Today we’d like to introduce you to Linda Appiah.
Hi Linda, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was pregnant without a family in the US. Before coming I met someone online who accommodated me here. Now I needed to survive, so I started doing braids in my bedroom. Nobody knew me at then so someone introduced me to a church that’s when I talked to people and anybody I meet in shops, on the street and they started coming little by little, then I started doing home services and people started coming by word of mouth. After I gave birth I was carrying my fresh baby to people homes to braid. I felt bad for my baby because she was too little to be carry to people homes, she was just 10 days but I needed to survive, I was scared she was going to catch something because of way people live. but I didn’t give up. my child brought me big luck. I started making more money and then I decided to move into a shop to stop braiding in my room for the safety of my child and God been so God I got a cool shop at a good location. The shop was bigger than what I was expecting so I added African groceries to it so luck ABC-13 news came to cover it and that made more people to know me. Am still growing. All thanks goes to everyone who was Part of my journey. This is part of my story
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been a smooth rood.
It was a struggle to get Client because I was braiding in my room and people were not comfortable with that
Pregnancy was a Struggle, sometimes I was too week to move around
Transportation how to get to people locations were difficult and I wasn’t closer to buss stop n Uber’s was expensive.
Some people use to smoke they didn’t care about my little baby ,when I say something then they want to pick a fight .
Some of the home were unhygienic
People want to pay u want they want and people were taking advantage of me.
As a new born mother my baby and braiding was a struggle, postpartum depression, I use to crying while braiding
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I started braiding in 2013 after high school then I was in Ghana. I got to USA 2023 that’s when I started and move into my shop in July 2025. I do braids, sew-in and makeups.i do anything when it comes to hair apart from coloring. Am specialize in braids. I have done this for 13 years. Am known as braids by Aj and they know me for hair braiding. We are 3 in 1 shop. Where you can find African groceries and clothes and braiding spot at the same time. We open from Monday to Friday. 9:30 am to 7:30 pm. Stewdiaw African market is the number one stop shop in town. That’s same place you will fine braids by Aj.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
I remember family surrounded by fire listening to Anase stories in night
Pricing:
- Box braids ($195) Knotless ($225) boho braids ($295)
- Yam $3 pound
- Fufu 4 lb ($7:99)
- Dashikie ($25)
- Beads($12)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.braidsbyaj.com
- Instagram: braidsbyaj1
- Facebook: Aj stylez
