Editor’s Note: In honor of the many everyday Staten Islanders who give back, make change, inspire others, advocate and/or care about their community, we are highlighting some of the standouts, and honoring them as Staten Island’s Brightest Lights of 2025.
Staten Island’s Brightest Lights of 2025: Tierra Milton
Tierra Milton, lovingly known as Staten Island’s “Mother of Hair,” has turned a deeply personal journey into a powerful mission to uplift others. After battling hair loss that led her to shave her head, she realized hair isn’t just aesthetic, but tied to identity, confidence, and self-love.
Fueled by this revelation, Milton founded She and Her Studio, a salon rooted in empowerment and education. Drawing from her own experience, she specializes in nurturing hair health and integrity — especially for diverse hair types — while coaching women to build a respectful, loving relationship with their hair.
Milton’s story resonates beyond the salon chair. What began as a personal struggle became a catalyst for whole-community change, as she uses her platform to redefine beauty standards and mentor others facing hair challenges. By transforming vulnerability into strength and empathy into expertise, Tierra Milton has become an inspiring testament to resilience and the profound impact one person can make.
Here is her story, originally published July 4, 2025:
A Staten Island salon owner is inspiring her clients to embrace their unique beauty—just like she did when experiencing a dramatic change in appearance after she had to shave her head following hair loss.
Tierra Milton, who was raised in the Park Hill section of Clifton, has also turned her passion for hair care into a way to nurture her community through restoring hair health and confidence for women.
Milton’s Randall Manor salon, She and Her Studio, serves women who often feel overlooked in luxury hair care spaces, and her work is dedicated to supporting individuals of all backgrounds, hair types and textures.
This has been a lifetime of commitment for Milton, who began doing hair as a young girl, caring for her uncle’s scalp.
“From the beginning I was always into the integrity of hair,” she said.
Recently Milton celebrated her remarkable journey with an event titled “10/35 Shades of Nude,” a way to honor both her 10 years in the hair industry and her 35th birthday. The celebration symbolized how deeply her personal growth and business evolution are intertwined.
Master Stylist/CEO Tierra Milton works with clients in her She & Her Hair Studio in New Brighton on June 27, 2025.Jan Somma-Hammel | Advance/SILive.comBattling hair loss
The turning point came for Milton in 2013 when she battled her own hair loss and would find hair all over her pillowcase, causing her to shave it all off.
At the time she was teaching at I.S. 49.
“I went to the school one day to teach and I took my hat off and my students just embraced it to the point where it put me in tears and they were like ‘You look so beautiful. You should embrace it. You should embrace it’,” said Milton.
She believes losing her hair made her build the resolve to love unique beauty, and now she teaches her clients to do the same. Eventually she gave herself the title, “Mother of Hair,” not just due to her technical skills, but for her nurturing conversations with clients.
She & Her Hair Studio opened its doors in April of 2015. This full service salon, which is a product of the dreams of Master Stylist/CEO Tierra Milton, here working with client Le’Ana Mauge. June 27, 2025. Jan Somma-Hammel | Advance/SILive.comHair health and restoration
Milton coaches women to “build a relationship” with their hair, and make conscious decisions to care for it—something she says is new to many of the women she works with.
Her commitment to healthy hair that goes far beyond styling. She earned her cosmetology license and later trained in trichology, the advanced science of hair and scalp health.
As her reputation and prices grew, so did the need for a better experience for her loyal customers, since she was initially doing hair from her apartment. Her clients motivated her to create a proper salon space.
Milton then founded She and Her Studio, located at 450 Castleton Ave.
Bringing the Japanese Head Spa to Staten Island
Adding the Japanese Head Spa, a luxury scalp treatment, to her offerings, is one of Milton’s innovative moves.
“When you think of a Japanese Head Spa, you think luxury, you think okay, how is my hair going to look afterward,” said Milton.
In an effort to allow her clients to relax entirely without sacrificing the health or beauty of their hair, she combined luxury scalp treatment with expertise in natural hair and protective styling.
“Why not add this unique touch for my guests and have them feeling good?” said Milton. She believes women have a tendency to serve everyone but themselves and made an effort to change that.
She & Her Hair Studio opened its doors in April of 2015. This full service salon, which is a product of the dreams of Master Stylist/CEO Tierra Milton. June 27, 2025. Jan Somma-Hammel | Advance/SILive.comAdvice for the Next Generation
Milton thinks that her greatest takeaways from the past have been to focus and practice financial discipline. She advises business owners to view themselves as an employee of their business and not the employer or entrepreneur.
“Make sure you have everything together financially. Definitely seek a financial advisor to better assist you in the long run. Don’t ever think short term, don’t think for the now. If this is something that you would fully commit to, make sure that this is something that you can retire off of,” said Milton.
She reminds herself that just because she may feel as though she can do anything she puts her mind to, she would rather focus on what the community needs.
And Milton says she also learned a powerful key to success: “Niche down. Be known for something.”
For more information visit the She and Her Studio website or Instagram account.