Salon owner and ethnic hair enthusiast Yvonne Diogo has had to forge through the narrow hair industry and stand firm in making sure that kinky, coily and curly hair does not lose its natural state.
Diogo, who owns Nubian Crown Hair Studio, had no choice but to learn, love, nurture and find ways to make black hair look interesting, she said, adding that her business is by women for women.
In a wide-ranging interview with Sunday World, the Soweto-born businesswoman said: “We are a salon that is all about the wellbeing of women, and for them to feel whole they must make a statement with their look, and it starts with their hair.
“It is an environment that is safe for women [that makes them] to be open about their hair struggles to other women who are just as passionate about natural hair.”
A mother of two daughters, Diogo, whose biggest struggle in the hair industry was representation, recently partnered with a popular hair-care range during its launch of safe-hair colouring for ethnic hair.
She explained: “There has always been hair-care products, but they never catered for the protection and wholesomeness of our hair, so for me to approach brands and say we strictly cater for type 3 and 4 ethnic hair was a struggle.
“The beauty industry is still limited in terms of options for colouring natural ethnic hair in a way that does not permanently change the structure of the hair, causing dryness and breakage in the long run.
“What options are there for an ethnic natural who is looking to continue a healthy hair journey while enjoying diverse styling options that include safe colour applications? Until now, there really were none.”
She added that her salon has also ventured into nails and is working towards making her own hair-care products to make sure that kinks, curls and coily hair are taken care of.
“We will be running spring and summer campaigns soon, so people must be on the lookout for that.”
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