Hadiiya Barbel

Celebrity Hairstylist & Image-Maker • www.hadiiyabarbel.com

How do you manage stress and achieve balance?

I’m a big fitness person. Fitness is so important to release stress of everyday lives of professional women. It also builds our confidence levels, and with that you can achieve so much more because fitness is a form of achievement. Take some personal time, because if you don’t you’re not good to anyone else.

I’m also a mother, business owner, and a celebrity hairstylist so I have to do something for me. I have an industrial stairmaster, and when I’m on it I can think, keep my confidence level up, give myself that push and take the time to do it, along with meditation to slow down in life and focus a bit more. Life can be pretty stressful at times when you are a high achiever, because there’s a lot more pressure. I work with Wendy Williams, a radio show host who is on Fox 5, and I do her hair everyday for her TV show. One of the main parts of the job is her hair. If her hair is not right, she’s not going to do a good job on her show and she will talk about it on TV, so it’s a lot of pressure.

How did you get started in hair care?

I’ve been doing this since a young age. I was going to do fashion design when I was younger. I would watch my mom because she would make my clothing when I was younger. When I was in school I would do a lot of sketching, and I would make elaborate hairstyles on the sketches that were more elaborate than the clothing. My teachers said that I should really consider doing beauty and hair. They would refer me to different cosmetics companies to work for. Even though I was working in the beauty and fashion industry, I really wanted to be my own boss and do what I wanted to do. We should all find what it is that we love to do and our hidden talents. We have to be involved in something that brings us joy.

I started working in a salon at 17 years old in high school, and while there they thought I should take it seriously and go to school. After school I made up business cards and took pictures of myself because I was my own model and put them in beauty supply stores, and I would say that I would travel to you to do your hair – and it was a hit! I was traveling to all the NYC boroughs with a bag of my beauty supplies going to people’s houses at 18 years old. After a while, I felt that I needed to learn so much more and be around more experienced hairstylists because I was doing things that I created. So I ended up working in a salon in the village and eventually worked at Time Salon in Brooklyn. The owner was my mentor. She took me under her wing, but it was a whole new world and I had a lot to learn.

Eventually I outgrew the salon, because I really wanted to work for magazines. I would look at Essence magazine and say to myself that I love the work I saw in there, and I pursued it. I kept calling them until they gave me a chance. From then on I got an agent, and started becoming a celebrity stylist. After that I built my own business and created my wig line, while constantly working to balance my personal life.

Challenges of Ethnic Hair

The hair is so dry, even in the natural state and the relaxed state. When relaxed, a lot of the moisture is stripped. In the natural state our hair is so coily and tight that it’s very difficult for the moisture to get throughout the hair. So we have to concentrate on really conditioning our hair and leaving the irons alone. A major problem is combining fitness and black women’s hair. I see women blow drying their sweaty hair in the gym, and then their putting the curling iron in their hair. A lot of black women won’t workout and go to the gym because they don’t want to sweat out their hair, and that’s a problem. A few solutions:

1) Keep hair in its natural state. It’s healthier and you can do whatever you want to do.

2) When it’s relaxed you can exercise, but don’t expect to have the hair you had at the salon after the gym.

3) You can use headbands to catch the sweat, or try pin curls if you like a little body.

4) Women who wear short haircuts have a better chance of keeping their hair looking good.

What products would you recommend?

Phytospecific – it is a plant-based product, and the relaxer has soy and egg protein in it. Oprah uses that relaxer too. Their deep treatment that I really love is called Vital Force Cream Bath. It’s really amazing - you notice an immediate difference after you wash the hair. The hair is moving and full of life again. The more natural the product, the better. I really like Jane Carter Solution products too.

Hadiiya’s Tips and Techniques

I’m more of a stylist and image-maker. If someone wants a weave done, the hair must be in good condition for me to do it. I will only do weaves on natural hair. Putting in a weave on relaxed hair is a big no-no, and a lot of women don’t know that. When you relax the hair you already stretch it out, and then you weave it, you pull on it and sew hair into it. I know when a woman had a weave because the hairline is always broken and the top of the hair is so much shorter than the rest of the hair, or they have patches of hair missing around the nape. There are 3 main reasons:

1) The weave is done too tight, which causes what is called tension alopecia

2) Relaxing hair and weaving it – it’s the worst thing you could ever do

3) The weave is left in way too long and not being cleaned, washed and taken care of

The more natural the hair is, the stronger it will be to go through the stress of a weave because it is stressful on the hair. When I relax hair, I don’t relax it 100%. I like to relax it to 90% because I like to leave some body to the hair. For women who wear their hair natural and don’t see any growth with it, put a really good weave in, give it a couple of months, let your hair rest from the relaxer and you’ll get some new life to the hair. A few things make a weave look really nice:

1) Having a really good foundation before you put it in.

2) Using great quality hair that matches your texture – not the cheap hair. If cheap hair is going to be used, it should be cut in a shorter style because it holds up a lot better.

3) It’s all about the cut. Any great style starts with an amazing cut, because it is complementary to the person’s face and has shape and movement.

When it comes to wigs, I love wigs. My hair is completely natural so I go between natural or good wigs when I want something different. Wigs:

1) instantly pull you together

2) instantly create a different personality

3) instantly change your mood

From Oprah to Tyra to Beyonce, they’re all wearing wigs and they’re instantly pulled together and their looks are constantly changing.

Must-Have Products

Phytospecific
Jane Carter Solution