For as long as Tracie could remember, she has always been fascinated with hair. From styling the hair to the hair products, anything dealing with hair has captivated her heart. She has a picture of herself at a year old running around with a brush in her hand. Her earliest memories of hair go back to her being three years old and sitting on the back of the couch combing and rolling her mother‘s hair. When she was seven years old, she showed her doll to her father and said, "Look daddy, I can braid!" He responded, "That’s not a braid, this is a braid!" He then showed her the difference between a braid and a two strand twist, which is what she had done. And boy was she overjoyed that her mother tasked her with combing her little sister Cherron’s hair. She then had a real, live baby doll. Cherron became the guinea pig for all new braiding techniques. Which at that time were French braids and cornrows.
In junior high school, Tracie‘s mother, Sharon, was tired of going to the salon and decided to teach Tracie how to press hair. Sharon was positive that Tracie was smart enough, and talented enough to learn how to press and curl her hair. So she told Tracie to practice on her doll’s hair first. What Tracie did not realize was that she was supposed to practice WITHOUT putting the pressing comb on the stove. Needless to say, she learned really fast that heat and synthetic hair do not go together.
In high school, Tracie told her dad that she wanted to be a beautician. He told her that she was too smart to do hair. He also told her to ask her aunt Judy why she didn’t do hair anymore. Heartbroken, she moved on to another dream.
Fast forward 25 years, 3 kids, 3 careers, and 3 degrees later, she still had the passion for hair. She would style friends’ and family, had even started cosmetology school twice, but was unable to finish. Her cabinets in the kitchen and bathrooms were filled with any hair product you can think of. In addition to trying any hairstyle anyone has asked to her to do, she has also tried any new hair product that showed "potential" to get the job done.
After being advised she was going to be laid off after 16 years with her company, she felt that it was finally going to be her time to focus on her God given talent; HAIR!!! She also asked aunt Judy why she didn‘t do hair anymore. Judy said she loved doing hair, her back just hurt too much. 20 years of thinking aunt Judy didn’t like styling hair and she found out she just could not do it. Twenty years wasted...
The search to find the perfect hair product led to Tracie and her sister Cherron working on their OWN product line. The only way to get the exact product to create the right look, was to CREATE the right product. This led to the birth of Sonnier Luxury Hair Care.