Self-taught beautician reveals more on her journey
She has also received multiple requests to establish a beautician academy in which she would provide short courses to those who want to improve their beauty knowledge.
Self-proclaimed businesswoman Nonhlanhla Moremi has perfected her beautician craft against all odds.
The 49-year-old Birchleigh Extension One resident received her first breakthrough in the beauty industry in 1997 when she obtained an opportunity to open her beauty shop with the assistance of Black Like Me founder Herman Mashaba.
“Those were trying times. I opened my first beauty shop at the back of an existing salon. That’s when I realised how passionate and driven I am about beauty,” Nonhlanhla said.
“I reached out to Mashaba for assistance, owing to the challenges I was facing at the time due to a lack of equipment and products. I must say, he really helped me by providing me with all the required products I needed.”
When asked where her enthusiasm for beauty began, she confidently pointed to Sedibeng Section in Thembisa, where she participated in a variety of beauty-related activities.
“It all started at my home in Sedibeng Section when I was six years old. I used to snatch my mother’s beauty cosmetics to beautify myself, and I was whipped several times for it,” she reminisced.
Nohlanhla also described her childhood as interesting, which prompted her to engage in several television commercials, including one for Coca-Cola in 1988. She also won Miss Thembisa High School in 1980 and was crowned the first Miss Midrand in 1990.
She also auditioned for numerous South African soaps.
“The commercials and pageants in which I used to participate began to infringe on my academics at school, so I was forced to stop.”
Nonhlanhla’s business venture, Nefertiti Beauty Bar, is the result of the pandemic’s consequences that led to her being retrenched from her previous job.
She operates out of Maokeng Section, where she offers a variety of services, including Swedish massage, micro-blading, eyebrow tint, lash extensions, manicures, pedicures and Yoni steaming, which she believes will soon take over as a lifeline for women suffering womb-related problems.
“I want people to receive beauty treatments right where they are living at a reasonable cost.”
She has also received multiple requests to establish a beautician academy in which she would provide short courses to those who want to improve their beauty knowledge.
“I’m working on getting my beauty certificate so I may pass on my knowledge and skills to those who share my interest.
“I believe this will help build skills that will expand employment opportunities, particularly for young people. I am optimistic that all the projects in which I invest will, in the end, benefit the communities I come from,” Nonhlanhla said.
