by Natachi Onwuamaegbu
Paula Mwihaki Mwithaga’s early hair experiences were rooted in pain.
Every few weeks, her mother would take her and her sisters to get their hair done. For hours, she’d sit, back straight, as combs and fingers plowed their way through her hair. Extensions would lengthen her once short hair, and as her head transformed, so did her face. The endless winces and grimaces slowly carved lines in her skin.
Most of these appointments would end the same way - with Paula sitting on her bedroom floor one or two days later, loosening one braid after the other until her new locks laid in shreds around her feet.
Obviously, this cycle couldn’t last forever, and Paula needed an alternative. The solution? Haki Did That.
“I started braiding my own hair in 2016,” said Paula, 24, during a phone interview. “Then I started practicing on my sisters - then my friends wanted me to do their hair. The name came from my middle name, Mwihaki.”
But her hair business didn’t become, well, a business, until 2020.
That year, she packed her clothes, books, and a few combs and set out to the UK to pursue a degree in Economics at the University of Leeds. There were no hair dressers - at least any she could afford and trust - in her dreary, predominately white, new home. So Haki did that, spending a few days a month parting and braiding her own hair. When her black classmates noticed, her hustle shifted beyond her own scalp. On weekends, she’d welcome girls from across her university, taking their Pinterest inspiration pictures and replicating them with careful precision.
Due to finances, Paula left university in 2022. Once she was back in Nairobi, Paula decided to pursue Haki Did That full time.
“It’s challenging to do everything yourself,” Paula said. “These days you can’t just be an entrepreneur, you need to be a content creator, do marketing, customer service, all of it.”
But re-entering the Nairobi hair braiding market was difficult. In Kenya, it’s easy for a salon to get lost. To build a client base, to operate without an established salon behind you, it takes hours of hardwork. And while she’s had success over the past three years, when she came across Braiding Nairobi she saw it as an opportunity to grow.
“I’d never seen anything like [Braiding Nairobi],” said Paula. “I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to grow. Giving that personalized experience is important.”
And right now, growing Haki Did That is important. Paula hopes to use her business to finance the rest of her degree, with the goal of returning for her last year at the end of 2025.
But her goals have shifted: while she’s good at economics and originally went to Leeds hoping to pursue a career in that field, hair is now her focus. The ability to weave art and entrepreneurship has dictated her next goal.
“For me, it all comes down to passion,” said Paula. “I’m a creative and I want to create beautiful styles. I’m just drawn to hair, I’m drawn to creating.”
Her new dream?
“To graduate and open my own hair salon.”
To support Haki and experience her gentle hands and gorgeous styles, book with her today through Braiding Nairobi, available on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.
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