Blog

Greetings gossip lovers! We have a treat for you today as we get to sit down and have a great one on one chat with a curl stylist, Nicky. She is originally from Ethiopia and has been working with Jonathan Torch as a curl stylist for 19 years. Nicky understands the fears and concerns of new clients who are taking the plunge to embrace their natural curls, and she works to give them the confidence they deserve. I had the chance to sit down with her and get to know her a little bit better!

As a curl stylist, what do you specialize in? 
I can’t say that I specialize in anything in particular, but I have worked with all curl types. For me, the most important thing is making people’s hair look great and leading them to feel good about themselves.

What made you want to become a curly hair stylist?
Aside from having very tight curly hair myself, I discovered that there is a lot of hidden potential in curly hair. If the opportunity is given by a client, I like to uncover that potential and amaze my clients.

What are a few important things that you’ve learnt about curly hair over the years?
Every curl should be treated on an individual level because no two curls or two curly hair people are the same, ever. So this always needs to be in the forefront of your mind as a stylist. If no two curls are the same, and no two curly heads are the same, you need to spend some time before washing and cutting, to really examine the hair. When you do so, you discover the “picky” areas, the flat spots, the areas with different curl patterns. All of this information is essential to a curly hair stylist before you even touch the scissors. If you don’t know how the client wears their hair on a daily basis, their sense of style, where their natural part falls, you could end up giving a bad cut. You can’t cut curly hair the way straight hair gets cut.

What would you encourage people to NOT do with their curls?
Never use a pick to enhance or comb their hair, never cut your curls yourself, even if you are trimming the ends and try to avoid chemical anything!

What is the most memorable moment during career as a curl stylist? 
When a sixteen year old girl told me, with happy tears in her eyes, how much she loved her big thick naturally curly hair after I cut and styled it. It’s the first time ever that this client was going to be able to leave her hair down and actually enjoy it. That was a big deal for her and for me.

What is one thing you constantly tell your clients?
Be patient. It’s a gift to have curly hair; you have the option to do whatever you want with it if you are patient. Of course we know this isn’t easy but hard work pays off!

Name 3 of your Holy Grail products.
Curl Keeper, Extenzz and Slip are a must in my life.

If you could change one thing about your curls what would it be?
I know it will sound cliché but in all honesty I am happy with my kinky curls. I wouldn’t change anything, but I am always happy to change up my highlights to spice things up a bit.

Big thank you to Nicky for sharing some important aspects of her stylist career! The right stylist does care about your curls and has the knowledge and experience to back it up. If you have any questions for Nicky, feel free to leave your comments below or if you’d like to book an appointment with her call The Curly Hair Institute in Toronto.