Enter any hair salon in America and you will see every hairdresser’s and barber certificate nicely pinned to the wall. You cannot touch anyone’s head unless you have been trained and graduated from beauty school. Additionally, only a certified hairdresser or barber can open a salon and it must meet basic industry standards.

Begs the question, how many of Rwanda’s hairdressers are properly trained to handle those deadly chemicals we call perms. I see perms applied to entire hair, not just the scalp, and left on for as long as possible so as to delay the next perm visit. Moreover, hair grows about a 1/2 inch every month, and no chemical shall delay this process. How many salon owners can do hair?! Do hair salons meet basic standards? Are there any standards in place?

While certification isn’t the norm here – at the very least, people should be thoroughly trained to handle chemicals in people’s heads or have at least 3-5years of experience or prove that they can quickly learn to do the job they are applying for before starting the work.