From Plaiting Hair in the Slums to Manufacturing Them

By Diana Ashley

Posted on January 9, 2019

20 min read

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If there’s one common lesson to be learned from successful business owners, it’s that where there is a will there’s a way. No one goes from zero to hero without breaking a sweat and so it was for Jayne Okoth, Founder of Rapunzel Hair Affair and Porsh Hair. She grew up in Mathari at the Mlango Kubwa slums, and developed a passion for hair at a tender age. After high school she got pregnant and what could be seen as a deterrent to her future, she used as a stepping stone, refusing to give up on her dreams no matter what life threw at her. To date Jayne has won numerous awards for her hair business. In 2015 she was listed in the “Top 40 under 40” as a woman to watch, for let’s face it, she is a stellar example. Jayne has inspired women to take on life goals and work smart towards achieving them.

The Journey

A fifth born in a family of twelve, five girls and seven boys, my journey for hair started when I was eight years old. I was born and raised in Mathari, at the Mlango Kubwa slums and I would plait my friends’ hair. I remember my mum shaving my hair until I was fifteen years of age. I guess it’s because we were many and it was just easier to have short hair. When I joined high school, the game changed. I joined St. Teresa’s High School in Eastleigh, and luckily for me, my mother allowed me to take care of my own hair. Immediately after form four, I got my first child and my journey begun there. I started doing hair in a small kiosk in Mathari. This was in 1997. Having given birth to my child, I needed to take care of her. I remember paying rent of Kshs.300 for my salon, and I in turn would charge a minimum of Kshs.30 and a maximum of Kshs.50 for braids. I got really popular in the area. I never went one day without a client. In a span of one year, I had made a killing from my business venture. The marketing strategy for me at that time was word of mouth, and I remember that people would come from far places just to be braided by me.

In 2002 five years into my business, a lady came to my small kiosk in Mathari to have her hair braided, using the ponytail braids. When I was done, she asked me to style it for her, and because I had never styled braids before, I let her know that I did not know how to do it. She went to an upmarket salon – Salon Farouk, one of the biggest salons in Nairobi – then to be styled; and Farouk upon seeing her braids was impressed. He inquired where she had done her braids and she told him about me. Before I knew it, I had gotten a call from the King of Salon – as he was known then – asking me to meet him in his Westlands salon. I made my way to Westlands the very next day, a bit anxious as to what to expect. The meeting went well, and the offer I got from him was unbelievable. He asked me to work with him in his salon, braiding his clientele, and in addition to a salary, he would also train me, take my talent a notch higher and make me like him.

This was a huge deal for me, and an absolute game changer. Previously I was from the ghetto, comfortable with my clientele and now things had vastly changed. I was in an uptown market, one of the best high end salons. The clientele too was a vast array of mixed races; Caucasians, Asians, hair which I had never handled before! I was nervous, and afraid of failing, but Farouk encouraged me, believed in me, and for the next 12 years, I worked under his leadership and mentorship and learnt everything about hair that I could learn. I doubled school and work, and enrolled for day classes at Pivot Point Hair Design and Beauty School.

Farouk encouraged me to venture into the weave world. I wasn’t really for it, as it wasn’t my “thing”. However he insisted and eventually decided for me and that is how I made my way to the United States at the Bronner Brothers Hair Show in Atlanta to learn more about weaving. While there I worked with Derrick Jay who happens to be the stylist for the Real Housewives of Atlanta TV show. I came back home to apply the vast knowledge I had acquired and what I had first felt was not my thing became my one thing. To keep honing my skills I went back to the States, this time to meet Beyonce’s hair stylist because I wanted to learn how to style hair, and when I came back, I was a sought after stylist and was popularly known as “Jayne, the celebrity stylist.” When I look back sometimes, I can’t believe how far I have come.

In 2014, I started my own outfit. Rapunzel Hair Affair salon began as a quiet discontent. I think with every born entrepreneur, no matter how good your job is, the thought of starting something of your own always keeps gnawing at you, and never stops till you actually do it. Luckily for me I had supportive clients, who believed in me, and encouraged me to go for it. With my savings, and a small loan, I opened Rapunzel Hair Affair, an elite upmarket salon at the hub of Westlands. In 2014, my first year of business, I bagged home more than two awards! I was voted Best Weaveologist in the country and my salon won the Best Customer Service category by the Hair Expo Awards. We also won the Salon of the Year, (Hall of Fame Awards), and the Hair Extension Experts at the Hair Awards. This was a huge win for me! It was a dream come true, and as they say the rest is history. We have continued to win awards as a company, and the business has continued to thrive. I attribute all my success to my clients who have continued to support me since the days at Farouk’s to date. I started with a staff of eight, and two years later, we had increased to 24.

Porsh Hair

When I was in the United States training under Derrick Jay, the hair stylist for the popular Real Housewives of Atlanta TV Show, I remember him saying, “The salon business fades the older you get”. This simple statement blew my mind. I knew I had to think of ways to remain relevant for in truth, my years were beginning to catch up with me. I had really grown in the hair industry, from charging 30 bob – 50 bob when I started to Kshs 50,000 – 80,000 in my heydays; and truly I felt like I was in heaven. However Derrick was right, things were beginning to change. I had reached my peak in the industry.

That restlessness made me register for the famous Keroche Foundation Entrepreneurship Program, and I am so glad I did, because that is where my next big thing “Porsh Hair” was born. I wanted to take my salon to the next level, but the how was not too clear for me. I had thought of opening various branches, and as appealing as that sounded I wanted something unique. I wanted to stand out in the hair industry. During one of the classes that was led by Professor Bitange Ndemo, he stressed that for our business to work, we must standardise it and be unique. That is when I began to think about manufacturing hair locally.

It is no secret that the hair industry has really grown, more so the weave industry. At the time I was breaking my neck importing hair from Brazil, Costa Rica, Philippines and Ethiopia. After attending the mentorship classes, I realised that I wanted to manufacture hair. Not only would this give me the unique edge I was looking for, it would also help me save on costs. With the support of the Foundation, I delved into an insane amount of research and consultations and by the time I was completing the KFP (Keroche Foundation Program) I was a pound wiser. I set up my manufacturing company in Embakasi and I am happy that I can now manufacture hair here and custom-make it to fit my clients’ head and style, and in the process make them more affordable.

The Other Side of the Coin

All has not been easy for me. My start into the hair industry was as rough as it could get. For starters, getting in employees with the requisite skills was a huge challenge. My experience was quite extensive and getting people in the same level became a daunting task. I spent hours training all the new employees and pouring myself into them, only to have most of them leave to start their own outfits, or get hired elsewhere being offered a higher pay. This is a very common practice in our industry and as rampant as it is, I choose not to participate in it and begin the process once more. Eventually you get the right team to work for you and they in turn propel your business to another level.

My parents were not too supportive when I chose the path of hairdressing. They had hoped that I would be an accountant or something, so when I took to working in a salon, they were not too thrilled. Of course every child desires support especially from your parents, and not having this was a downer for me. However proving to them that following my passion was worth it remains one of my biggest achievements, and right now we are on good terms. The hair game is not an easy ride. In my 11 years of being in the industry I have learnt a few things:

Block the naysayers. The truth is they will always be there. How you handle them determines how high you will go, or how low you will fall.
Hire those who can work with little supervision.
Customer care is king, so treat your customers well.
Invest in your business. Do programs that help you grow; attend trainings that align with your industry and have an inner circle who hold you accountable to your actions.

I am not all about hair! I enjoy spending my free time with my family, travelling and reading. I take time off, in different months of the year, just to unwind and recharge. My plea to every young girl out there who has a dream and feels like she does not have resources is “Start with the little you have, the rest will follow.”

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