Parents stun teen with bedroom redo to 'boost her passion' for hair, and her reaction is priceless
Most bedroom makeovers consist of a fresh coat of paint and new bedding, but Aniyah Hawkins, 16, got that and then some. The high school junior from Richmond, Va., walked into her room on Christmas morning to find a full hair salon set up in her bedroom.
Aniyah’s parents, Keone and Anthony Hawkins, said they got the idea after seeing how much interest their daughter showed in hair a few years ago. Last spring, she took a class with a braider, who asked Aniyah to assist her in the summer.
Keone and Anthony thought about giving Aniyah just a salon chair for Christmas, but after seeing the rest of the shop items they decided to go all the way.
“Aniyah had been wanting us to redo the room. We saw the drawers and the mirrors and said let’s make it look like a hair salon,” Keone told Yahoo Lifestyle. “We also wanted to boost her passion. We wanted her to have a space where she can learn and be creative.”
Under the guise of a regular room redo, Aniyah’s parents had her sleep on the couch while Keone and Anthony worked for a week and a half to install the mini-salon.
“She had no idea what was going on. She just thought it was a room makeover. Nowhere near this capacity,” Keone said.
The big reveal happened on Christmas. Aniyah walked into her half-room, half-salon, aptly named Studio A, completely shocked, which mom and dad caught on video and posted to Facebook the same day. The video now has over a million views.
The majority of the thousands of comments are positive. “That’s how you invest in your child’s future!!!” one person wrote. Keone said that a bunch of strangers have messaged her and offered to donate hair supplies.
The Hawkinses explained that’s exactly why they decided to go above and beyond for their daughter.
“We just try to do as much as we can to make their dreams come true,” said Anthony.
They’re off to a great start. Aniyah has already had a few clients and wants to own her own salon one day. Thanks to her parents, she’s literally halfway there.
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