Meet Dr. Essie Moore, Professional Cosmetologist & Author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dr. Essie Moore and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dr. Essie, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
My name is Essie Moore, I was born and raised in Paris, a small town in Northeast Texas. I was the fifth child, and that made me perhaps “The baby of the family”. I was somewhat spoiled to being called the baby girl. My father nicknamed me “Sampson,” because I had beautiful thick, long hair. When I was a child both of my parents worked hard to make sure that my siblings were provided for. They didn’t make a lot of money, but it was enough to sustain our family. When I was eight years old, my father passed away and this was the beginning of a life changing experience for my entire family.

Home as I was so use to calling it, was no longer the same because my father was gone and my mother was no longer able to provide for us. She no longer worked, and had met a man that changed our lives forever. Growing up was hard in some ways, but as a child I knew that I was going to make it through my struggles. I was reared by my oldest sister and her husband, along with their two sons. I was a happy child, because I was in a home where I felt safe and secure. I lived there until I married a very handsome man. He was my best friend and a supporter of whatever I decided to do. He was my cheerleader and I loved every minute of it. I even enlisted in the U.S. Army, and he was there cheering me on. You have to understand my story, in order to see my glory. I’ve been through so much, but I made it.

My career started when I met him, first trying to get into nursing school and not being successful, to my husband inspiring me to become a cosmetologist. he told me that since I couldn’t get into nursing school, that if I went to beauty school, he would build me a salon. “And guess what; he did’… I was owner of my own business and he later built me a second salon. I felt so blessed. But something was still missing, in my life. So, I went back to college and became a Cosmetology Instructor. I soon, landed a position as an Instructor of Cosmetology at a Community College.

I felt so passionate about this position because, I was now able to help someone else by giving back and teaching them the necessary skills to become practioneer’s in cosmetology, and owning a salon at the same time. I was able to take care of my clients hair and scalp, discuss hair regimens, and amongst so may other aspects of cosmetology.

During my time spent teaching at the college, I excelled in my career, by first earning my, Associates of Applied Science Degree, Specialty area Cosmetology, secondly, my Bachelor’s of Applied Arts and Science, third, my Master’s of Education Degree, and the my Doctorates Degree. I am an Advanced professional Cosmetologist and have Authored two books that I am so proud of. The first one is “The Mane Attraction, and the other one is Predestined to Fulfill a Mission. They are both sold on Amazon.com , Barnes and Nobles, and Walmart Online .
Being able to teach and help someone has been my desire, my entire life. I am a very passionate person, when it come’s to my career, because my intentions, as a professor, was to not leave one student behind or allow them to fall through the cracks of not obtaining a license to practice cosmetology. I have always wanted to be that helping hand, to pull you out of the clay and help mold you into something better. When I am instructing students, I think of myself, because I was that same person, in the same situation and someone had to help me through my struggles. I was a survivor, and so were my students.
My motto is: Be the best that you can be; If you believe, you can achieve.
If someone ask me today, who I am, I would tell them, I am
Dr. Essie Moore, Professional Cosmetologist, AAS; BAAS: M.Ed; Author and U.S.Army Veteran

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
What sets me apart from others is that, and what I most proud of of and excited about.

I am an individual that is motivated by just thinking about how a task can be accomplished. I am a teacher that will not give up on her students. I am so proud of them, when the Texas Department of Licensing and regulations (tdlr) sends their results back to the college and they have passed their exam to become professionals. It is very rewarding because, I feel like I have done my part to help them with the start of their career. “We normally celebrate in-house with a nice graduation dinner for everyone, until the “big college graduation ceremony comes, usually in May of every year.

How did you get to where you are today professionally?

I got to where I am today, by the Grace of God, and him putting my husband in my life, just when I needed him most. He has supported me 100%. It was not easy, there were many obstacles that I had to overcome, such as, financial responsibilities, while attending college. I had positive role models around me, co-workers that was attending college, like I was and my peers allowing me to take classes while being employed as an instructor. Also, I had no out -of-pocket expense for my classes, because as long as I was passing my courses, the college took care of the first degree that I received, which was my Associates of Applied Science Degree.

The lessons that I have learned along the way….

Even when you feel like giving up, stay focused because there is a reward at the end of the tunnel. There were many days that I got tired because, I was taking courses, completing one degree and jumping right into the next one. I was on total “burn-out” but I kept pushing and praying to “God” to help me. I earned a total of four degrees before I came to the finish line. So,my lesson through it all is, Never give up. If you want it bad enough, go after it and stop wishing that you had it, Claim that you already have it, and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would first, invite them into my own Chef’s kitchen for Breakfast. There we would have the best homemade pancakes, waffles, eggs, omelets, french toast, thick slab bacon, sausage and the list on and on. Next, We would have a break in the day for drinks at a local restaurant….a frozen sweet marquerita would be nice, since I am not a drinker, and maybe an appetizer of buffalo wings with cheese sticks, tortilla chips and spinach dip would be great. For the late dinner meal, we would definitely make an appointment to visit the best Fish and Steak place in our town and eat until we drop. The steaks are so moist and the fish is worth dying for. (smh)! It is so good. Not to leave off the baked potato, fries, coleslaw, pickled tomatoes, hush puppies etc. and to top it all of…A large Mug of Tea. (lol)… A fun place to visit would be we would catch a nice flick at a movie theatre. After that, we would go shopping at our local town mall and enjoy!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to make a shoutout to everyone that has supported me, kept me grounded, when I wanted to give up. My husband, Regenold and my daughters. My church family and friends. Last, but not least, I want to Thank God because, without him, this would not be possible. Also, I would like to thanks Shoutout Atlanta for presenting me the opportunity to appear in a platform, so that everyone can see my story and know that, God has not forsaken us, we just have to have the faith of a mustard seed and hold on, be steadfast, and keep praying. Be a survivor!
Thank you…

Website: https://www. monatural.net

Facebook: Dr. Emarie Moore

Image Credits
Thanks to, Aqua Lee’s Photography