Rising Stars: Meet Kimberlee Yarbrough of Memphis, TN

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kimberlee Yarbrough.

Hi Kimberlee, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I am a native of Memphis,TN, and was born to stellar award winning radio personality Sherry Mackey on June 06,1993. I was blessed with two fathers Earl Yarbrough and Robert Eafen, who is the father of my sister Courtney. I was raised in a loving, Christian, church going family that believes in prayer and the power of JESUS Christ.

Throughout my academic years, I was an active and accomplished student, and I participated in various extracurricular activities. I learned how to play the trumpet and was the second chair trumpet player in the band in middle school. I was also a dedicated member of the All-West Honors Chorus for three years. My passion for music and performance led me to be involved in the gospel choir, concert choir, cheer team, softball team, and flag team. Additionally, I took part in several prestigious programs, including the Key and Locke Club, the National Honor Society, People to People World Ambassadors, and the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council.

At the age of 16, in 2009, I had the life-changing opportunity to travel to Europe through an exchange program. I spent three weeks exploring the continent, visiting iconic destinations such as Switzerland, Paris, France, and London, England. This experience sparked a lifelong passion for travel. I have since explored many countries and I love traveling to new destinations, embracing different cultures and broadening my worldview.
Excelling in my studies, I remained an honor student throughout my school career and graduated in the top 10% of my class at Whitehaven High School. After high school, I pursued higher education at Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi, where I was a distinguished member of the Honors College. I majored in Business Administration and Entrepreneurship, earning my degree in May 2015.

During my last year of college, I started transitioning my hair and right before graduation, I big chopped my shoulder length, relaxed hair down to a one inch curly afro, and though I had always known how to keep my hair healthy, I knew nothing about taking care of naturally curly hair. Because of this, I turned to online sources like Youtube influencers to learn more, but during that time, there were not a lot of hair products that were natural and free from harsh ingredients. As time went on, I learned more and more about what it takes to care for natural hair.

Because I had a burning passion for hair care, following graduation, I moved to Atlanta, GA, where I attended Paul Mitchell The School Atlanta to further my education and attempted to receive my Master Cosmetology License. In 2016, I returned to Memphis and explored various career paths in Administration, Service, and Education before finding my true passion. I began doing hair tutorials and inadvertently became an influencer for natural hair.

During the summer of 2020, tragedy struck when I lost the patriarch of my family, my grandfather, Harrison Mackey. My grandfather and I were extremely close, and as a child, I witnessed him endeavor many entrepreneurial ventures, and I would often watch close by as he worked his many hats. Though I was grieving, this ignited a fire that pushed me more than ever before. I began to research more about business and natural hair care, and slowly began to experiment with different formulas for hair products. I turned my 894 square foot apartment into a studio and science lab, filled with herbs, hopes, and MANY failed attempts. Once I settled on my formulas, I began using the products on my hair and saw how it flourished! I then knew I had struck gold.

In 2021, I relocated to Nashville, TN, and launched my own natural haircare e-commerce business, Fropunzel Natural Hair and Body Care, which specializes in all-natural, Ayurvedic-based handmade products. My business has improved and grown steadily, reflecting my commitment to holistic and natural beauty solutions.

The year 2024 marked a beautiful milestone in my life as I welcomed my baby boy, Kai Harrison Renfroe. Desiring to be closer to family, I moved back to Memphis, TN, where I currently reside. Now a devoted stay-at-home mom, I continue to build and expand my business as I enter my fourth year as an entrepreneur.

Through my journey of education, travel, career exploration, and entrepreneurship, I remain dedicated to personal growth, family, and empowering others through natural haircare.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has definitely not been smooth, but so is life. I did 99% of everything for my business except creating my logo. A lot of things have been trail and error, learning as I go, and/or finding courses I can take in each specialty area.

One struggle I encountered was my website not working correctly on my launch day. I had been hyping up my launch day for weeks, so when this happened I completely broke down crying. Ultimately I had to delay everything to the very next day.

Another struggle I encountered was understanding the totality of what preparing, packaging, and shipping an order means. It seems very simple, but in actuality, it is a very tedious process.

Delegating tasks was and still is a struggle for me, because I have been accustomed to doing everything myself from formulating the products, bottling them, creating labels, sealing them, packaging them, and shipping them. I look at my business like my baby so it can be hard trusting someone else to do things to my standard.

Having my baby has definitely been a new challenge and obstacle. I am about 7months into this parenting thing, and juggling a baby and a business is not for the week. Being a mom is exhausting and entrepreneurship is exhausting and they both require you to show every single day and they both cause you to have sleepless nights. Putting the two together has been one of the hardest challenges of my life, however, this has definitely pushed me more towards delegating tasks.

I believe my biggest struggle has been marketing and being consistent with my marketing. There are so many aspects and levels to marketing, and because I have returning customers, I sometimes get lost in fulfilling orders, that I do not think about potential customers I could be attaining.

The hardest challenge I had to accept was that my family, friends, and even people that love my social media content, may not be my customers.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I specialize in natural hair and create handmade, natural hair and body care products. My products are infused with Ayurvedic herbs, and work to nourish and heal the scalp and cuticle.

I started off creating hair tutorials and influencer content, then switched to a more lifestyle and natural hair based content.

What sets me apart from others is the love I have for truly helping people love themselves more through loving their hair and body more. This is why my business slogan is, “We can’t wait to heal and nourish you!”.

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
What matters the most to me is GOD, family, love, and true healing and positive transformation.

I would be nothing without Jesus Christ. I have been through so much in my short almost 32 years of life, and I am so grateful I do not look like what I have been through. I am so blessed and I owe it all to my savior. Try HIM. You won’t regret it.

I absolutely love my family, and I consider the friends we are blessed with in life family as well. I was raised in love and had the opportunity to experience what togetherness felt like and meant. I believe our family are the community we are born into to love and support us automatically. The word family even ends with the words I love you.

I also believe the entire Earth runs smoother when people are happy and when we move in and through love, and that goes deep. Though there are only a few exceptions to the rule, I truly believe healing comes from doing the work it takes to heal, whether that applies to mentally, spiritually, or physically. If everyone shows up to everyday willing and ready to heal and transform positively, Earth would be a better place.

Pricing:

• Slippery: Moisturizing Detangling Conditioner $18.00
• The Penetrator: Hair Healing Mask $21.00
• Leave It In: Leave In Conditioner $18.00
• Curl Popper: Hair Growth Buttercream $18.00
• Lots Not Dreads: Curl & Loc Moisturizing Spray $21.00

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.fropunzel.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fropunzel_
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FROpunzelCares
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/FROpunzel
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@fropunzel_