Black hair is very complex and requires a lot of time and effort to take care of and requires a range of products for treatment. These products aren’t widely known about, making it hard for black people, especially women, to know which product does what with each type of hair. Thereby requiring professional handling.
Princess Onitilo, a 23-year- old Londoner born to a Sierra Leonean mother and Nigerian father has noticed the huge gap in the beauty industry service providers for people of Afro-Caribbean decent and aims to revolutionise the way black people choose who look after their hair.
Princess came up with a company called Tress Free which is a unique hair and beauty website that allows customers to choose exactly which hairdresser, makeup artist or beauty therapist they want and narrow down their searches according to the date and location. It also allows people to compare prices, quality and reviews of the hairdressers
while also offering money saving offers and special discounts for regular bookings.
The idea comes to Princess when she realised how regularly she struggled to find quality Afro-Caribbean hair and beauty specialists, her frustrations led to the making of the company. Princess says “I loved the creativity, new styles and techniques that continually emerge however I had no faith in hairdressers without a visual portfolio or long standing customers that could vouch for their skills. Instagram has helped many hairdressers and make-up artists
showcase their work, which reassures sceptical customers like myself. However I dreamt of a central hub where you can compare and contrast different stylists in an easier way.”
Princess has always been ambitious having graduated from Warwick University with honours in Law and Sociology. Princess understands that hard work will always pay off, she said “Coming from a second generation African household, I have seen first-hand how far hard work and determination can get you. When I was born my family and I started out in a cramped bedsit with shared bathroom facilities, and now we are living in a four-bedroom house in North West London. From a young age my parents always told me that I can do anything I set my heart on, and this is something that I have applied in all aspects of my life. I don’t feel constrained by the double jeopardy theories of being black and female. I believe that success is inevitable when passion meets hard work and determination.”
