Meet Reyna Curtis | Houston Loc Fairy

We had the good fortune of connecting with Reyna Curtis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Reyna, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I believe that the true meaning of living your life begins with taking risks. Risks are scary and unpredictable, but that just makes it even more exciting to me. I knew that I would beat myself up later on in my life if I never stepped out on faith and took this risk.

Whether it’s in my personal life or professional career, I always follow my heart. I took a risk leaving my full-time job as a medical secretary to become a Loctician. That job provided stability for me and long term employment, but it was not where my heart lied and I was miserable every single day doing something that I did not truly love to do. If I had not took this risk and jumped out on faith to follow my dream, I would not be where I am today. I am so happy and blessed now. I am loving my stress-free lifestyle and spending more time with my family a because I am in control of my life and my own schedule. I’m living my dream because I took a risk.

What should our readers know about your business?
The name of my business is Houston Loc Fairy, meaning that I work magic on my clients locs. I love to tell my clients that locs are not just a hair style, they are a lifestyle. I specialize in healthy loc maintenance, loc repairs, and loc extensions. I believe that what sets me apart from any other stylist that does locs is the experience that I provide and the quality of my work. I provide for my clients what I would like to have myself such as, prompt timing, comfortable atmosphere, and intense and relaxing shampoos. My retwists are clean and parting is neat. I use a locking gel that does not cause buildup or flaking.
I have a background in customer service and I think that plays a role in my success as well. I only use natural and high-quality products that are the best for your scalp and hair growth.

Having a healthy scalp is a huge part of having locs. I assist my clients on their journey to help them keep their locs nourished and moisturized, as well as, promoting hair growth and healthy hair practices at home in between visits with me.

I am so proud of all of my clients who choose to start their journey with me and have trusted me to guide them and take care of their locs. Watching their locs grow, as well as, each and every one of my clients is absolutely rewarding to me.
It has not been easy getting to where I am today and I would never want anyone to think that I’ve had it easy in any way. This all started with a sketched out plan on college-ruled notebook paper while at the brink of breaking down from a job that undervalued me and did not appreciate my hard work. I got here because I made a plan and I stuck to it. I started making decent income to pay my bills and put my two weeks notice in as a medical secretary at a doctors office in Rice Village. I wasn’t making the same amount of money but I was happy.
I started out by watching and learning under my mentor everyday after work at 5pm, I would go to her salon for training until about 9-10pm. The next day, I would do it again and again the next day and slowly, I gained more and more confidence to start taking clients and the rest is history.

One lesson that I learned along the way was that I have to value not only my time but also the wear and tear on my body. I stand for 8 or more hours some days, without a break and without eating but I do it because I’m enjoying myself and don’t want to stop. I could stop of course and ask clients to wait but once I get into my zone, I’m unstoppable. I love repairing locs and reattaching locs and doing styles that a client brought in from off of Pinterest and giving them exactly what they wanted. The satisfaction that my clients have when they look in the mirror just makes it all worth it and that feeling is priceless. But, at the end of the day, my body aches and then I realize that I have to take care of myself in order to continue doing what brings me so much happiness. I’m glad I learned this lesson in particular earlier than later in my career because many stylists have to involuntarily retire due to arthritis and bone and muscle problems. Now, I can schedule accordingly and not over work myself. I am more interested in the marathon rather than a sprint.

I believe that being a loctician is what I have supposed to been doing and I’ve finally found my purpose. I’ve been doing protective hair styles and practicing cosmetology since 2006, but didn’t start exclusively doing locs professionally and full time until 2020. I have an extremely long wait list and stay booked to capacity for months out and am very hard to get in with. I just ask for patience from potential new clients who would like to book with me and for my current, loyal clients to plan ahead and to book at their appointment for their next visit. I started my business just only months before the pandemic started and almost two years later, I feel on top of the world. I want my clients to know that I value them, I appreciate them, I love them, I want the best for them, I am excited for them, and I am thankful to be able to call them my clients. Thank you.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I am an extreme foodie so I love this question. When you come to Houston, you have to get some good eats. Let’s start on Sunday, The Breakfast Klub has the best breakfast/ brunch in town and is a black owned establishment that has been throwing down for years and has lines wrapped around the corner of visitors to get in for a taste. There are plenty of brunch places and Sunday Funday hangouts that I would take them to also. Through the week, I would recommend Pappadeaux or Pappasitos for lunch. They are my all time fave for good drinks and good food and prices aren’t bad during lunch. Happy hour I would recommend an authentic Mexican food restaurant or hang out with music and lots of social life. For walks and exercise to burn off some of that food, the arboretum or trail at Memorial park is definitely a sight to see. Houston has so much to offer for night life downtown and uptown and in the Third Ward area. The museum district is a must see as well as our Galleria for shopping.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
First and foremost, my husband James is owed credit for planting the seed in my mind about doing locs in the very beginning. It was never a thought in my mind until the day he decided to start his own loc journey. His name is James Curtis and I love him dearly and appreciate all of his love and support. If it were not for James searching for a loctician to maintain his locs, I would not had met my mentor, Natasha Ford aka The Loc Tribe, she took me under her wing as soon as I showed interest in learning the ins and outs of the business. Natasha encouraged me to go for what I want and to be a success. She gave me the information, the technique and the confidence to keep practicing until I got it right. These two people are definitely the people in my life that deserve a shoutout without a doubt.

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