From braiding to business rules, natural hair school readies aspiring stylists for salons

Afolakemi Lawani, center, answers a question from Elle Mack while they both observe Mi’Angel Williams with a client. Photo by David Pierini

By Alanee Wright, North News Intern and David Pierini, Editor

Mi’Angel Williams was working almond oil into a customer’s hair when her fingers encountered stubborn tangles.

Her instructor identified the problem immediately. Williams forgot to heed the advice of detangling hair in small sections.

“Approach the hair with grace,” Afolakemi Lawani told her student. “Everything for me is about grace. We are all here because of grace.”

Here is the Natural Hair Care Institute in a studio on Bryant Avenue
in Uptown and Williams is among four Northside women who are students
in the school’s first class. The school opened in August and Lawani is the president and instructor of NHCI. Her mission is to close an educational gap in natural hair care with specialized training that include chemical-free treatments.

“If you go to cosmetology school, they teach you how to put chemicals and alter the state of natural hair,” Lawani said. “We will teach you everything on how to keep the integrity of natural hair without any chemicals.

“The natural hair community is suffering. There are not enough people to do natural hair and there's not enough education in that field.”

Williams understood what she was getting into. Her mother, who opened a salon, went to school with Lawani and wanted to learn what they had learned as they developed their expertise.

Students get supervised, hands-on training in natural hair styling and hair braiding during the 10-week program. Classes are four, eight-hour days each week.

A practice head sits on desk while students work with a real client. Photo by David Pierini

The course work provides fundamental knowledge in scalp care, shampooing, conditioning, styling, hair structure and types, and how to address chemical damage and hair disorders. Students also learn braiding with extensions, cutting on extensions, extension removal and safety and infection control protocols.

They also learn salon design and how to manage the business side of the profession. Graduates receive a certificate and Lawani helps them secure licensing, clients and jobs.

Elle Mack, a fellow Northsider who stood by watching Williams do a wash, cut and blowout on a customer, said NHCI exceeded her expectations.

“I like it a lot,” Mack said. “I thought we’d touch base on two or three things but we are learning all styles and all types of hair. A natural hair stylist knows all hair.”