In The Chair With: Fantasy Hair Braider Kayra Theodore

“In The Chair” spotlights the incredible hairstylists and makeup artists in our community who are giving us major inspiration. Each week, they discuss their personal beauty and career journeys, what they’ve learned from their clients, and their top glam tips. “Most of my life was planned and done for me,” hair artist Kayra Theodore tells ESSENCE. From wearing a school uniform to living out her mother’s dreams through ballet, tennis, and piano, “my future plans derived from what the people around me deemed as what was good for me.” Believe it or not, “hair was the first thing in my life that I struggled to take charge of even though it wasn’t for the right reason,” Theodore says. Growing up Haitian in America with mostly white classmates, she was bullied in middle school for her hair. But, since her mother did it, she’d sneak in the bathroom and change her hair before class. It wasn’t until a year later that she finally told her mother she wanted to straighten her hair. Then, in high school, she turned back to Black styles, specifically large box braids. But, “the salon said they wouldn’t do the style,” she recalled. So, “I went home and on my first try I recreated it perfectly and never looked back.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by ᝰ☾❦𝄞✩KAYRA🧚🏽‍♂️ᵕ̈⚘𖥸❧𓆉︎ (@kayratheodore) By college, braiding was her side hustle. But, she started getting more imaginative with her braid styles, which has since earned her over 300,000 followers and tens of millions …