Prison to Profit: Woman uses mugshot to boost her braiding business

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Shia Milan Yearwood’s braiding business saw a big boost after her mugshot went viral. The Charlotte, NC resident was arrested on January 3 for violating a restraining order concerning the father of her children.

While her 2018 didn’t start off on a great note to say the least, Yearwood has been able to make the most of a bad situation. Once her photo was published on a Twitter account dedicated to Charlotte mugshots, Yearwood’s life took an unexpected turn.

SHIA MILAN YEARWOOD got their #mugshot posted to Charlotte Mugshots https://t.co/huzylGYJ8m pic.twitter.com/YloQz5B779

— Charlotte Mugshots (@CharlotteMugs) January 3, 2018

Instead of being mocked and shamed, people seemed most interested in who braided her hair. Those perfectly laid edges and full, lush braids were the main attraction. At least one person wanted to put a little something on her books. (For those not familiar, that means put money in her commissary account so she can purchase items available in the jail.)

Okay but who did her hair?? ??

— ✨naruto9tailfoxcoatfur✨ (@daleeshish) January 6, 2018

Love the braids

— Hope (@Hope89660462) January 8, 2018

She need something on her books

— LaDoodie Ball (@Young_Doodie) January 6, 2018

Once released from jail, Yearwood wasted no time capitalizing on her new found fame. She responded to the tweets praising her hair with rates and availability for her services.

$120

— Shia (@ShiaMilan) January 6, 2018

Several thousand retweets later, Yearwood is still basking in the glow of her mugshot fame. Though many websites have treated her situation as a joke, Yearwood took to her Instagram to let people know about the terrifying situation that landed her in jail in the first place. Domestic violence is no laughing matter.

I keep getting asked to do interviews and tell my story. Lol now y’all know me. This I funny to me bc A Lame Had me arrested. Jumped and beat on. Snatched my kid. Turned our phones off and got missing took the car we shared and moved out an apt by myself. I had the roughest month of my life and this is how I started my new year. Now let me tell y’all how God works. I thought I should take my pic with my braids bc I knew the Charlotte mugshot page was gonna do me dirty lol. So I said fuck it. Ima retweet it and shout out my braids. Now I’m getting asked to do interviews. Give my story. Tell how I turned my negative to positive. THIS IS HOW. Walk in the truth. Stay true to who you are. You thought I was tripping off what you did to me. I knew you were trying to break me. I knew you were trying to hurt me and you wanted to see me in jail. Well guess what baby? Thank you ?. Frfr bc of you and your lame assness. Deposits are rolling in. New clients. New reach of people. New support and most of all. I wasn’t broken. I stood up tall and proud and I held my head high bc I wasn’t ashamed of shit. I let my work speak for itself and I let my God work for me! We turning lemons to lemonade all year baby. #SecureTheBag2018 @hairbyshia #HairbyShia #BraidsByShia

A post shared by @ shiamilan on Jan 9, 2018 at 10:45am PST