Today we’d like to introduce you to Raissa Etono and Tatiana Nchotu.
Hi Raissa and Tatiana, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Our names are Raissa Etono and Tatiana Nchotu. We are two master braiders originally from Cameroon, West Africa. Both of us started braiding and have been very passionate about hair from very young ages. We met through a mutual friend in 2016 and instantly connected through our love for hair braiding. Three years later we decided to start working together by collaborating on tours. We started offering a service called Bomb Twists which is a natural and lightweight hairstyle that black women desired because it blended well with our natural hair. We wanted to do styles that would encourage women to not have to put chemicals in their hair. We are both super fast braiders so we formed a great team and gave women exactly what they needed.
We did our Bomb Hair Tours for a few months and the responses we received was massive. We were booked up months in advance. Our clientele and exposure grew and then covid happened. We both took a step back and did our own things but we still had a dream to work together. In 2020, mid pandemic, we finally decided to open a salon, which was a crazy idea because we were on lock down. However, we proceeded to step out on faith and do it unafraid. We believed the only way to cure fear is to act/execute. There were a lot of challenges and although business was slow we dug into our savings and invested in learning new, unique services so we would stand out. We finally launched our salon in March 2022 and got busy serving our clients.
While running our salon, we kept on practicing new styles on each other but by the end of December 2020 Raissa wanted Tatiana to install microlocs on her. Tatiana was not interested at all. Tatiana felt like it wasn’t a great business move, because at the time we were our own walking billboards and models. Doing each others’ hair brought a lot of clients so it didn’t make sense to do something so permanent when that wasn’t on our service list. Also, Tatian felt like she did we have any experience or knowledge at all of locs. Nonetheless, Raissa persisted and Tatiana gave and figured it out and did a great job. As soon as she posted the final result on instagram others who were tired of their hair started demanding the same services so we decided to add it to our list of services. Shortly after, Tatiana originated Belle Microlocs™– small sized microlocs installed with human hair kinky hair extensions. This new loc method now helps women with low density hair, short hair, clients who never thought they could get microlocs because of hair conditions like alopecia, psoriasis, and balding. Tatiana has been featured on Essence Magazine for creating this game-changer loc method. Now our salon offers microlocs services for our clients who come from all over the US and a few countries.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
When embarking on any journey it is never completely smooth and we knew we would definitely encounter some bumps along the way. Our biggest challenge has been building a solid team. Finding the right staff with a heart to serve our clients’ with excellence and pride while also blending their technical and soft skills has not been a bed of roses.
Another struggle is that we realized that we need some guidance. We have been looking for mentors that can help us but it’s been difficult to find so we are now investing in business coaches who can help us to be better owners and employers. That’s something we didn’t know how to do so learning the art of managing people in our industry has been an interesting journey and learning experience.
We’ve been impressed with bomb hair studio, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
From the outside, we are just another hair salon but that’s not all we are. We provide hair braiding and loc services to black women. Our job entails giving women freedom to be able to not worry about their crown so they can take on the world with complete freedom. We empower women to love their natural hair. We are able to do that by serving women with microlocs services, knotless braids, bomb twists and spring twists. We are known for our bomb twists and Belle Microlocs™. We offer a luxe ,high quality and fast braiding service that caters to our black queens. Our main focus is making sure each and everyone of our clients have the best braiding experience, feel confident and trust their crown is in good hands.
Is there something surprising that you feel even for people who you might not know about?
Most people may not know that we soon plan to start a non-profit where we would sponsor and train girls and women in Cameroon by teaching them how to braid. We plan to open up an academy where we will teach them professional braiding techniques that will serve them no matter where they go. A civil war in our country has left many women and families displaced so anything we can do to help we hope to do and instead of giving them money, we would rather teach a skill–or in other words teach them how to fish. We also hope to provide education scholarships to girls who due to the war and being displaced have not been able to go to school. So every woman we serve in our salon will in turn be helping a girl/woman in Cameroon.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bombhairstudio.as.me/
- Instagram: @bombhairstudio
Image Credits
@nahnabeauty
