The Afro beauty industry is home to numerous inspiring entrepreneurs who have built thriving businesses. By drawing inspiration from their journeys, we can find ways to stay motivated and push forward, no matter the obstacles we face.
Yves Med, founder of Kemet Care Afro hair salon, is one such entrepreneur.
Discover his inspiring journey...
Discover Yves' interview below:
You can find the transcription below, but the interview is not complete. I recommend listening to it! :)
Flora: Hello Yves, Welcome to the Zenaba podcast!
Yves: Thank you for inviting me,
Flora: It's truly a pleasure for me to interview you today. In a few words, you have a hair salon for curly, coily, and kinky hair located in the south of France in Montpellier.
Can you tell us about your professional background before creating the KemetCare hair salon?
Yves: I come from Martinique, I did my schooling there, I'm someone who loves art, who draws a lot, my parents weren't too keen on that, they wanted me to pursue long studies, so I went into accounting and banking, which has nothing to do with hairdressing.
I finished those studies, I did my internships in accounting or banking, and then very quickly I realized it wasn't for me. It was very rigid in banking, I had to dress every day with a tie, a shirt, the creative person in me couldn't fit into that mold, as I felt a bit trapped, I started by creating the website because I had a lot of people around me, mostly women, who told me they couldn't find suitable products for their hair etc.. it was a real problem.
And in 2016, I created the e-shop, I listed natural hair products. Afterwards, people would come, they told me they'd like to smell the products, test them, get advice... There was already a blog but there wasn't this customer relationship aspect. Little by little the project developed, there was hairdressing, periods of testing where we tested the products with small hairstyles at my place, then there was COVID.
It was post-COVID, in July 2020 that we started. I didn't start with hairdressing, it was a coincidence.
How long has the Kemet Care hair salon existed?
Yves: So we started in July 2020, we were supposed to open in March 2020, but because of COVID, we postponed it by a few months, with a shop section, customers were delighted.
How was the start?
Yves: Well, the start was a bit special due to hygiene rules, the beginnings were timid, customers came once, and then came back, so we still had good signs, which encouraged us, we got recommendations. Little by little, word of mouth did its job.
Did you do any hairdressing training?
Yves: I didn't do any hairdressing training. I know how to style, braids or other African hairstyles.
I had the choice between getting my diploma and not getting it, my family wanted me to get it, but I thought about it, I told myself why not partner with people who already have experience, I would learn much more by partnering with someone, to train, to create, initially, hairdressing services, instead of starting from scratch.
It must not have been easy to find hairdressers who know how to style kinky hair, it's an uphill battle, how many hairdressers do you have in your salon?
Yves: I have four.
Flora: Oh, that's huge! That's quite a lot.
Yves: Yes, afterwards, we've perfected ourselves, I have a vision that guides the team a bit, but everyone contributes a lot.
Flora: I imagine so, for recruitment, it must be a real struggle, especially in Montpellier because we get the impression that everything happens in Paris, but it's true that in the provinces, there's still a gap with the capital.
Yves: I see you're aware.
Flora: I live in Orléans, Montpellier is bigger, but having also lived in Lyon, I know that in the provinces it's much more complicated. There's Paris and the rest of France.
Yves: Yes, completely, I agree with you!
Why the name Kemetcare?
Yves: When I was looking for a name for the salon, for the shop, I don't know why, it was intuition, I wanted something, another name that was more original.
In my research, I came across the name Kemet, and what struck me was that the Egyptians created the first Afro combs. You can see them at the Louvre Museum. The first braids date from there, I told myself that we are actually in a strange era, an era for Africans or Afro-descendants, where today we no longer know how to take care of our hair, it means that knowledge has disappeared compared to our history, a lot of knowledge has disappeared, of know-how, and the goal is to rediscover this knowledge that belonged to us.
Flora: There's a need to return to our origins.
Yves: Exactly, a return to our origins, with everything that comes with it, because there's a certain rejection of our hair, our textured hair.
So, I'll be available under that name, and it gains meaning year after year.
Flora: I think it's a nice nod to the 'nappy' movement that's been around since the 2000s, we're reclaiming our beauty a bit, we're trying to rediscover the original knowledge, we're relearning how to take care of our hair.
I think it fits quite well, it's a very beautiful name.
Yves: Thank you very much, thank you.
What type of services do you offer your clients in your salon?
Yves: We initially focused on treatments because textured hair in a country not suited for it tends to dry out, so we started there. Then came cuts for curly, coily, kinky hair, so these individuals could have a proper cut without having to straighten their hair. That was the second battle, to successfully develop styling and cutting techniques.
The third major service is African hairstyles, braids, dreadlocks.
Flora: Do you also do locs?
Yves: Yes, we do locs.
I told you about the major services, what we really started with.
Today we also do coloring, treatments, straightening, and relaxers, and that's on a case-by-case basis, it's also due to the Montpellier clientele. We had women who wanted certain things done, but we saw that their hair was damaged. The idea was not to let them go elsewhere, because we know that elsewhere it would have been worse. The goal is to support them, to make them aware that if they do relaxers, "you're going to change the texture of your hair, it's naturally beautiful, why do you want to change it?" For example, she explained that she still wants it, there will be treatments to do. In Afro hairdressing, there's a bit of everything, we decided to focus on support, not to close ourselves off.
Do you see a hair evolution in some clients?
Yves: Habits and beliefs are deeply ingrained. Since birth, for years, we're used to styling our hair that way, doing what mom did, doing what friends do. It's very hard to go against the current, even if in the end we know it's not necessarily the best choice, we stay in our comfort zone, it's ingrained!
We do have people who actually start from scratch, truly change, they have the desire because it's also about motivation. People who really want to change, we support them in that direction, and there are results in the end.
For younger people it's simpler, I'd say under 30, over 40 it's a bit more complicated.
It's the generation that started with the internet, with all the information about kinky hair, how to take care of it... so I can understand that it's difficult, it takes more time to change [...]
What are the most requested hairstyles in your salon?
Yves: I would say it's the "Curl Bar" hairstyle.
Flora: So what is the "Curl Bar" hairstyle?
Yves: It's a service we called 'Curl Bar' because it includes a comprehensive, personalized deep treatment based on the diagnosis we made beforehand, a cut for textured hair, and curl styling with the right products corresponding to the curl type. This is the service that's a bit more popular than the others, otherwise, we can have weeks with a lot of braids, weeks with a lot of coloring and highlights, it varies, we don't get bored.
Flora: There aren't many Afro hair salons, clearly, that's why when I came across your salon, I was happy to see that there were salons in Montpellier too. For most of us, it's not easy to trust a hairdresser with our hair.
Are the people you receive in your salon often novices or is it 50/50, do you have a bit of everything?
Yves: I would say initially it was more novices, today it's indeed 50/50. There are people who come back at different times. Some come back every two months, some every six months, everyone has their habits, once a year too. I think just once a year for a cut and a major treatment, depending on everyone's budget too.
Do many women start from scratch with their hair care, specifically, do you receive people for big chops?
Yves: We've had some, it's not common. Generally, we don't expect it either; it means that it's by discussing with the client that she expresses a desire for renewal and wanting to cut everything off. It happens, but it's always a bit of a surprise, because clients don't necessarily come for that; it's by talking with them that they realize if their hair is damaged, they might need to cut it all off.
In any case, she doesn't necessarily express it beforehand, [...] it depends, it's really variable, okay, so.
At the beginning of the interview, you told us about your online shop, what brands do you sell and how did you choose the products?
Yves: We wanted to choose predominantly French products created by Afro-entrepreneurs, that was the idea. I mostly approached the first brands, which were Nappy Queen, Les Secrets de Loly, Soarn; those were the first brands we contacted. We tried to expand the catalog, it wasn't easy. The e-shop requires a lot of investment, inventory, it wasn't easy, especially for French products. There weren't as many French products yet, they were more expensive than American products, and customers preferred American products, it was Shea Moisture. French brands are regaining control, so we always try to promote brands created by Afro-entrepreneurs, even if it's not always easy.
I also saw that you offer workshops, can you tell us more about them?
Yves: It's recent! Many mothers with mixed-race children came to us asking for advice, so we had the idea to start doing workshops.
We already did a first one last month which went very, very well, we had good feedback.
The idea is to offer something different, to connect parents who have the same issues, to create a friendly moment where they can learn and also have a good time. We want to acquire knowledge, transmit it, and share it. We also thought about bringing in experts in their field, doing workshops with us but with other experts, we would learn too.
Flora: It's a good project, I imagine it's true that for people nearby, there are many who don't necessarily know how to style their children's hair. It's always a good idea to build children's confidence, to appreciate their hair, not to denigrate it, it's super important.
Yves: Absolutely, exactly, all that part, as you say, the right words to say to the child, the words not to say.
Flora: We grew up a bit with that, with this denigration like "your hair is hard," "you need to use a lot of products," "hide it if you want to get it styled." It's a whole process, but it's changing, I think we're moving in the right direction gradually. It will take some time, but we're moving in the right direction.
What would you recommend to someone who wants to take care of their textured hair?
Yves: What would I recommend? The thing that seems essential to me is to know your hair. I have kinky hair, but on another person with kinky hair, the same products might not work. You need to know your hair first, be able to do tests, see how it reacts. [...] If that first thing is done, the rest will follow naturally.
Flora: It's important to test, as you say, to know what suits your hair. It's the best way because it's true that we often tend to want to use our neighbor's products, thinking it works for them, so it will necessarily work for me. You can have surprises depending on the products. I think you have to trust yourself and do your own tests, it might take some time.
Yves: It definitely takes time, and then the second thing is learning how to style your hair. I think that's a big barrier, at least concerning textured hair. To take care of it, you have to style it; you can't just leave it exposed like that, it will dry out, especially in cold countries where the temperature isn't conducive to it. So I would say, if you know how to do a few braids or twists, for example, it will keep them in shape and prevent them from drying out and breaking.
In your workshops, do you teach how to do twists, braids?
Yves: For the parent-child workshops, we'll show the basics, but we can't do everything, I think it would take too long. There are the basics we learn, twists, it's something quick to do, everyone can do it. After that, a mom can shampoo and condition and then do small twists for her child for the whole week, so she doesn't have to wonder how she's going to style her little girl's hair this morning.
Finally, what are your next goals with Kemet?
Yves: The next objectives... to perfect ourselves. We are lucky to be in African hairdressing; there are many things to do, many skills, we don't realize it, and it evolves over time. So, to perfect ourselves and why not expand.
Flora: At the same time, hair is so versatile, there are so many techniques to learn. It's true that every year we see something new emerge, it's impressive. So I imagine, yes, there's still a long way to go, even as a hairdresser, you probably always have things to learn, I imagine.
Yves: It's challenging!
Flora: You've found your dream activity.
Yves: Absolutely!
Flora: That's perfect, well, in any case, our interview will end here. Thank you very much for agreeing to answer my questions, and I hope this can inspire other hairdressers to open their salon or online shop.
Yves: Thank you for inviting me.
Flora: I wish you a very good day, thank you, see you soon.
Yves: See you soon.
The Afro hair salon KemetCare - 9 avenue du Pont Juvenal 34000 Montpellier
Have you already tried this salon? Tell us about your experience in the comments!
