In the Moment: Braid shop puts new twist on an old tradition

In the Moment: Braid shop puts new twist on an old tradition

 

Jasmine Mays sat in a chair at Nana's Hair Braiding on Yadkin Road, a textbook open on her lap.

Mays, a Methodist University student in the physician assistant program, was spending the afternoon having her hair braided at the salon - and studying for her finals.

Clementine Ngufor was working on Mays' hair, a process that was expected to take as long as six hours. So having a book to read - even if it was a textbook - was no doubt a good idea.

 

"It's a way to kill two birds with one stone," said Mays, who is 25.

The salon, distinctive for its purple-painted walls, is owned by Nana Gogo. A native of the Ivory Coast, Gogo owns hair-braiding shops in Fayetteville and Boston and sells her own line of hair care products for African-American women.

Workers at the shop welcome customers any time and any day of the week. Most of the customers have jobs, and can't carve the time necessary to braid hair out of a work day - some braiding jobs take up to 12 hours.

Six chairs are crowded in the small salon. On a wall, a sign warns "No smoking, no drug, no alcohol, no cussing, Jesus is Lord."

Gogo, who prides herself on the shop's cleanliness, has been weaving hair since she was a girl.

"Since I was 7 or 8 I've been doing hair," Gogo said. "By the time I was 10, I could start and finish a whole head. This is a gift that the Lord gave me."

Salon manager Jean Choi said hair braiding is a hair care option for African-American women. It has the benefit of being relatively long term, she said.

"It's low maintenance," Choi said. "It's pretty much get up and go."

On a recent afternoon, Nana's Hair Braiding was a bustle of activity as braiders and customers made their way into the salon.

Mays settled into a chair to begin the long process. Along with her textbook, she periodically checked her phone while Ngufor worked on her hair.

First, Ngufor removed Mays' hair extensions. Then she took the customer to a back room to have her hair washed.

Then came the painstaking process of braiding the hair and weaving in extensions.

Customers can choose from a variety of braids - Nubian twist, Senegalese twist and other options. Each takes a different amount of time to create.

Mays, who plans to graduate from Methodist in December, likes to keep her hair options open. She usually gets her hair braided every two or three months, she said.

"It varies," she said. "It depends on what I'm in the mood for."

Mays alternated between her textbook and her phone as Ngufor worked on her hair.

Meanwhile, Gogo kept an eye on the shop in the company of her 9-year-old daughter, Amy Boa, who Gogo said has inherited her hair care skills.

"She says, 'Mama, I'm going to take over the shop,'" Gogo said.

PHOTO Credit : Melissa Sue Gerrits

Staff writer Rodger Mullen can be reached at mullenr@fayobserver.com or 486-3561.

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