Image 1 was born out of my passion for afro-textured hair. As a child of Indian heritage growing up in rural Kenya, I was fascinated by the orange robes, intricate braids and bright beads of the young Masai Mara children. I wanted that hairstyle and begged my Mum every day to plait my curly hair in the same way! I am convinced that these early experiences have informed the direction of my later career.

From the age of fifteen I dreamt of being a theatrical make-up artist. I was fascinated by the way stage make-up and prosthetics could be used to create characters. This required a wide range of qualifications and I was able to obtain a place at the prestigious North Warwickshire College of Technology of Art. I graduated in 1981 with City and Guilds of London Institute qualifications in Hairdressing, Beauty Therapy and Wig-Making. I was also awarded diplomas in International Beauty Therapy and Remedial Camouflage by the International Health and Beauty Council. Throughout my career I have continued to learn and regularly attend the latest conferences and seminars to remain contemporary. I have also taught and obtained the necessary teaching and assessing qualifications.

However, during my training I swiftly realised that people of colour were vastly underserved by the beauty industry. There was a blatant and callous disrespect in the lack of products, and lack of interest in representing and supporting these communities. I attempted to address these issues in my dissertation which focused on the difficulty of finding suitable shades of make-up for diverse skin tones. I actually asked a friend in Barbados to send Flori Roberts brochures to support my argument and used women of colour as my models.

Unfortunately, hair and beauty courses did not deem the care of afro-textured hair to be relevant to their students, and it was not a part of their syllabuses. Sadly, this is still largely true today. Consequently, I jumped at the opportunity to introduce beauty therapy to the late Cecilia Astle’s salon. This was one of the first to focus on afro-textured hair in Leicester and I soon realised this was my calling!

By 1986, after five years of intensive experience, glamorous seminars in Las Vegas, and with lots of encouragement from my clients and family, I decided to step out and open my own salon, Image 1!

The last thirty-six years have been a joy and a thrill. From promoting our opening on Talkin’ Blues with George Cole on BBC Radio Leicester to training staff and seeing them flourish. Caring for my clients has been an absolute honour and I remember and treasure them all.

All I want is to help people love their hair and in turn love themselves.