Arts and Culture

WATCH: How this Kelowna woman brings Caribbean flair to hair

Jamaican native offering love to locks in the Okanagan

Samantha Wedlund loves her culture and wants to share it with the world.

And she says not offering a slice of Jamaica to the people of Kelowna would “be an injustice to the city.”

That’s part of the reason why she pursued hairstyling in her home country and was steadfast in opening a salon upon arriving in the Okanagan in 2009.

“I believe each person can be diverse in whatever hairstyle or clothing line or whoever you want to be. You can be different and embrace it,” she told Kelowna10.

Wedlund’s salon, which now calls Orchard Park Shopping Centre home, started from humble beginnings.

Success21 Hair Extensions first took shape six years ago in a two-bedroom apartment with one chair, and a small mirror. With growing demand, she moved into a home in Dilworth, and things really started to take off.

Her salon offers conventional services, but what sets it apart from others in the city is the specialties: hair extensions, braids, cornrows, and dreadlocks. She said about 70 per cent of her clientele are coming to her for those services.

And while most of them are Caucasian, given the small African population in the region, Wedlund believes that as the city grows, it will eventually balance out.

Her passion for the business resonates with her staff, and the same energy reflects to the clients.

“Everybody here, you’ll see a smile on their face even though they might have been going for 10 hours [doing dreadlocks],” she said. “I feel, when your passion is birthed from within, and you enjoy doing what you love, there’s no real burden in it.”

She said she is drawn to hairstyling partially because she’s been surrounded by it her entire life. She also thrives on being a creative person. She studied cosmetology as a student while in Jamaica and has honed those skills, too, ever since. Creativity fuels her life, as when there is not a razor and hair in her hands, she’ll likely have a paintbrush.

Wedlund is modest in acknowledging her success, and it’s part of what drives her to give back to the community.

In 2019, she launched a hair extensions academy, partnering with MC College, for those who want to pursue their own career in the industry.

Wedlund said it was a promise she made to herself seven years ago.

“I told myself … that if I ever achieved to the point where we can sustain our lifestyle in Kelowna, I would definitely give back in the way of providing the same education.”

Published 2022-05-09 by Kelowna10

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