By: Angela Walker
The Bold + The Beautiful
She’s fierce, but don’t call her Sasha. And while she’s worked with the likes of Beyonce, Solange, and Zoë Kravitz, she is a star in her own lane.
Meet Susy. Better known as @AfricanCreature on Instagram.
Most celebrity hair stylists move quietly. They barely show their face or talk to the camera and they for sure are not running two bicoastal salons. But Susy has beat the odds. And her story is one of true authenticity and inspiration.
If you go to Susy’s page you will surely meet her. You won't see a phantom personality and then meet her in person and wonder who is in front of you. No. Who you see is exactly who you get. She wears bold colors and big hair. She dances on the street and in her salon and she talks to the camera with all her personality, confidence, and verve.
What makes Susy so inspirational is her light. Her dark skin radiates in the sun and has a glowing essence that can’t be dimmed. When you see her you know you are witnessing a woman walking in her truth and you can not help but stare and ask, “Who is she? Where is she going?” And even more, “Where did she come from?”
Susy started her career by happenstance. If you are in the textured hair industry, no matter at what level, this interview will expose you to the inner workings of a woman whose career is just getting started and she is allowing us the privilege of watching it bloom online.
Before our phone interview, I did as much research on Susy as I could. I wanted to know how she started, how her self-care practices became so strong, and how a woman who runs two bicoastal salons has time to post on social media so regularly and always has her hair done. Cause stylists know … stylists rarely have their hair done.
I mean Susy literally does it all. Below is the raw transcript of our interview. Some things you may wonder why I asked such as, “Why move from working in a house to a brick and mortar?” - but these questions stem from the research I did before our interview. Enjoy.
How far back does your love for doing hair go?
SO: When I was a little kid I used to braid my dolls' hair and as I got older I was around creative hairstyles. When I got laid off, I said to myself I’m going to take hair more seriously and I made it a full-time job and not a side job.
Licensed cosmetologist - Why did you go that route?
I was doing a lot of things in the industry and because my brand was growing I needed to have a cosmetology license to prove what I’m doing. Not that you need a license to know but it helps. I wanted to know the technical side of hair.
Why move from working in a house to a brick and mortar?
Started with my mom and then was doing hair in my apartment. While I was at my apartment it was too personal. I was doing it for a long time and I needed that separation. After I got my license I said I could get my own salon. I had to save a lot of money. I had to do a lot to make money and I was paying for school out of pocket.
How much money did you have to save to open your first salon?
$15,000
How did you get your first celebrity client?
Sometimes being creative you question yourself. Will people like it? Will it resonate with people? At the time I stated I was trying to fit into the industry and trying to do basic styles, and it wasn’t working so I said let me do my own thing and create my own lane. So that’s what made me not be afraid of color and incorporate my roots of being Nigerian. And I would take pictures and post it and I wouldn’t get a lot of likes, but I was being consistent and I didn’t care. I looked at it as my portfolio.
One day I was watching TV and I manifested that I wanted to do Solange's hair one day.
I would [have said] hard work. [But] Now my thinking has changed. I don’t think you need to work so hard to get blessings. But you have to have good intentions, and good heart, and passion and consistency, and you [have to] show up too. I'm not just saying I want to do Solange work and not work toward it. Manifestation, with you working towards it, will always do good.
What was that self-work and self-talk like for you to get so confident?
My work on self is a daily thing. It's not something you work on and you feel fixed. As much as I thought I was confident and healed, I went to Africa recently and found a new version of myself. Isolating yourself is good too. Not too much. I isolated myself and I didn’t {label- will need to ask what this is to be} my phone. I want to take this time to find out what I like to eat
Living in real life. Being in solitude, Falling in love with myself
With this type of job, we always show up for people - giving, giving, giving. And if you don’t pour into yourself you’re going to be drained.
I had just gone through a divorce. It was tough. Hard on me because I wanted it to work but it didn’t. But now it's relearning who I am. What I like. Who I like. When you do the work on yourself you start to attract the things you really like. I did a lot of self-care. Even now I’m still trying to figure out this new version of me.
I used to say I’m a hair stylist but I’m more than that - I'm a creator, a vessel.
It takes a lot of travel and self-work. Eating good, and drinking good so you can live to enjoy the fruits of your labor.
On homelessness and giving back. How did it change your life and your perspective on life?
Being homeless was very tough. I didn’t know where to stay or where to go. I didn’t have family out here. The people I trusted let me down and I had to do things on my own. Take showers at the gym and sleep at friend’s houses. I have a new salon in LA - there’s a lot of homelessness there. It's sad and I wish we as a community would do more, but I’m still trying to navigate that and see ways I can help.
Last year I was helping out in shelters and making them feel good. You find out that a lot of regular people who go to work are homeless. And you realize anyone can be good one day and not good the next day.
Who is Kathy Clarke?
She taught me how to braid hair into art. She brought me on as an assistant and said, “You can help me.” I was her assistant and she let me take on models. And I would do models and I said, “Wow. This is what I want to do.” She works for me in the New York shop.
How will your brand change the world?
It will change the world by helping people to see the beauty through hair, help people to see themselves in the most creative way, and show them that you don't have to follow the norm. You can create and inspire. It helps people align themselves with their purpose
What advice do you have for up-and-coming textured hair stylists?
Create. Create. Create. Don’t be afraid. Don’t stop. Keep going. Things don’t always look promising, everything will always work out.
I have enjoyed these articles. They were helpful and inspiring. I feel encouraged and a sense of hope. I want to inspire and educate others just as these articles have educated and inspired me.