Adesuwa Aghahowa moved to Cardiff from Nigeria to study for her master's degree and while in Cardiff she really struggled to find any salon that could cater for her afro hair. This resulted in Adesuwa having to travel to Birmingham or London to get her hair treated and when she could no longer afford the travel as a student, cutting her hair and changing her style altogether.
So Adesuwa decided that something needed to change to make Cardiff's hairdressing scene more inclusive for everyone in the Cardiff community. So she is setting up her own salon, Asakebeauty, to ensure that no one has to travel out of Cardiff or change their style again.
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Asakebeauty will be based on Cowbridge Road East, with Adesuwa aiming to open the salon on Saturday, April, 2. The salon will be open from 10am to 5pm, Tuesdays to Saturdays.
While speaking to Adesuwa it was clear her experience trying to treat her hair, and the embarrassment at having to change her style has motivated her to create Asakebeauty.
She said: "I had to cut my hair. I remember feeling very embarrassed and going to class and talking to some friends and that was when I found out this was a general problem.
“I remember one of my friends taking me to the bathroom and removing her wig and showing me just recently that she had cut her hair and she felt so embarrassed, so she had to wear a wig.
“That just really stuck with me...it was hard to even find one place and that made me feel sad, there is just not enough representation. I just thought you know what this is something that someone needs to take care of this and if no-one is going to do it then I’m gonna do it.”
Adesuwa wants to bring a safe, friendly, and welcoming feel to the salon to ensure that all women feel comfortable and at ease. She said: "What we are trying to do is create a safe place for women with afro-texture hair they can come in, they can get their hair done. The afro salon has always been a place where you can come in, get your hair done, get pampered and at the same time you can make friends. It is like a social club when you get your hair done is the atmosphere I want to bring."
Since creating an Instagram account for the salon Adesuwa has already had messages from people who want to book in, she said: “It’s incredible because we have a few people already trying to book, it is just exciting to see people so encouraged by the idea of an afro salon coming to Cardiff.”
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