Two young girls from Southern California went viral last week after videos of their extraordinary hair-braiding talent hit the web. 8-year-old Jayonnah and 10-year-old Aiyonnah were captured by their mother doing intricate braiding styles.
Their mother Ashley is a professional hairstylist and told Atlanta Black Star it was never her intention to teach her daughters how to braid, but “monkey see monkey do.”
“It was not important for them to learn to braid. I want them to focus [on] school. Braiding was just a bonus talent that they happen to pick [up] from seeing me braid all the time.”
She continued, “Jayonnah started braiding at 3 and Aiyonnah was about 5 years old. Jayonnah has the ‘monkey see monkey do’ mentalities so anything I show her she can do after a few times.”
Jayonnah wishes to be a celebrity hairstylist while Aiyonnah wants to pursue gymnastics. In the meantime, Ashely is busy helping the girls launch a youtube channel to share their talent with other children.
“A lot of parents have been reaching out for the girls to teach their kids and the girls are excited to start their YouTube channel and teach other girls their age how to braid. Everyone wants to book an appointment with the girls for braids but they are not taking clients right now.”
