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Rising Stars: Meet Tiniya Bridgers of Wilson

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Tiniya Bridgers.

Alright, thank you for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us how you got started?
Growing up, I have always been into dramatic eyelashes. My cousin and I were obsessed with mascara. When we were in middle school, we wore it everyday. It had even gotten to the point our friends wanted us to do their mascara, because of how good our eyelashes looked. In the Summer of 2018, I had just graduated High School. My cousin and I took a trip to the Beauty Supply Store. There were eyelash extensions there called clusters. I bought a pack of the extensions, and convinced my cousin to let me try them on her. Which ended up being a disaster on the first attempt. After my first attempt she ended up with two bruises above her eye due to the constant pinching I had done while trying to apply the lashes.After the monir hiccups, we did however complete the lash set and she absolutely loved them. I continued to practice, and eventually started to improve. Which led me to start doing other people for a few extra dollars, and began to fall in love with my craft.

Summer was coming to an end, and it was time for me to head off to college. Before leaving to go to college I decided to take my first lash extension course. The course I wanted to take at the time was a total of $350, so I convinced my parents into investing $100 a piece into this course as an early birthday gift. They agreed which left a total of $150 left to pay. At the time I had also spent my summer working as a CNA, so I took my last paycheck from the summer and paid the remaining balance for the course.

I took the course a day before leaving for college and hit the ground rolling. One day after moving in, I had my first client and I actually put her lashes on backwards. Which was another disaster, but that’s a story for another day. Business was pretty steady with the college students. I was only charging $25 and it was taking me about 5 hours to complete one person. I could only do about one person a day ( 2 if I had no classes ), but it worked for me.

Again as I started to perfect my craft, I grew a passion for eyelash enhancements. The University I was attending at the time wasn’t the right school for me, so I ended up returning home the following semester. I began to work as a full-time Cna, doing lashes on my days off; While also taking classes online. By this time, lashing wasn’t a huge interest for me due to my busy schedule.

Life hit and I ended up having to have knee surgery, which caused me to be out of work for a while. I used this time to continue to perfect my craft. By the time I was out of recovery, I started lashing full-time again. Being a Lash Tech has become my only occupation. My clientele was beginning to grow and income was consistent. I was happy I felt like I finally found my passion. Then Covid hit and here came the discouragement. I was so confused and angry, because I felt like I was finally getting into the swing of things. Then I realized that God makes no mistakes. I decided to use this down time to attend esthetician school. I graduated in October 2020 and opened my first shop at 19 years old. Adjusting to being a salon owner at such a young age was challenging, but my parents were very supportive and helped me tremendously along the way.

I’ve accomplished so much in the industry, from launching my makeup line to teaching over 400+ students all over the US. I can’t begin to thank God for all he’s done and for giving me strength after all I’ve been through in this journey. I just recently announced that I would be retiring from being a Las Tech at the age of 21. All after only 4 years in the industry I am starting a new journey. I’m so thankful for all the ups and downs of my journey and cannot wait to see what doors God opens next.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Being a business owner is not easy, but if you’re passionate about it you will get through any bumpy patch. Always understand that you work for yourself. So if you’re having a bad day or bad season, you can’t just mop around and beat yourself up about it. Every day wasted is every day that you’re losing money, so be mindful of that.

Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a licensed esthetician who specializes in lash extensions. I’m known for knowledge, teaching, and work in the eyelash industry. I’m most proud of my drive. I never gave up and I know if I want something bad enough I’ll work to get it. I don’t think anything sets me apart from others because I know so many great eyelash techs and teachers. However I do know that we do not all use the same technique when applying eyelashes. What God has for me is for me only.

Do you have any advice for those just starting?
God has a separate path for every individual, so you must stay the course and walk in the path God has for you and only you. Be patient, and try to not be influenced by social media or compare yourself to other people in the industry. It gets hard, but it’s worth it.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
@J.r_photoz on IG

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