By Ruth Ann Ruiz
The Post Newspaper Features Editor
On the back of her business cards is the Bible verse Hebrews 11:1: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Cynthia Collins is a woman who lives by faith, and she braids hair for a living.
“It’s a gift the Lord has given me, and I have a relationship with my clients, they can talk freely with me,” said Cynthia. “And braiding is a stress reliever.”
Most of her clients require at least three hours, and some, depending on the length of the braids, can take up to eight hours. Most braids, Cynthia says, can be left untouched for three to four months once completed. Just unbraiding a single braid takes 10–15 minutes.
Watching Cynthia’s intense, subtle hand motions as she weaves together what will become a masterpiece of braids is somewhat hypnotizing. But when she breaks out her mile-wide smile and chats about her lifelong gift for braiding hair and her deep, abiding faith in God and Jesus Christ, the hypnotic effect gives way to a joyful conversation.
“My brother’s girlfriend showed me how to braid,” said Collins. “I started braiding my friend’s hair then moms would pay me $10 to braid their daughter’s hair.”
Creating what is known as cornrows and other braided styles became second nature for her and she acquired many clients from her early years as a young person.
She fell in love with dreadlocks decades ago and decided to get her own hair woven by an expert. While she was waiting her turn in his shop, she kept her eyes on his hands as he worked on another client.
“While I was waiting, I watched how he did it. He would take a barber comb and grab some of the hair, then use mousse and gel to saturate it. Then he’d take the comb at the root of the hair and roll it,” said Cynthia.
From then on Cynthia was crafting the style for herself and others.
Cynthia was born in Galveston and is a member of the choir at Macedonia Baptist Church in Galveston.
As a woman who lives her life by faith, when her full-time employment ended due to a reduction in force, she held onto her faith and allowed God to show her the way. She then built out her hair braiding business, bringing in new clients and retaining the ones whose hair she had been braiding for decades.
The tools for her trade are rather simple: lots of gel, combs, and items that look like they came out of a sewing basket, including what looks like a crochet hook. Braiding hair, after all, is an ancient practice and not reliant on modern hair tools.
Cynthia crafts many types of braids, including what she calls micro locs, which she has created with her own hair. The length of the loc is dependent on the length of the individual’s hair.
She also does knotless braids, which are started with a person’s natural hair before weaving in artificial hair. Some of her clients have spent years growing their own hair, while others bring man-made products to be woven in with their natural hair.
Her clients’ ages range from six years old to no upper limit. “As long as they can sit and not turn their head, I can braid their hair,” said Cynthia.
One of her longest-standing clients is her niece, whose braids, after 19 years of growing, fall near her waistline. Auntie Cynthia has been her braider since she was just a child.
At 59, Cynthia has been braiding hair for nearly 85% of her life—close to five decades. She doesn’t see herself stopping anytime soon. She loves what she does, and her clients keep coming back, bringing their braiding visions to the only person they trust to bring them to life.
