Salon owner for 17 years now behind the only Black woman-owned beauty academy in South Jersey

Atiya Johnson recently opened the only Black-owned beauty academy in South Jersey. It is a 6,000+ square foot facility that houses classroom space and also a studio, according to Black News. Johnson, a salon owner for 17 years, launched the beauty academy called Janas Cosmetology Academy in October.

Johnson first got involved in the hair business when she took over the running of her mother’s hair business called Janas Hair Studio, which was founded in 1994.

Since then, she has provided various customers with full-service hair salon options and has over the years seen a trend where people she has employed lacked the ability to properly style and help maintain ethnic hair.

Aside from employees lacking the ability to properly style, they also lack the skills to style the hair needs of the diverse clientele. Having noticed the deficit in the skills of hairstylists, Johnson decided to open an academy to train professional hairstylists. On October 30, 2021, Janas Academy officially opened as a full-service beauty school.

The academy is located in South Jersey where the overwhelming majority of beauty academies are owned by white males, with the number of teachers lacking diversity, according to Black News.

Black News further reports that the school offers training in cosmetology, barbering, braiding, nail technician, and teacher certification on a nine-month full-time basis and on a part-time basis. It also has both in-house training and online training.

Once students are done with classroom lecturing, they receive practical training at Jana’s Hair Studio in the area of natural hair care, relaxers, braiding, color, cuts, weaving, lock maintenance, and wigs.

The beauty entrepreneur is excited to realize her goal of serving her community through her beauty school. “I am so glad that we are finally here. My passion for helping individuals in the areas of technical training is a dream come true,” she said.