THE HAIRPOLITAN MAGAZINE VOL 6 MAY 2017

FEATURE STORY
Leo Salon & Barber, Two Rivers Mall
“DO NOT TAKE
MOTHERING AS A
WEAKNESS
“
Images Courtesy of Leo Salon & Barber
LOVING BEAUTIFUL SPACES
& LIVING HEALTHY
Interview with Agnes Maganjo of Leo Salon & Barber
It all started more than 25 years ago when, as a
young mother & wife, Agnes decided to open her
own salon near her then home, in South B Estate,
Nairobi. Out of the many reasons one would want
to open a salon, from starting a lucrative business
venture, to indulging in their passion for hair,
Agnes’ reason takes the cake. She opened her salon
because she loved beautiful spaces. “As a child, my
mother would leave home, only to come find I had
re-arranged the house,” she recalls.
Agnes says she’s stickler for detail, so she would go
to salons and not like how they were designed. “I
would quickly notice something that’s not good and
won’t be at ease. I got tired of going into town to
get my hair done then I thought, ‘Why can’t I look
for space here and create a beautiful salon?’” That
she did, and her journey into running salons started.
She named her first salon Dainty after a nickname
given to her because of her small frame. “I believe
my strongest point is in pushing beautiful salons. If
you go to all my salons you will be able to notice that
somebody was behind its creation.” I am inclined to
believe her. We are sitting in her Two Rivers branch
and I can attest to its well-designed space with clean
whites and vibrant pinks and greens.
She sold Dainty and opened the first Leo Salon at
Capital Centre mall on Mombasa road when it first
opened up. I enquire about the name, Leo. Agnes
clarifies to me that it’s not Leo as in the zodiac
symbol or in relation to lion; but instead it the
Kiswahili word for today. “I wanted an easy name,
and something that would mean current. I wanted
to always be relevant,” she explains. Since then she
opened the Westlands branch, then Garden City and
now the Two Rivers branch.
There are lots of aspects that go into owning and
running a salon. Agnes is clear on what she can
and cannot do. “I can’t be a manager I’ll harass
people,” she declares. “But I am a fantastic trainer. I
am patient I’ll train you over and over. I don’t throw
22 23