Pursuing the job of braiding traditional African hair, Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Ha (nickname Ha Nguyen, living in Ho Chi Minh City) said that she has earned an income of about 30-35 million VND/month. At its peak, her income can reach nearly 70 million VND.
Hair braiding is both a passion and a job that brings income to Ms. Ha (Photo: Binh Minh).
It is known that the price for each braided hairstyle ranges from 500,000 VND to 4 million VND, depending on the difficulty of the hairstyle and the customer's request.
To create a perfect cornrow hairstyle (traditional African braid), Ms. Ha must first check the quality of the customer's hair, including the thickness, thinness, length, and shortness of the hair. From there, she will advise on hairstyles that are suitable for the customer's hair type and purpose.
"There are many hairstyles that are only suitable for taking photos and cannot be used for strenuous activities, so before making a hair appointment, I always learn about the customer's needs to make reasonable suggestions," Ms. Ha shared.
Ms. Ha jokingly said that this is a profession for people with OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder). Because besides skillful hands, a hair braider must be meticulous and focus on every single detail.
Ms. Ha uses a specialized gel to apply to the hair strands, helping them stick together and not fluff up during the process. In addition, clips, combs, hair ties... are indispensable items (Photo: Binh Minh)
"The most difficult and important step is the parting of the hair. A beautiful cornrow requires straight lines. If even one strand is off, I have to start over," said Ha.
Because of this meticulousness, Ms. Ha usually takes at least 2 hours to complete a cornrow. For more difficult hairstyles, Ms. Ha even has to spend more than ten hours.
In 2016, Ms. Ha was selling brocade products at fairs. One day, by chance, she was knitting bracelets out of wool and suddenly thought of attaching the wool threads to her hair as a highlight.
After a while, when social networks gradually developed, Ms. Ha learned about cornrow hairstyle. At that time, this hairstyle was still strange in Vietnam, so she researched and learned more from clips on the Internet, then practiced on her friends' hair.
Customers are delighted with the finished hairstyle (Photo: Binh Minh)
"In the early days of my career, I often braided hair for free for friends or those who bought my brocade products. My friends in Ho Chi Minh City are people who like to try new things, so when they saw strange hairstyles, they asked each other and then came to me. From then on, I started to have more customers and switched to this profession," Ms. Ha recalled.
According to Ms. Ha, this hairstyle is not only suitable for artists and those working in performing arts, but is also favored by young people with strong personalities who want to have an impressive appearance.
For her, customer satisfaction after getting her hair done is what makes her happiest and is the motivation for her to try to improve her skills every day.
As a long-time customer of Ms. Ha's hair salon, Mr. Nguyen Minh Thien (33 years old, choreographer) does not remember when he started coming here. Every time he needs to perform or take photos, he stops by Ms. Ha's salon to get his hair done in different styles.
"The hairstyles that Ms. Ha made for me help me feel cooler, more handsome and more confident when performing on stage," said Mr. Thien.
Cornrow is a traditional African braided hairstyle, considered a symbol of pride for the people here. This hairstyle is characterized by each strand of hair being braided evenly on both sides, close to the scalp and forming a straight, curved or spiral part.
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