Fola Fash is a hairstylist with over a decade of experience, specialising in Afro hair textures and extensions. She trained at Sassoon Academy, where she learned European hair techniques, but gained practical experience working in London salons in Knightsbridge, central London, and Notting Hill. In May 2019, she opened up her salon, starting as a solo operator and expanding to a team of trained stylists as her business grew exponentially. She started independently with just an assistant and expanded, hiring and training stylists as business grew busier.
During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, she developed the Taupe Tools product line in response to client demand for hair aftercare, specifically for textured hair. The tools are designed to straighten textured hair without damage. Over time, she set up a fulfilment centre in the UK while operating primarily in the heart of Lagos city. For Fash, good things take time to grow.
She first began to experience client recognition in 2022, three years after opening the store, as she heavily leveraged social media to engage with the UK and Nigerian markets. In her decade-long hairstyling experience, Fola Fash garnered insights and lessons to solidify herself as a leader in her industry. She tells Modaculture that it’s important to work with experienced stylists before launching a business, to build a reputation gradually.
Interestingly, she shares that while Black women are often considered a minority market, they spend significantly on hair products. She predicts a surge in innovation for Black hair tools and services within the next decade.
Her tips for success are simple but succinct: listen to market needs rather than copy others’ blueprints.
Read Fola Fash’s interview below.
Gertrude Oby: How’s your day going?
Fola Fash: Not bad, thank you.
What have you been up to today?
I had a client that I was attending to. She just came in to do maintenance for her hair in this location; extensions, which I specialise in.
In Lagos?
Yeah
I’m aware you are a seasoned hairstylist. Could you take me through your journey?
I’ve been a hairstylist for over a decade now, and I started off by going to hair school. So, at Sassoon Academy, which is where I got trained in terms of theory and European hair, but then I also trained at other salons within London, in areas like Knightsbridge and Central London as well, so that I could learn how to care for and focus on Afro hair textures. At Sassoon Academy, it was very European, and it was great, but it was more theory-based rather than putting it into practice for Women of Colour. After that, I also worked in Notting Hill for a bit, and then I moved to Lagos in 2019 to open Taupe Salon. It has been running strong for about six years, and I now have a team of stylists. So, that’s how we expanded.
So, working at those salons, how was your experience?
Yeah, my experience was great. I learned a lot. I feel like any hairstylist who wants to have a long-standing career should definitely always work in a salon. I’ve always been of that belief. I know nowadays things are different, but I’ve always believed that you should work under people first before deciding to start your own thing.
Yeah. Tell me how you built your own business today.
So, when I came to Lagos—I moved here in January and opened the salon in May—that was pretty much all on my own. I did that by myself. When I first started, I was doing a lot on my own. I had an assistant, and then, as time went by, after a year or so, I started hiring stylists that I could train to also do the services I was known for, because I couldn’t service every client anymore. So, as we got busier, I had to hire more people. That’s how it’s been going. Then, from servicing all these clients and them always requesting aftercare, that’s how Taupe Tools came about.
Okay, so the Taupe silk press straightener, who did you have in mind building that product?
I started Taupe Tools because I felt like textured hair was always a bit like an afterthought in the professional hair care world, I think, especially when I started it anyway. I think when we started, it was pretty much around COVID-19 or so. And so that was kind of where the idea came about because obviously, people were at home; they didn’t know how to style their hair at home. And I felt like, as a stylist, I had been spending years using tools that were not always made for my type of clients in mind, which is natural hair, and also, it does damage the hair.
So when I came up with Taupe Tools, I said, “Okay, I want something that I could just straighten hair in one part, but it doesn’t damage the hair.” And so we started using that at the salon. We got really good feedback and retailing there.
Okay.
I also felt like I wanted tools that were intentionally designed for us, like protective hair.
What were some of the challenges you experienced while building your brand? And what areas do you think you’ve improved on now?
I think first it was logistics, definitely. Initially, the brand started in Lagos, but then I kind of started to understand that people in Lagos don’t really tend to do their hair at home compared to people in the UK, which is where I came from. So I felt like I needed to, you know, figure that out. And so I eventually came up with an idea of just sending it to a fulfilment centre abroad, in the UK, to be precise. And so now, it’s pretty much like a UK brand more than anything. So, although we stock some in Nigeria in the salon, it’s more targeted to people abroad because people abroad are the ones who tend to do their hair at home more often.
And also in Lagos, it’s more kind of targeted to stylists who want to improve their skills and have better tool options. I feel like, “Hey, we don’t even have retailers for known brands.” You know, a lot of times we’re worried about stuff like that. So I felt like it was best to do that.
How are you able to connect both markets? So people in the UK, and then people in Lagos or just across Nigeria.
Obviously, we have a salon here, so that has kind of already helped to narrow that gap. And then in the UK, people in the UK come to our salon anyway. And also, we’re quite big on social media, so we use social media a lot. And so I feel like that’s how we are able to connect to everybody.
Okay.
Yeah.
So in the hair industry, you’re a big player. What can other innovators learn? Just some insights they can pick up based on your own experience?
So far, I think it’s about just being yourself and just learning from your own experiences, obviously, as well as others.
I feel like a lot of people as hair stylists want to go from 0 to 100 so quickly, whereas they don’t want to put in the groundwork at the end of the day. I’ve been doing this for 10 years, and I feel like people only started to know my salon properly in 2022. That’s just three years ago.
Fola Fash, Modaculture, June 2025
And my salon had been open already for three years. So, it’s not something that happens overnight. It’s something that was slowly building. At the end of the day, there are other big players in the industry that people are used to using for their hair every day.
It’s always going to take time to make people transition from what they’re used to to something that is new. Do you understand? So although across Nigeria, or across the Nigerian market or even people abroad that are Nigerian, people still probably don’t know us to the scale that we wanted to be. So that’s what we’re trying to push.
So I think for me, in terms of hairstylists or other people who want to kind of go through the same path, everybody’s journey is different.
And you have to just listen to what the market wants and needs. It’s not about looking at somebody and feeling like that’s the blueprint. Your own path might be different. It’s not a one-size-fits-all.
Fola Fash, Modaculture, June 2025
That’s pretty solid. So, just, again, based on your insights, especially some of which you’ve just shared, tell me what you think of the future of your industry. You know, say five years, 10 years, what do you envision?
I think it’s happening so far where there’s like a shift where people are now understanding that Black hair is different from any other texture. So, I think that’s something we’ll keep seeing: other people coming up with more innovative tools and even services and products for Black men. You can already see Beyoncé has Cécred, for example. You know, we have that. We have Tracee Ellis Ross with Pattern Beauty. There are reasons these people are coming up with these lines because, at the end of the day, Black women, to an extent, have always felt like people are not listening to what we want. I think another thing is that a lot of times, you don’t see these things in retail stores. So, a lot of times when you walk into your average store, abroad especially, you don’t even see most Black brands there. You have to go to a dedicated Black hair store. And I feel like maybe in the next five to 10 years, that should change, so where there are tools for Black women and products for Black women, but they’re in stores where they should be, in your average store. Like, they should be in your super average supermarket. You know what I mean?
Yeah, yeah.
I think the reason why that doesn’t happen is because sometimes they feel like we’re not a big market.
And obviously, yes, we’re the minority, but at the end of the day, Black women are the ones that spend the most money on their hair and hair products.
Fola Fash, Modaculture, June 2025
Okay, so real quick, could you share, perhaps, five tested and trusted tips for maintaining your hair as a Woman of Colour?
One tip I would say is that it’s not a bad thing to wash your hair often. I think that’s a misconception. Some people don’t wash their hair for months. And I’m like, “You should wash your hair pretty much every two weeks, you know.” So people don’t want to wash their hair, but you should wash your hair. Your scalp should always be clean. That’s what encourages your hair to thrive.
Another key tip is that you have to drink a lot of water. Our hair needs moisture. And also something that people don’t know is that our hair is more fragile compared to any other hair texture. Yes. When you’re natural, your hair is extremely fragile compared to others because it’s very tightly coiled. So we need to definitely drink a lot of water.
Another tip is that you should always have a balance between moisture and protein, so you should always technically do your deconditioning. I always say that for relaxed hair, you need more protein. For natural hair, you need more moisture. So you have to just find a balance between both. It doesn’t mean that each of those textures doesn’t need the other, but you have to know how to balance them properly so that your hair can, again, maintain its length and its health. Another tip is definitely to go get regular trims. I think people underestimate the power of trims. I feel like it’s something that we’ve educated a lot of our clients about. And even on social media, that’s something we talk about a lot. You have to trim your hair quite often; three to four months is okay. And so, if you’re doing that, then you’re able to retain the length. You don’t have to feel like you’re constantly having to cut your hair if you don’t do it in so long.
Yeah, what’s my other tip? Protective styling. Protective styles are only protective if they’re done properly, if they’re done right.
I know this might be controversial, but I don’t believe braids are 100% protective styles. I think braids just depends on how long you leave them in and what you’re doing to your hair. And braids should not be left in for so long because as your hair is growing, the weight of the braid starts to pull on your hair and then it doesn’t become a protective style anymore.
Fola Fash, Modaculture, June 2025
So protective style shouldn’t be too heavy, it shouldn’t be too tight, and you shouldn’t wear it for too long as well. Protective styling can be even sew-ins; it can definitely last up to 12 weeks.
But even at that, I always still tell people, “Make sure you get your maintenance done and make sure that you’re always brushing your hair.” People underestimate brushing their hair. That’s another tip. I would say, I guess extensions; if you have extensions in your hair, you can’t just decide that you want to leave [it on]. You still have to care for even your style. That’s something that people always underestimate as well.
I would also say heat isn’t the enemy, it’s bad technique, because I’ve had my salon for six years and not once have I ever had a complaint about heat damage. So, it has to do with the tools you’re using and the technique that you’re using.
So anybody that you’re going to, as a client, make sure they are well trained and they have education that is required to do your hair. And if you, as a stylist, know that you’re not there yet, then do the groundwork and get proper training, even if you have to pay for it. There’s nothing wrong with that.
Fola Fash, Modaculture, June 2025
Yeah, those are my tips.
Thank you for sharing those! I want to jump right back quickly to protective styling. So, how long is too long?
Once you’re at like the seven or eight-week mark, you need to start looking at taking them out. Even seven or eight weeks, sometimes, is too long, depending on the rate at which your hair grows. I think it varies for everyone, but you would kind of know, especially when it’s starting to pull on your hair, it feels heavy. Because when people are doing braids, whoever is braiding your hair initially, the amount of hair that they’re taking to braid your hair, the extension itself is always too heavy for the hair that they’re putting in the braids; but it’s fine because it’s very close to the scalp, so there’s nothing wrong with that. But as it grows out, it starts to pull on the hair, and that’s what kind of makes it an issue now because it is not a protective style [anymore].
