One of Barbados’ newest additions to the hair and beauty industry is seeking to change the way her area of business is conducted.
Margaret Pascascio, owner of Mapa Organic Hairdressing, said she would not only be offering exceptional service, but would seek to educate Barbadian women on the benefits of using organic hair supplies as opposed to those laden with “harsh” chemicals.
Speaking to BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY from her Skeete’s Hill, Rockley, Christ Church location, the 36-year-old said she was surprised at the level of service that was currently being offered in some beauty salons.
“Service is very bad,” she said.
“The service is very important from the minute the clients come in,” Pascascio said. “It is not about your BlackBerry anymore. It is not about your chit-chat with your gossip friends. It should be all about that client, like it or not.
“The client should have the best experience and feel to come back. It doesn’t matter if she paid $50, $20 or $200 depending on the service she required. It is the same level of treatment she should get . . . . that same $20 is paying you. It is an attitude that needs to be changed. Even some of the high-end places I have been to, I am still shocked at their service. Â
“If I could do something here to change the way service is offered in the industry that would be good,” she said.
Pascascio, a Belizean by birth, said she believed the Barbados market was ready for organic hair treatments.
“Barbados is very conscious about being green and how we can be better with health and environment,” she added. “So Barbados is definitely a good start. It is new so it will take time for people to change. But it is healthy so in that way I expect people to gravitate towards it.”
Pascascio opened her hair salon in Barbados last month following four years studying in Denmark. She said it as at that time she knew she wanted to be an organic hairstylist.
Having worked in a regular salon before with chemical-filled products, she said she was “surprised” at how “nice” the organic products were.
“Just being around the chemicals you can feel the difference because you would leave with a headache, or a bad feeling. With the organic you avoid all those chemical ingredients.
“Everything is the same. It is just using healthier products that are good for you and the environment,” said the former nail technician.
Mapa offers hair treatments, hair colouring, washing and other general hair salon services. The products are sourced from Denmark.
The mother of two said that prior to opening her business she had many challenges including losing about $5 000 worth of products.
“But I did have the support and I went through with my opening,” she added. “It is good to have dreams but there will be challenges.”
She added that accessing finance was “tough”.
“But I have been very privileged to get some of the funding I needed to start and I will take it from there,” she said.
Since the opening of the salon, business has been good, said Pascascio. And already she has dreams of opening similar salons across the country.
She said that while she expected to get some business from tourists, her main target was locals.
She added: “Some people will say it is expensive and I reply by saying that quality is expensive and if you can put money aside for shoes or clubbing that $10 a week you can put aside for that hair treatment or product you want to use when you are pregnant, for example. So it is all about priority. Take advantage of it now that the market is open for it.”
