Inspiring Woman Builds Braiding Biz With Only 7 Fingers! "God Told Me To Pick Up A Comb”

As a child, Shavon Stevens, aka Starr Da Braider, says she watched her mother braid client's hair while she sat beside her practicing her own skill on dolls. As she got better, she practiced on her family. “I’m the youngest of five, and my mom was a single mother, so whatever extra I wanted, I would braid hair for it.”

She became braid-obsessed. “At 16-years-old, I started really taking braiding seriously, like a real job. Every day when I got out of school, and on weekends, I had clients scheduled.”

Braiding was her passion and her successful business, until spring of last year when Starr was doing some yard work. She was mowing the lawn when suddenly something went wrong and she was rushed to the ER with half of one of her middle-fingers missing—the middle finger is essential for the intricate braids she prided herself on.

Then it got worse. Her entire middle finger had to be amputated, leaving her with only seven working fingers and her two thumbs. Could you imagine?! The 27-year-old woman was devastated.

But not for long. The Memphis mother of three knew she had to set a good example for her kids—and she knew she just had to find a way to get back to doing what she loved.

“I wasn’t worried about the pain, nor the fact that my finger was gone,” she told Yahoo Business. “All I could think about was how I was going to braid. Every day and night I cried for about two weeks, and it was like that second week, God told me to pick up a comb.”

She vowed to keep on braiding her incredible creations, even making them better and more detailed than before, and posted online about what happened.

The response was overwhelming.

With her beautiful braids fashioned to look like everything from hearts to stars, and even crowns and unicorns, she has become an Instagram influencer and now has more clients than she can handle! In fact, she’s all booked up two months in advance!

Starr’s story should serve as an inspiration to us all. As the great Maya Angelou said, “If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude.” #StarrStruck