The Cast Of Wetv’s ‘Cutting It In The ATL’: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly Of Reality TV
By Ronda Brooks
Atlanta is quickly becoming the leading hair mecca of the world. The stakes are high and the competition is always fierce in this budding epicenter. At the helm of this rich city are the men and women who consider hair an art and treat it as such.
The city of Atlanta makes for the perfect back- drop for one of Wetv’s popular reality shows. “Cutting It In The ATL” follows the lives and interactions of five salon owners who are dominant players in the Atlanta hair game. These fierce and fashion-forward ladies are closing out their second season on the show and have shown the world what it takes to remain on top.
Dedra Allen
This sassy North Carolina native has shown her fans the many different sides of Dedra this season. The viewers had initially grown accustomed to seeing Dedra go from zero to one hundred in a matter of seconds but this season, Dedra toned it all down and brought forth a new persona many weren’t expecting. This season, viewers got a chance to see Dedra humble herself, apologize, and mend friendships for the sake of her business. This short haired diva has expanded her beauty empire by opening up her own beauty academy and her expansion plans don’t stop there.
Read the full article in the new issue of Kontrol
Mushiya Tshikuka
Mushiya is an outspoken, confident, natural hair queen. Although Mushiya has loved all things natural hair from a very young age, being a part of the hair industry was not initially one of her life goals. Mushiya’s love for empowering women helped guide her into becoming the hair mogul that she is today.
“I fell in love with transitioning women. I fell in love with building women. I fell in love with the kind of confidence it would bring women when I was finished doing what I did to them. Because I have always been into natural hair ever since a young age, I would enlighten women a lot about what they didn’t know. It’s been hundreds and hundreds of years that we believed straight hair to be what’s beautiful. I was literally transforming their lives. Because once someone is back in tune with their natural, and realizes how beautiful they are, you change their whole life.”
Read the full article in the new issue of Kontrol
Maja Sly
Maja Sly is a business savvy self-proclaimed “serial entrepreneur”. Maja has a unique prospective on the hair industry and has molded her businesses to fit her needs. Maja has in part grown her beauty empire by using technology to her advantage.
“For me, I’ve used technology to grow my other business which is “Pretty Hair”. Any one person can sell one hundred bundles of hair in one day, but one person can’t do one hundred installs a day and have the profit margins be the same. I don’t have to worry if no one in Atlanta wants to get their hair done today, because I sold hair in Kentucky. Any salon owner who is not online and not making money online they’re going to be out of business in the next five years. There’s no other way around it.”
Read the full article in the new issue of Kontrol
LaKenya Morris
LaKenya is the youngest cast member on the show and this season she has proved that she can hold her own in the hair industry. Being a reality television star does have its perks, but it doesn’t save you from experiencing the growing pains of starting a business.
“Setting myself apart from everybody else and just trying to find some stability and finding confidence in who I am in my field is probably the biggest challenge.” Not only is Lakenya a business owner and entrepreneur but she has recently taken on the role of mentor. LaKenya has started a six month mentoring program for budding beauty professionals.
Read the full article in the new issue of Kontrol
Beautii Joseph
Beautii is a Miami native who is setting the Atlanta hair industry on fire! Like a few of her cast mates, Beautii is focusing on expanding her beauty empire. This season, fans got to witness the birth of two new businesses “Spoiled Opulence Express” and “Bfit”.
“The reason I started Spoiled Opulence Express is because there was a need in the college campuses where young women needed services at a discounted price. But I’m giving them the same premium services as Spoiled Opulence. It’s another avenue for me to generate more cash into my business as well. I was thinking about residual income. Also, everyone on the show has a hair line. I have a hairline too, but it didn’t make sense to talk about it so much. So, I offer my hair line with the services of Spoiled Opulence Express. With BFit, I went to school for fashion design. So I figured that I wanted to put out a clothing line, but I didn’t want it to be just a regular clothing line. I wanted it to be different. It’s a totally different energy for me because it has nothing to do with hair. But I am trying to captivate my hair audience through BFIT. I plan to do some pop-up shops and BFit challenges in the future. It’s all about overall beauty.”
Read the full article in the new issue of Kontrol
Photography by Will Sterling
Styling by Julian R. Lark Assisted by Cameron Bonds
Makeup By Jayson Glenn, Maryann Sanders, Shenelle Mays-Smith, & Shalawn Willis
Hair by Corwin Pledger, Brandy Wells, & Tomica Sarver
