like that and they'll know what to do with it.'  I even had to ask her 'even without a relaxer in my hair?'  And she answered 'YES!'

Click above for photos from the celebration

I listened and booked an appointment to have my hair braided at SaBrina's salon.  I washed my hair and let it airdry, leaving me with a shrunken afro.  Reece trains all of her braiders to braid the same way, so you pretty much get who you're assigned to until you build a relationship and know the stylist you want.  The braiders all have their individual strengths.  But ultimately, the quality of the braiding was always consistent.

Despite the fact that I unknowingly gave my braider more than she had bargained for, I left that day with the most beautiful head of braids that kept me coming back year after year.

At that time, I had never heard of a salon that could work with naturally coily hair textures.  Without 'Braids by SaBrina,' I probably would have never completed my natural hair journey.  She and her braiders gave my hair the love and attention it needed.  They did their best to handle it to make sure I walked out with my hair beautifully styled.

There's a lot more to know about SaBrina Reece than her business know-how.  She's an activist and an overcomer of the odds.  She fought against laws that would have severely hindered the braiding industry as a whole.  She experienced unfortunate family circumstances but still managed to succeed against all odds.  She uses her experience to teach and encourage her braiders.  As Reece quoted on Jasmynecannick.com, "I wanted to uplift and motivate them and teach them to stop using the excuse that they are the product of crackhead parents, the foster care system, or high school dropouts for failure.  So was I and I didn’t let that stop me from going after my dreams.”

Learn more about Braids by SaBrina at www.braidsbysabrina.com or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/HairBraidingShop.