By: Pamela Ofori-Boateng
It is no longer news that braids of all types has been the major trending hair style among Ghanaian women for some
time now. This development has successfully relegated the popular “Brazilian” hair family to the background. Not so long ago, the craze for Brazilian hair was so intense that ladies that one would have never envisaged it taking a nose dive this early. However, that is what we see now. The whole enthusiasm in “Brazilian hair “is gradually declining and more women have cling to braiding, a hairstyle that reinvents over the years.
Although it takes longer hours to have your hair braided with wig depending on the length and size of the braids, most Ghanaian women now prefer braiding to other hair styles because it is cost saving, stands all weather and easier to style.
Not only is the look beautiful, it also takes away the stress of weekly visits to the salon especially in this”Dumsor” era.
However, it’s sometimes difficult to spend long hours and sometimes a whole day at the salon which could have been used for something profitable just to get your hair braided. Also, we are in the 21st century with more career women who have kids and school on weekends at the same time with little or no time for themselves so it is not surprising that some enterprising women have thought about it and have finally come up with a solution- Braid caps!!
A braid cap is similar to a weave cap but the only difference is that it is in a braid form. It is easy to fix for all occasions and it gives you the same look of a braided hair in some few minutes.
Braid caps, which are more or less new in the system both as a business and as a fashion trend is increasingly becoming popular among Ghanaian women especially millennials. Rs Jacquelyn Armerley Acheampong, owner of Ora House of Fashion who started braid cap business at her home around Nungua barrier, a suburb of Accra and uses Facebook as a major platform to sell her products said “I started this business a little over three months ago and the response is huge from here in Ghana and worldwide. “I realized there was a market niche for that, since most ladies go through the pain of getting their hair braided and spend a lot of time doing that” She added.
The cap is usually worked on in Ghana by some local salons or ladies who can just braid. She started business at Nungua barrier but other areas like Korle Bu and Spintex are also catching up on the business. The price for the braid caps ranges from GH 200.00 to GH350.00 Lola’s braiding center, located at West Legon near Haatso, another suburb in Accra, Ghana also ventured into the braid cap business about four months ago and a visit to their Facebook page indicates booming sales from enquiries people make on line. In an interview with Neighbourhood Gong, a worker at Lola’s braiding center, who gave her name only as Benedicta, mentioned that the braid cap is in high demand and people have already started booking for their Christmas caps. A wig Cap from Lola’s braiding center ranges from GH300.00 to GH350.00 depending on the length of the braids. But for trust purposes, one would have to deposit some money through mobile money as commitment fee before work on the cap could begin.
Grace, a lady who got her twist braid cap about a month ago, having seen it first on Facebook said “I got it because it’s stylish and I do not have the time to frequent the salon especially with this incessant power supply issue the country is facing.
Nana also mentioned her busy schedule and easy to style nature of the braid cap informed her decision to purchase her short box braid cap. Braid cap business, is a new wave serving as both a source of employment for the youth while offering Ghanaian women some form of relief in their beauty routine.
