Taliah Waajid

 

Taliah Waajid has been in the natural hair care business for over 25 years. Her love for natural hair began with her own hair. Her mother refused to give in when Taliah begged her for a “perm”. This forced Taliah to learn to manage, style and love the natural hair texture she was born with. Taliah would create styles like the Curly Afro, combination cornrow styles, box braids, twists, etc. Soon her friends and neighbors would ask her to create some of those styles for them. Taliah loved doing hair and when she noticed that people valued her skills enough to pay her for them; at the age of 14 she started her business. Her business grew so quickly that she had to stop doing hair in the house and find a booth to rent in a salon. This proved to be a challenge because back in the early 1980’s beauty salons did not want braiders or natural hair stylists renting space in their salon.

 

Taliah found her first space on 125 Street in Harlem, NY. She began working with Barbara Terry, aka Songa. Songa taught Taliah about natural hair texture, styling and braiding which helped Taliah become a great stylist. Taliah enrolled into Cosmetology school and obtained her Cosmetology License from Robert Fiancé Cosmetology School.

In 1988 after years of renting booth space at several salons, Taliah opened her first natural hair salon in Harlem, NY. Taliah serviced thousands of clients and wowed them with her unique creative flair for designing styles custom to one’s lifestyle. She moved from New York City to Atlanta, GA in 1991. In between flying back and forth from Atlanta to New York to do the hair of her die-hard clients, she opened Braids, Weaves & Things Inc. located in College Park, GA. Taliah chose the name Braid Weaves & Things because when she arrived to Atlanta, there were so few people interested in wearing their hair natural. In fact, when she would offer business cards to some women they would immediately give the card back and make remarks like, “oh, I could never wear my hair like that.” Not to be deterred, Taliah persevered with her message of “natural is better.

Braids Weaves & Things specialized in extension braiding, transitioning to natural, natural hairstyling, twisting, locking, weaving and chemical free hair care. Taliah quickly built a very reputable name for herself. Taliah Waajid was known for her reputation of educating clients on the importance of healthy hair. She introduced her clients to natural hair care by sharing information on alternative choices other than chemicals for daily hair care. Satisfied customers helped spread the word about Taliah Waajid’s professional services and knowledge.

Other stylist heard of Taliah’s success and wanted to know the secret. Taliah began offering private classes to teach stylist her techniques for professional natural hair care services and braiding. Soon after Taliah started the Taliah Waajid Seminars which is a three day intensive training on natural hair, braiding and textured weaving techniques. Taliah also shared her business skills in her seminars.

Taliah Waajid’s specialized techniques along with her years of experience put her in the forefront of natural hair care and braiding services. The demand for Taliah’s services prompted her to hire and train others on her techniques in order to meet the growing demand for her services.

Because there were no products in the market place that catered to the specific needs of chemical-free hair. Taliah decided to create a line of products that would fill that need. Taliah presented her complete line of products for natural hair care, Black Earth Products ™, in 1996. She sold them to her clients then started getting requests from other salons so that they could use and sell her products. As the demand for her products grew she started to sell them to distributors so that the products could be available to more consumers. Taliah now has three lines of products for natural hair care. The other two are Taliah Waajid Curls, Waves & Naturals™ and Taliah Waajid Kinky, Wavy, Natural™ —For Children.

 

Also in 1994, Taliah started the World Natural Hair, Health & Beauty Show™ which started with approximately 25 exhibitors and 150 attendees which has grown to over 140 exhibitors and over 30,000 attendees. The World Natural Hair, Health & Beauty Show™ is now in its 15th year with two shows per year, a Spring show and a Fall show. Taliah’s latest endeavor is the World’s Next Top Natural Hair Model contest and crowning event, which is in its second year.

For over 25 years Taliah Waajid continues to live, breath and love natural hair. It is her life and it shows in what she has done, not only to benefit her, but also for the benefit of others in the natural hair care industry. This is why Taliah Waajid is dubbed, “The Queen of Curly, Coily, Natural Hair Care.” She really cares about the natural hair care industry and community.