September 24, 2018Haircare

Meet Healthy Hair Studio's Founder, Enitan

Enitan Agidee is a hair coach and the founder of the Healthy Hair Studio. She is committed to promoting healthy hair techniques and educating salons and individuals. She created the much-loved Protein Defence as a natural offshoot of her work in promoting healthy hair of all types. We sat down with Enitan to get the scoop on her journey - personal and professional - and her top tips for achieving breakage-resistant hair.

TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR HAIR JOURNEY?

Growing up, I never really saw a Nigerian with hair that I thought was both long and thick. Everyone that I had seen within that category was American so I thought it was the water or air in America, surely.

Then I saw a lady with hair that made me think, how? Not only was she Nigerian, she was Yoruba (same tribe as I am). This led me to start reading up on the science behind what makes black hair thrive. I studied this for 7 months before I purchased my first wig and put all that theory into practice. My initial goal was if my over processed thin chin/neck length hair could reach my armpit then I’m good. 18 months later I surpassed that and reached bra strap length and 15 months after that I reached waist length.

HOW DID THAT LEAD TO YOU BECOMING A HAIR COACH?

I struggled to find a hair dresser who didn’t just 'do' my hair but one who really understood black hair. I was unsuccessful in finding such an individual, so I became her. I established the Healthy Hair Studio by Enitan in early 2015 and used a scientific approach to care for both relaxed and natural hair.

WHY DID YOU CREATE PROTEIN DEFENCE?

I understood early on the importance of protein treatments in mine and my daughter's haircare routine. However, I was put off by the fact that a traditional treatment meant applying a protein treatment and then following up with a moisturising treatment immediately afterwards. This added an additional 30 mins to my wash day! So I began researching and working with scientists to create a protein treatment that had just enough protein in it to give breakage-resilient hair but also had sufficient moisturising properties to give a soft result. My goal was to create a better alternative without the hardness from a traditional protein treatment. This is how the Protein Defence was created.

Protein Defence from Healthy Hair Studio by Enitan

HOW DOES ONE USE PROTEIN DEFENCE FOR THE BEST RESULTS?

For every 3 teaspoons of a conditioner, add 1 teaspoon of the Protein Defence and mix in a bowl. Meaning if your hair needs 6 teaspoons of conditioner you add 2 of the Protein Defence. Apply on hair, cover for 20 mins and rinse lightly - meaning don’t over rinse like you are trying to rinse out shampoo. Use once every 4 – 8 weeks.

WHO IS PROTEIN DEFENCE FOR?

Anyone who desires healthy hair, whether their hair is low porosity or high porosity or chemically processed.

AS A HAIR COACH, WHAT IS THE BIGGEST HAIR CONCERN THAT YOU SEE WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS?

Edges! The inability to have edges that also reflect health. This is why I started training salons and mobile hair stylists on how to be intentional about incorporating healthy hair within the core of their skill sets. I think it is very unfair on clients to lose so much hair as a direct result of how a desired style was installed.

WHAT'S YOUR TOP TIP FOR HEALTHY HAIR?

Most people think they have a regimen but you see - you can only call it a regimen if you have consistency, a systematic way of life. My tip would be to be consistent and be patient.