BY Nkosazana Ngwadla
Having natural hair or dreadlocks as a black person can be quite tricky when it comes to finding salons that will maintain the health of your hair and scalp (and be gentle to those sensitive edges!). Often, you find yourself having to fight with hairstylists that just pull your hair and damage your scalp.
This is why friends, Gugu Nonjinge and Nomahlubi Hewu decided to start Asana Beauty in 2019. “We are a high-end dreadlocks and natural hair salon that is based in Cape Town, South Africa, founded to suit the lifestyle of a contemporary woman,” they write on the business website.
ASANA assists clients with starting and maintaining their dreadlocks and natural hair by offering end to end holistic services that include expert hair care tips from highly qualified hairstylists.
Their main goal is to offer more than just hair care and styling. One of their core objectives is to create a community and sisterhood that is a safe space and also a conducive platform for knowledge sharing.
Moreover, they believe that beyond every curl, loc, and strand is a sacred story for women of color—and even though it’s just hair, there’s so much more than what meets the eye. Therefore, they also aim to create a platform for all natural hair and dreadlocks stories, as they believe that all these journeys are rooted in lessons of identity, confidence and self-expression.
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In November 2022, Asana won the Youth-Led SMME of the Year Award! Out of +4000 nominations, ASANA Beauty was chosen to win in this category! This award is part the Inaugural National Presidential Awards that are set to recognise and celebrate the best performing SMMEs.
Asana also understands that businesses need to play an impactful role in their communities, so, they started an initiative to help those in need. “HEY SANAS! As ASANA we recognise the role that businesses need to play in the communities they operate in. So, as we promised, we’re officially kickstarting our SANAS CARE initiative. Once a quarter, toiletries will be delivered to a home that provides shelter, care and empowerment to abused, destitute and pregnant mothers with young children in Cape Town,” they wrote on social media.
