About Soely
Braid Street's Origin
Long before Braid Street, there was "Soely Did It!" 🤣
The journey began in 2016, during the natural hair movement, when Soely was transitioning her natural hair and began exploring with protective hairstyles as a way to care for and manage her curls. As she experimented with different styles, people began complimenting her work and asking who did her hair (hence "Soely Did It!").
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What felt like something she simply knew how to do gradually became something more.
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Braiding and protective styling were skills that had always existed within her family (shout out to Titi's Baby!) Soely never imagined that something so familiar could eventually become a source of income, independence, and stability.
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"Soely Did It!" eventually became "Styled By Soely", as experimenting on herself grew into styling others and the start of a business.
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Then, in July 2019, Braid Street was officially born.
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What began out of necessity and self-discovery has continued to evolve through education, community, and Soely's belief that hair can be connected to something much deeper, confidence, identity, self-expression, and how we care for ourselves.
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Today, Braid Street is about more than creating a beautiful style. It's about sharing skills, building confidence, creating space for growth, and honoring something that started much cloer to home than Soely ever imagined.
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Where haircare and mental wellness meet.
Meet Soely X.
Born in Brooklyn, NY, Soely X. Sanchez is a Marine Corps veteran, licensed cosmetologist and barber, educator, entrepreneur, and coach who believes in the power of personal development.
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Growing up in Brooklyn, East New York helped shape her resilience, adaptability, and determination she carries into everything she does. Those qualities followed her through the Marines, earning her Bachelors degree in Business Administration, becoming licensed in the beauty industry through Paul Mitchell the School, and coaching youth Track & Field.
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For Soely, education and coaching are at the foundation of what she offers the world. Whether she's teaching someone how to braid, coaching young athletes, or simply creating space for someone to learn and grow, her approach is rooted in patience, encouragement, accountability, and meeting people where they are.
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Mental Wellness is just as important. Soely believes that how we care for ourselves impacts how we learn, work, create, and show up for others, which is why Braid Street has always been about more than hair.
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At the heart of it all is a simple goal: help people build skills, confidence, and resilience while becoming a stronger version of themselves along the way.
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