Meet Keturah Burnett | Hair Braider

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

Hi Keturah, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
When I first started doing hair full time, I never had a set schedule. It would be a week full of clients and then it would be weeks where I had nothing to do. Once I had a full book of consistent clients, I had to set up a strict schedule otherwise I wouldn’t have time for anything. I used to run myself ragged trying to be kind and fit everyone in, but it was taking a toll on my body and my social life. So now I have to stay on myself about taking on too many clients in one week so I have time to relax and just spend time with my family and friends. Balance is key for longevity in this field of business.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Starting out, I had absolutely no professionalism when it came to braiding. I was only doing close family and friends hair so I would let anything slide. I would let people come late, pay me days later, I didn’t believe that I was good enough to be treated like the braiders in shops. It wasn’t until I had a client speak life into me. She told me to raise my prices, set up a set schedule, and start believing in myself more. So I did. I started taking pictures of my work, made several social media pages to start advertising myself, and I demand the same respect I give my clients. If I’m going to wake up early for you, then you should have the same respect to be on time. The biggest lesson I’ve learned so far is that if you do not believe in yourself and in your work, no one else will. How can you ask for respect when you don’t respect yourself?

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
One of my favorite places to go in Dallas is The Free Man Cafe and Lounge in Deep Ellum. This is my personal getaway from the long hours of doing hair. They have live music every single day and serve some really good Cajun food. My favorite nights are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursday nights. To get breakfast, I would take them to the Dream Cafe in uptown. The food is amazing and everyone is so nice there. And then to just have fun, I would go to Dave and Busters. I’m a sucker for arcade games or bowling.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would love to give a shout-out to my auntie Kristy! Anytime I would visit Chicago when I was a little girl, I would love when my aunt would braid my hair. I would watch her braid all of her clients hair in the basement of my grandmothers home. Now at that time , I just watched because I was fascinated, but over time, I started to really pay attention to her details. Once I started doing my own hair, I would send her pictures and videos and ask for advice on how to do it better every single time. I wanted to perfect my craft like she had.

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