It is only eleven o’clock on a Thursday morning, but Lexy’s Nails, a nail parlour in Nairobi’s City Centre, is packed and bustling with activity. All the workstations are occupied; ladies with fingers or toes splayed out and nail technicians bent over them, trimming, shaping, buffing, cleaning, coating and polishing their nails.
It might have been an unusual sight in a different season, but not in the final stretch of the year. After all, December is widely recognised as a peak period in the beauty economy.
“We’re more active in December than in any other month,” Alex Muchomba, the proprietor of Lexy’s Nails, says. “Naturally, this means we also see an increase in revenue.”
The business has been around for three years, and among the services on offer -manicures, pedicures, lashes and brows - acrylic nails and pedicures are the ones that dominate their festive rush.
A basic gel application goes for Sh700 while the acrylic sets start from Sh3,500. However, the price of the acrylics goes up to Sh5,000 or Sh6,000, depending on the complexity of the nail art. In spite of the higher rate however, Mr Muchomba notes that many clients are willing to loosen their purse strings over the festive season.
“They want styles that are extra, and often go for intricate and specific designs,” he says.
The spike in traffic doesn’t affect the service rates for this young business, unless the client requests a home visit, in which case, a convenience fee is added to the bill.
The rush typically begins in December, and spills into January, when clients return from holiday and start preparing to go back to work. According to the nail expert, the momentum starts to slow down only in March.
To cope with the demand, the parlour’s operating hours often stretch beyond the usual 8am to 9pm, with the occasional booking starting as early as 6am or running as late as midnight. But even so, Mr Muchomba has never felt the need to hire extra hands.
“I do plan to expand and hire more people but it’s not because of the festive boom,” he states. “I’ve been busy all year.”
So to manage fatigue, the business employs a strategic schedule that sees each staff member taking a day off during the week, and working strictly on a bookings basis on Sundays.
He credits social media and word-of-mouth for keeping his doors open, but it’s not all roses.
“Sometimes the clients come in all at once, piling pressure on us,” the businessman explains. Additionally, the high turnover tends to deplete their products quicker, “But thanks to the increase in revenue, sourcing for more is manageable.”
Elsewhere, as a live testament to just how busy it gets, Carey Priscilla, the owner of Carey Beauty Spa, is forced to go to a different salon to get her beauty fix because she cannot land a slot in her own business, which typically operates on a bookings basis. “December sees a lot of last-minute walk-ins and bookings even for the home services,” she says.
“There are a lot of weddings and events happening, so everything is usually at its peak.”
This is great for business but for her staff, it means getting an off duty is difficult, unless of course, they are unwell.
“We usually plan their leaves in October or in January,” Ms Carey says, confirming that her staff usually know in advance. “During our quarterly meeting, we remind them that December gets very busy and prepare them mentally for it.”
But it helps that she also runs a beauty college; Carey Beauty College, from where they get interns to help with the menial tasks such as undoing hair or removing older gel applications.
Carey Priscilla, owner of Carey Beauty Spa.
Photo credit: Pool
For her operation hours, though they largely remain as per usual, 8am to 8pm, there’s the occasional bridal booking that will have them on site by 3am or some which will keep them at work till around 11pm.
While the spa offers a wide range of services, including massages and facials, their most in-demand services during the festive period are lash installations, hair, nails and make-up.
“Everybody is doing lashes right now, particularly the single set installations, and I think it’s because people are looking for something a little more permanent,” the beauty expert says.
“As for the nails, we are seeing some colours doing very well in this season, that is the red and nude, but mostly the red because even with the minimalistic nude, clients typically request a touch of red in the details.”
The biggest operational challenge for the appointment-based business lies with the walk-ins. “We have to make sure that there’s a team that can take them on, but it can be difficult,” Carey says.
“Sometimes the team can also pose a challenge, particularly the new members who’ve never experienced the Christmas rush and don’t quite comprehend how busy it gets.”
Still, she says, most of them appreciate the season as it means more money for them.
Another smart move the business has made is in selling beauty products including those that they use. Carey says the beauty spa rarely ever runs out of products since they can easily restock from their shop, Yami Cosmetics, which is usually well-stocked with shipments from around the world.
Joseph Kiemo of Kiemo Hair and Beauty Studio has been in the hair industry for 12 years and he deals with all things hair and beauty, including braiding and hair extension services.
“Initially most people would do braids in December, but things have changed now and the styles are diversified. This year, a lot of people are doing micro-links, Brazilian knots, nano-links, and K-tips,” he says.
“ The braiding starts from Sh2,500, while for the hair extensions, installations are from Sh3,500 to Sh15,000.”
Joseph Kiemo, owner of Kiemo Hair and Beauty says some clients save up for their festive looks and could end up spending Sh50,000.
Photo credit: Pool
On average, a client at Kiemo Beauty spends anything from Sh5,000 all the way up to Sh50,000.
“Some of our clients see a nice hairstyle early in the year and plan to do it in December. So they save up all through and come with their savings to get it done,” Mr Kiemo notes.
And while their rates never change, they fluctuate based on what products are used. And of these, the salon offers a range, from luxury products to more affordable ones. They also have discounted packages for those who do more than one service, and they offer gift packages which come with small gifts like edge brushes or edge-laying gels.
To keep up with the seasonal surge, Mr Kiemo hires extra hands temporarily, mostly from a nearby beauty college, to help with things like braiding (the finishing and sectioning parts).
As far as challenges go, Mr Kiemo decries the rising expense of beauty products.
“Sometimes it’s difficult to make a good profit, because with the increased taxes, quality products have become very expensive,” he says. “It has also affected availability such that suppliers stop bringing in some products because of the clearance costs.”
The men are also not being left behind, wanting to look just as good as the ladies for the festivities. This is according to one Edwin Oduor, otherwise known as ‘Eddu Barber Yao’ who offers haircuts and massage services at his two shops, Barber Yao Haircuts, but also wherever the client is, including out of the country.
“Men’s haircuts trend differently,” he says. “They’re like fashion. And what’s in right now is the taper fade.”
Edwin Oduor, owner of Barber Yao Haircuts, says men also like to look good in December, which results in a 25 percent increase in revenue for his business.
Photo credit: Pool
His haircuts typically go for Sh500. That, paired with their flexibility, decades of experience, and the loyalty that men have to their barbers, see him and his team of ten, on their feet all through December. Roughly, this translates into a 25 per cent increase in revenue for the business, in December alone.
“The biggest challenge is fatigue,” Mr Oduor says. “Sometimes you’re too tired - you get into work at 8am, stand all through until around 8pm, even missing lunch on some occasions, but the clients are still coming in. And some of them won’t understand that you’re fatigued, so they still want their haircut done and done with proper precision.”
Still, Mr Oduor never hires extra hands, saying he is content with his team: “Once we go home and rest, we are usually okay and ready to go on.”
