32 years behind the chair.

I was born in Liberia and came to the United States when I was two years old. by twelve, I wanted to work but because of my status, I couldn’t get a traditional job. so I did what I could do, I started doing hair for my friends.

my story in beauty didn’t begin in a lab or a boardroom. it began in 1994, inside a professional salon in Staten Island: Yatta’s Unisex Palace on Targee Street (in Park Hill). I was young. still in high school. watching. learning. sweeping. observing how women transformed when they left the chair. that salon was my first classroom. I learned discipline there. precision, respect for the craft. I learned that hair is never just hair, it is identity, confidence, and community.

julian addo in her high school cosmetology class “career day”. 1996

I worked at Yatta’s until I graduated high school in 1997. then I moved to another salon, Dee’s on Bay Street in Staten Island. more clients. more techniques. more responsibility. and then in winter of 1998, I relocated to Minnesota. after creating a makeshift salon in my mom’s basement to earn capital, less than two years later, in 2000, I opened my own salon in Brooklyn Park Minnesota, Creations Plus. I was 21, building something with my hands.

my makeshift salon in my mom’s basement. Dudley’s Razac, Ampro styling gel were staples.

running a salon teaches you more than styling ever could. you learn inventory. payroll. client retention. pricing. leadership. you learn how to stay steady when a week is slow. you learn how to grow when demand increases. you learn how to solve problems quickly because someone is always sitting in your chair waiting for you to figure it out.

that salon became my foundation. in 2004, I sold it to set my sights on corporate america. there is something humbling about closing a chapter you built yourself.

in between those years, there was a detour into corporate America. corporate America taught me systems, forecasting, structure, operational discipline. it was a different kind of education, but it sharpened how I think about building.

in 2012, the natural hair movement began reshaping conversations across the country. Black women were reclaiming texture. community was forming online. education was shifting, it drew me back fully. because textured hair has always required both science and skill. before formulas and funding, there were hands. there were hot combs. there were marcel irons. there was technique passed down and refined in real time.

“there’s a video of me using an old-school marcel iron. that tool demands control. you don’t rush it. you don’t fake it. you either understand heat or you don’t. that’s how I was trained and that training is what built adwoa beauty.”

when people see a bottle on a shelf, they see branding. when they see a campaign, they see marketing. what they don’t see are the years behind the chair that informed every formula decision. the thousands of heads of hair that taught me how curls behave in humidity, under tension, after color, during transition.

here’s what that training looks like.

craft does not trend. it compounds. women’s history month often highlights visibility, firsts, milestones, public achievements. but there is another kind of history: the quiet, consistent labor that happens long before recognition.

for 32 years, I have been working in hair. not adjacent to it. not inspired by it. in it.

I’ve pressed hair with marcel irons.

I’ve trimmed damaged ends after relaxers.

I’ve guided women through big chops.

I’ve watched texture return after years of heat.

I’ve seen confidence rebuild, strand by strand.

that lived experience is why our approach to product development is measured. why we talk about protein balance instead of chasing ingredient hype. why we care about infrastructure and scale. because durability matters in hair and in business. owning a salon taught me proximity. corporate taught me systems. the natural hair movement reminded me of community. adwoa beauty sits at the intersection of all three.

this brand is not a trend response. it is a continuation. a continuation of early mornings in Staten Island. of building a client list from scratch in Minnesota. of managing staff, rent, and retail shelves. of understanding textured hair not as a category, but as a responsibility.

thirty-two years is long enough to see cycles repeat. ingredients come and go. buzzwords rise and fade but healthy hair still responds to the same fundamentals: moisture, balance, technique, patience and that is what I honor this month. not just being a woman in business but being a woman in craft.

the beauty industry often celebrates what is new. women’s history month gives us space to acknowledge what is enduring. I think about the women who sat in my chair in 1994. some of them are still clients today. I think about the stylists who trained me. the mothers who trusted me with their daughters’ hair. the young women now building their own brands, navigating the same uncertainties that I once did. history isn’t abstract, it’s built through repetition.

every blow-dry.

every formulation tweak.

every hard decision to pivot.

every return to what you know in your hands.

when you see “32 years of craft meets modern curl care,” it’s not a tagline. it’s a timeline. it’s the journey from Yatta’s Unisex Palace to owning and selling a salon. from corporate structure back to textured hair education. from hands-on styling to building infrastructure that can support customers across the country. it’s proof that longevity is possible.

this month, I don’t just celebrate women in beauty. I celebrate the discipline required to stay. to evolve. to build. to begin again when necessary. the tools have changed. the mission hasn’t. healthy hair. informed care. work that lasts.

thirty-two years in and still honoring the chair.

Julian Addo - founder