THE gist of the recent press conference put together by Africa Aesthetic International Nigeria, an international marketing company, was to announce the free training being packaged for young men and women by Aesthetics and Cosmetics, a South African-based company. The idea is to help them improve the quality of salon and beauty services in the country.
Mr. Olayemi Olatunji, a business management expert is the project manager, Africa Aesthetic International. On first glance, he would have passed for a rap entertainer, what with his acquired western accent, silver jewellery on his fingers and left ear. Out of curiosity I asked and his reply turned out to be a nice revelation one couldn’t wait to share.
He says: “My mother is partially from Wushishi in Niger State. I’m the last of two male children. According to a custom among my mother’s people, as the last of two boys, I’m entitled to wear ear rings as a symbol of the presence of a female in the home. The Fulani people do it. My wearing ear ring is not out of fashion. It is the culture of my mother’s people.
It is to give my mum the feeling that there is a female presence in the home. I can even wear two. I have kept very close with my culture because there is a lot of similarity between the Fulani people and the South Africans. There are some tribes there that do this and you know South Africa is beginning to be the announcement for all black people.
“Talking about fashion and beauty, it comes naturally to me. My grandmother on my paternal side used to have an archaic salon where people came and got dressed for marriages. In a way, she was also like an optician because she used the local eye pencil (tiro) to correct eye sight. So, tiro is more than a beauty product. It is also medicinal.
It can make you see clearly. We are bringing all these things back because it is only Africa that is lagging behind as far as beauty is concerned. We have yoga and acupuncture from the Middle East and lipstick and some other things from Europe.
Also from India we have hot stone massages. We have tried to make the ultra modern beauty salon a relaxed place for an average Nigerian.
“So back to my ear rings, let’s just say I’m still in touch with ancient traditions. Every thing we are doing in life today is a reflection of what we have done before. There is nothing that is actually new.
My involvement: I’m a simple person trying to survive and in surviving, I try to carry a lot of people along. That’s why I’m carrying out this project. Nigeria just announced a huge budget. The question we should be asking is, what do I do to get a share of that budget? It won’t come through begging.
It will come through your labour. My wife is head of training at Aesthetic and Cosmetics both in South Africa and Germany. My interest in beauty came from the beauty machines which they have used on me several times and I feel that for my people to benefit from this, I would have to introduce this company and the training they offer to my people through a raffle draw.
Difference: If you look around, you’d find that there are very few salons here that meet international standard. Yes, we have salons but at the end of the day, it will have a name like Morenike beauty saloon. When you get into these saloons, many of them lack environmental beauty. Imagine having a beauty place that has the look of a bank? A good environment not only makes the client and workers relax and feel at home, it also increases the way Nigeria is seen from the outside world.
Clients from overseas want to come home and feel the pulse of what we have. They want to go to a spa and see a good ambience. So when I enter a salon, first I like to see the colour separation used in the interior which is the radaint female colours. Secondly, is the placement of equipment.
The new thing Africa Aesthetic International is introducing into the country through Aesthetic and Cosmetic is training and what we offer after the training. Aesthetic and Cosmetic is a major player in marketing of skin care products, beauty care training, sales of ultra Modern skin care equipment and setting up of Spa shops in Europe and South Africa.
What they plan to do through my company is to institute an annual beauty programme “tagged beauty for Africa”. The programme is designed to train 25 young beauticians bi monthly at the prestigious Aesthetic and Cosmetic Beauty Training Institute in Johannesburg, South Africa.
It is an all expense paid trip and training. The expected 150 participants will be picked through a lucky dip after obtaining a form for N2,500. Five orphanage homes will provide five children each who will come to pick the lucky winners. But even where a participant is not picked, the fact that she registered already qualifies her for admission into the school that we would eventually set up here in Nigeria. All they will need to pay for will be the school fees.
Participants have a chance not only to be beauticians but also to have international marketing skills to be able to handle international clients. Anybody from 18 years old qualifies to participate. We are not asking for major educational qualifications. School Certificate is okay as long as you are able to read and write and you are ready to learn.
Partnership: At the moment we have difficulty finding a good salon that we can partner with. The problem is that there are very few salons that are of A-class standard. There are more fashion stores that are of international standard than salons. Even some of the salons that do training, there is nothing dignifying about the training they offer. What we are offering is more than making you a beautician.
You can work in departmental stores, chemists, pharmacy etc. We tell you a lot about science and economics so you’d be able to manage yourself and your business and understand the element of beauty. Right now, apart from one salon we found at Ikeja, we are partnering first with some fashion designers like Zizi, Mon Ani, Modela, Catwalk studio. We feel that before you can expose fashion, you need beauty.
Beauty: Beauty is big business now all over the world. Nigeria cannot be an exception. I think it is about time to beautify this great population of ours. We want to make homes out of beauty salons. And for those who we train whatever ideas they bring forward from then on will be of international standard.
How far? I can go any length for beauty. Going to the salon doesn’t mean that I am gay though I don’t see anything wrong being gay, it’s their own problem. I go to any length to make my skin beautiful. I can take my time to go for consultations on my appearances. Personally, I won’t do cosmetic surgery just for the sake of it. Everything about me is African, I don’t want to loose that.
Source: The Vanguard