AUSTIN, Texas — Our hair is a special part of what makes us, us.
Milly Fotso is the founder and CEO of The Braided Life, a braiding and natural hair salon in East Austin. She said it’s time to celebrate all the magical things our hair can do.
"Hair is very closely tied to our identity and to the way that we present ourselves in the world," Fotso said.
Fotso, a Cameroon, Africa, native, moved to the U.S. when she five. Her mom was a hair braider, and that was Fotso's first connection to braiding.
After her mom passed away when she was 7, Fotso's dad took it upon himself to learn how to braid her hair. She said the time they spent together braiding her hair served as bonding moments after her mom passed.
"I primarily grew up in white neighborhoods, so going to the hair salon was really the only time that I could see people that looked like me and where I could hear our stories and where I could connect with myself as a Black girl at the time," Fotso said.
Once in college, the now 28-year-old didn't think that she would end up in the beauty industry.
"I actually thought I was going to be a pediatric oncologist, and that's the path that I was on for some time. But I think there is something about the beauty industry that I realized, you know, a lot of people think that it's very superficial, but there are just so many layers to beauty. And it intrigued me," Fotso said.
After graduation, Fotso worked in global marketing for L'Oréal and did corporate beauty for some time.
Then she realized she didn't love it.
"I had the urge to braid my hair, and I hadn't braided my own hair in a really long time. And that became, I guess, my therapy during the pandemic," Fotso said.
She later created an Instagram account that became an ode to braiding, and it quickly gained traction. She then set up a photoshoot with 15 models and realized seeing a group of Black women together, celebrating their hair and interacting, was unlike anything she had seen living in Austin.
"So that's kind of – that was the turning point for me where I decided to open up a pop-up space," Fotso said. "So I signed a two-month lease, and the reception was just really great. So I ended up extending that lease, and here we are today."
Just like many business owners, challenges arose when Fotso was starting her new business. However, there was one thing that separated her from the bunch.
"When I would show up to see spaces they would be like, 'Oh, who is the owner? Are you the owner? No, no, no, no. Who's the actual owner?' That was just like a repeated thing for me that I had to deal with," Fotso said.
As a young Black woman and entrepreneur, Fotso said a lot of investors didn't understand what the mission of her business was and how there was a gap in the Austin market for Black braiding salons like hers.
"You're not only having to explain the business, but you're having to explain a certain part of your cultural heritage or your identity to get them to understand why this is worth having a business for," Fotso said.
After founding The Braided Life in 2021, Fotso soon outgrew her space in East Austin and decided to expand. The salon's current location is now just down the road, off East Seventh Street.
Fotso said when she was looking for a new spot, she didn't realize what an uphill battle commercial real estate would be.
"On the phone, they would say, 'Yes, we want a salon.' And then I would show up and they'd be like, 'No, we don't want that kind of business,'" Fotso said.
After dodging no after no, she came out on top, celebrating the expansion of a new salon and doubling her team of Black women and nonbinary people.
Fotso said she deliberately chose to keep her business on the east side of Austin, very close to downtown, because the east side has historically been an area where Austin's Black population has been. But due to redlining and gentrification, Fotso said she feels the Black community has been pushed out.
"It was really important for me to say, you know, this is our space and kind of take a stand in that way and creating a space right in the middle of the city to be visible as well," Fotso said.
From knotless braids, twists, cornrows, silk presses and more, over 65 different styles are offered on The Braided Life’s menu. Fotso said one of her goals is to incorporate the sense of warmth and acceptance she felt at salons growing up.
"I want people to know that this is a community. This can be their second home. That table in the back is intended for people to come and hang out and like, do work and read and study and do whatever else," Fotso said.
The Braided Life also hosts various events at the shop, with topics surrounding mental health, mental wellness and general well-being.
Fotso siad the motto that has always stuck with her is "start before you're ready."
"Just go for it. Like, start before you're ready. You're never going to be ready, and those little things that you think are wrong, nobody else is noticing," she said.
But all eyes are on the powerhouse entrepreneur, her staff and business. During our current time, when Black people can feel left out and neglected, The Braided LIie's doors are open to all.
When leaving the salon, customers and friends walk out with a sense of belonging, looking good and feeling good, living The Braided Life.
The Braided Life has launched an ifundwomen campaign to raise money for the community events they host.