This archive report was first published on 9 June 2020.
When Milka Njoroge moved to China in 2009, she was unaware that her hair would become her biggest nightmare. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't find a hairstylist who could fix her African hair, a problem that frustrated her for months.
Desperate for a solution, Milka decided to take matters into her own hands and learn how to style her own hair. This marked the beginning of her natural hair journey, which would eventually lead her to become a renowned natural hair stylist.
After a month of struggling, Milka finally found a YouTube account that offered tutorials on natural hair styling. Inspired by the content, she decided to create her own YouTube account, 4CHairChiq, to share her knowledge with fellow Africans, especially those living abroad who were struggling to find salons and hairstylists who could fix their type of hair.
"I was really frustrated and I couldn’t take it anymore. Circumstances forced me to learn how to make my own hair and I didn’t want other Africans abroad to go through the same problems I went through when I first moved to China hence the YouTube account," Milka explains.
Her YouTube channel quickly gained popularity, and she started receiving requests from people to style their hair. Encouraged by the response, Milka decided to pursue natural hair styling as a career, which she says is one of the best decisions she has ever made.
"It is like people were waiting for me to come back to Kenya (laughs). The bookings continued streaming in and I decided to pursue this fully," she says.
Five years after settling back in Kenya, Milka's natural hair business is thriving. She has worked with high-end celebrities like Wahu and Size 8, and her services are in high demand. Milka mainly does house calls but can also be booked at the Afro Siri Salon in Westlands, Nairobi.
Check her works on YouTube and Instagram – 4CHairChiq.
