LONG BRAIDS VOGUE FOR VAL SEASON
By Abolaji Adebayo, Edith Igbokwe and Motolani AbdulGafar
It is February 12, two days to the Valentine’s Day, no fewer than 10 customers had booked space to plait their hair at Temmyloluwa Hair Beauty and Makeup Studio in Mafoluku, Oshodi.
Across Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Area (LGA), the trend is the same: hairstylists told ECHONEWS how ladies were putting pressure on them to book space and time for their hairdo for Valentine with lengths of cut 2, cut 3 and cut 4.
The style? The long braid – the main hairstyle currently trending in the community.
This trend has turned the three major hair attachment products – LUSH, X-Pression and Darling- used in doing the hairstyle a cash cow for their producers.
The hairstyle, which initially attracted ladies early last year suffered setback, no thanks to the COVID-19 crisis but bounced back towards the end of 2020, trending among African women especially the youths who have been more interested in the style since the beginning of this year.
This time, it is coming with fresh innovation of classy styles such as Bos braid, simple three-strand braid and the most popular, ‘Knotless braid’.
The urge for long braids continues to defy the pressure of the harsh economy.
According to Tola Oyewo, a large-scale hairstylist business owner in Ejigbo, the urge to look good is driving more women to the salons.
For salon owners like Oyewo, the money is not only in plaiting the braids but the number of attachments.
“Based on my experience with this trendy hairstyle, the cost of plaiting is not what really fetches money because the charges of doing a braid is the same as other simple styles but our financial profit is earned from the number of attachments used depending on how full or scanty the customer’s hair is or how lengthy the customer wants it,” she explained.
How the long braid is displacing its predecessor, the Frontal, from the heads of women is something else.
The Frontal, which could be in form of cap known as Frontal Cap (Wig) or fixed on the head, lost its hold due to increasing cost.
“Frontal is more expensive compared to Braid as it costs as high as N250,000, though there are types that cost lower between N50,000 and N150,000. This is why the hairstyle (Frontal) now trends among the high class women in the society while Braid is widely common due to its affordability by the low class,” a source added.
According to the CEO of Temmyloluwa Hair Beauty and Makeup Studio, Mrs. Temitayo Abiodun, with just N7,000, a lady might get a braid done but depending on location, the standard of the salon and the length of the braid, the price may vary between N7,000 and N20,000.
Abiodun explained that a carton of Lush attachment which contains 25 pieces costs N27,000 at the company rate while a piece is sold at N1,200 at retail price.
To do a braid, one would use at least three pieces of attachment while the hairdresser may not collect more than N3,000 or at most N15,000 depending on the location.
She said with three people plaiting the hair, it would take about four hours to complete a head, adding that @knotless braid is the most trending one now as it is not hard, it lasts for about two months. Knotless braid has different shapes such as triangle, square shapes. We can curl or pencil it at the end to give various styles. It is not painful to the person while its length brings out the beauty.”
With love in the air at Valentine, it is not surprising that demands to colour the braids red rule the vogue. Next is gold, to stand out of the crowd or a mixture of both.
To the Financial Secretary of National Association of Hairdressers and Cosmetologists (NASHCO), Oshodi-Isolo Local Government, Mrs. Funke Ambekemo, the hair takes minimum of four attachments to get it done because the attachment can only be cut once to give the desired length.
“The making of the long braid is very stressful because it has a lot of work attached to it like weaving the root of the natural hair first before joining the attachment and later add another attachment at the tip to make it long enough because the attachment has been cut into two to ease the pickings,” she explained.
Also speaking on the trendy hairstyle, the owner of Clazzy Salon, Mrs. Yetunde Shittu said: “Well, to me I appreciate the style because it does less damage to the hair and puts less tension on your scalp because as a stylist, we begin the braiding with natural hair strands to create a seamless finish that won’t cause breakage or ruin your edges before gradually putting the attachment in the course of plaiting the hair.”
Some of the braid lovers who spoke to ECHONEWS expressed interest in making the hairstyle, saying it is cool and that they always appear elegant with it.
Adebola said: “I love it for its simplicity as I feel free enough while at work and can bundle it into classy styles depending on my taste every morning before going out.”
“Sometimes when I want it to look different from the generally made ones I will ask my stylist to help insert cowries shells or white hair threads which makes me more beautiful and unique,” Kemisola Akintunde said.
Sekinah Adebayo said: “Every female wants to appear beautiful and the hair is the most noticeable part of a female beauty because it enhances personality and sets the tone for the entire look. To radiate the beauty, many females now attach themselves to long braid hairstyle that is making wave in the society.
LUSH is manufactured by Lucky fibres (Tolaram Group). The product hair types include, attachments, weavons, crotchet, wigs and natural hair. The brand, though relatively new has carved a niche for itself in the Nigerian market.
Manufactured by Solpia Nigeria Limited and sister-company, Linda Manufacturing Company Limited, X-Pression is the most popular hair extension brand in Nigeria with attachment and weave-on types. Darling is manufactured by Godrej Nigeria Limited and it is known for its wavy texture.
