Onyinyechukwu Ekenedilichukwu Onyeibe is a top hairstylist whose service is highly sought-after by high-class individuals & top celebs. She is the CEO of Hair by PoshClass. In a short while, Onyinye has successfully built her brand to the top. Hair by PoshClass is a hair styling brand that caters to the needs of everyone who wants to look beautiful by having their hair installed & styled to perfection!. She provides hair styling services for brides, photoshoots, events, and everyday hair needs. The brand also offers a variety of wigs for clients who want a convenient hair solution, including those located outside of Nigeria. Her services include glue-less wigs, customization of frontals, installation of wigs and bridal hairstyling. Onyinye derives joy in fulfilling hair styling requests and passionately does that.
Below is an interview conducted by celebrity photojournalist, Abayomi Akin Aina with the Posh Class CEO where she talked about her brand and how she pulled through in the beauty world.
Read and enjoy!
Hi, good morning. My name is Abayomi Akin Aina. I'm sorry, could you please tell me your name?
Hello, good morning. I am Onyinyechukwu Ekenedilichukwu Onyeibe and I'm the CEO of Hair by Posh Class.
So how long have you been in the business of hairstyling?
I have been in the business for roughly 6 years professionally.
Yeah, what inspired you to do hairstyling? We know there are other businesses like make-up, nails and all of those things. But what inspired you to do hairstyling?
Okay, so I have done hair all my life since I was a kid. I've always done my siblings' hair. It's something that we have naturally in my family. My sisters do my hair, I do their hair. So we did it growing up as something that was like a hobby. So it transferred to also when I went to school in secondary school and my university, I would do my friends' hair just for fun and I was not even paid for it.
So there was a time we went on a strike in my 500 level or 400 level, I can't really remember. It was like a 6-month ASUU strike. I didn't want to go home. I was schooling then in Fukuoka. So I didn't want to go back to Lagos because I didn't know when the strike was going to end. And I knew that if they ended the strike, I would have to now travel back to school immediately. So I was like, let me just stay back in school and just see what I can do.
So that was when I started trying different styles on my mannequin hair. I would practice on my mannequin. I would watch YouTube videos. I downloaded over 100 YouTube videos then. So it was just something I loved to do. I didn't even know that I could make money from it. So I downloaded over 100 YouTube videos and then I would watch, I would practice on my mannequin hair.
So after doing that, when I was now tired of doing that, the strike was still on. So I now messaged some makeup artists in Owerri then because my school was in Owerri. So I messaged them, I was like, okay, can we do a collaborative shoot? So that was how it started. I collaborated with four makeup artists. We did a shoot on one of my coursemates. After that, I did like a few other makeup artists in Owerri. When I was done with Owerri, we were still on the strike. I now decided to go to Port Harcourt for this same collaborative shoot. I was not paid for it. It was just a collaborative shoot.
So then I messaged some makeup artists in Port Harcourt. They agreed to do the shoot with me. I think the first person I shot with in Port Harcourt then was Jojo Storch. So I did the shoot with Jojo Storch and then I did it with a few others. I did it with Aro Style Artistry and other art makeup and a few other people.
So after doing this shoot, I would go back to Owerri. Sometimes I would go back again to do other shoots with them. Port Harcourt was just like one hour and thirteen minutes away from Owerri.
One day, when we resumed school, I was in my lecture hall when a makeup artist called me. A bride wanted to book me to do her hair. I was surprised because doing hair was just something I did for fun. I told them my price and they agreed to it. After they paid, I went to Owerri to do the bride's hair. I posted the result and soon I started getting calls to do hair in Port Harcourt. It was then that I realized I could make money from this, just as I was finishing school.
During my final year, there was a day when I had both a bridal appointment and an exam. I had to rush to town for the bride and then back for the exam. I was really anxious because I was running late and the exam hall doors were about to close. I managed to do the bride and return in time before the exam started.
This is how it all began: After finishing school in Lagos, I started my business in the East, specifically in Port Harcourt, where I had many clients. I often traveled there for weddings and events, as I had many bookings from event planners. Because of the demand in Port Harcourt, I decided to stay there and build my business, rather than starting over in Lagos. And that's how everything started..
Thank you for the interesting briefing about how your journey began and your passion for this particular hairstyle. I'd love to know more about your inspiration - who inspired you to pursue this passion and why do you love this hairstyle in particular? Also, could you please share your full name and talk about the inspiration behind starting your business?
Okay, what inspired me? I would say, I just always loved to do it. It was always just a hobby for me. It was not really something I knew that I could make money from. I would always follow these American and Russian hairstylists. And when they post hairstyles, I would always be wowed at them. I would be like, wow, I should do something like this. So I would say it was something I just really loved. And when I go on Instagram, I see brides with their hairdos and the whole makeup and bridal industry. It was just so fascinating seeing everything. And I feel like that was what pushed me into downloading most of the videos I downloaded.
Okay, let me try this hairstyle. In fact, I think there was one hairstyle I actually did with one of the makeup artists. I had to practice that hairstyle twice. There was a night I had to sleep at 3am because I was trying to practice the hairstyle. So it used to come out well on the day of the shoot. And then when I eventually did it, everyone was like, wow, who did this hairstyle? So I feel like it was just the whole seeing it on the web, online, seeing what people could achieve with hair. I was like, okay, wow, this is really nice. And that was what pushed me to try the majority of these hairstyles. And yeah, that was just the way I started.
So tell us, who inspired you? Basically, who are the people you look up to? Like Betty, who inspired you? We know you've grown to a certain stage in the industry where people also look up to you. But who are those people that you look up to?
I look up to everybody. I would say my boss, Herb I.A. East, is one of them. Because I learned from Herb I.A. East at some point. After I had done the bridal hairstyling, the frontal installation, I would say Herb I.A. East was one of the people that really inspired me.
So people like, what's this guy's name? Sorry, I have to check. George Cotter also inspired you? Yeah, George Cotter also inspired me and so many others that I might not be able to remember now.
So who are the celebrities over the years you've actually worked with and what is your experience like with working with celebrities and normal individuals?
Okay, so I've worked with several celebrities, some of which I might not remember their names now. I've worked with:
- Maria; - Chicky Benjamin; - Sissy; - Nicole Rose; - Chioma Good Hair
- Beauty; - Babydoll
I've worked on quite a number of them that I don't really remember now.
So can you tell us the difference between working with celebrities and individuals? What are the differences? Or the business sides? Or do you enjoy working with brides more or do you enjoy working with celebrities?
I enjoy doing hair as an individual. So anything that makes me do hair, whether it's working on celebrities or working on the brides, I enjoy them both the same way. The only thing is working on celebrities requires somewhat a little more time. Because most times they have to do their makeup, they have to wear their dresses and their shoes. So most times for celebrities, they have to do it for half a day or a full day. So yeah, I would just say it requires more time because most of the time they have to do their hair and their makeup and then do the photography and take all the contents they need to take and all that. So yeah, it's been an interesting journey.
I remember the first time I worked on Maria, that was for her birthday shoot in I think 2021 or 2022. Then I was still based in Port Harcourt so she flew me to Lagos for her birthday shoot. It was quite an interesting experience. So yeah, it's always interesting working on them, even as well as my brides and my normal studio clients as well.
In the future, what are the challenges of hairstyling, and the problems and difficulties you have faced in this journey? What are the solutions you believe the Nigerian hairstyling industry needs in the future, or even now? Can you provide a brief overview so that we can work towards implementing solutions?"
As a hairstylist in Nigeria, one of the main challenges I face is the unreliable electricity supply. It can be frustrating to be working on a client and suddenly have the power go out, requiring me to switch to a generator. This issue not only affects me as a hairstylist but also impacts other professionals in the beauty industry such as makeup artists and photographers. Having a constant 24-hour electricity supply would greatly support and benefit the entire beauty industry. Dealing with generator maintenance and breakdowns adds further stress to the already demanding nature of my work.
Then also, you know sometimes it is not always rosy. You also have some clients that come and they are very nice. You also have some clients that come as well and they are hurtful, I will not lie. There are perfectionists, people that want you to do their hair in such a way that everything, I mean every single thing comes out 100% perfect. Even sometimes I feel like me myself, I try to make the hair look as perfect as possible but imagine having a client that wants it to look more perfect than I want it to look. Do you understand? It is not always easy but what keeps me going is the passion I have for what I do. So even on days whereby I have clients that are hurtful or maybe that day does not go so well, because of the passion I have for the job, I try my best to make it come out as excellent as it can come out. So I feel like what has kept me going is the passion I have for the business and for hairstyling.
"What can you say to encourage young people who want to pursue a career in beauty and hair styling, given that you are a big brand in the industry? What advice can you offer them in terms of dos and don'ts, and what steps can they take to reach the top?"
So I would say that it's not always easy starting up at first, because what I've noticed is that a lot of people do not want to put in the work, they just want to start and do it immediately. It's not that easy in current days, you have to put in the work, you have to do shoots, you have to upgrade yourself, take training, take classes. I remember the first class I took, I had to travel all the way to Abuja to take that class, and at that time I was not financially buoyant to do that, but I knew what I was going to get if I took that class, I forced myself, I had to break out to take out my savings. I traveled all the way using bus to Abuja and I took that class, and when I came back, almost immediately, I started reaping the fruits of the class that I did.
So I would encourage hairstylists to take training as often as they can, don't ever say, "Oh you butt in there, so you don't even go to training." Almost every year I try to take as many trainings as I can from different people, so you should always be open to corrections and also try as much as possible to collaborate with your fellow makeup artists, photographers, influencers.
You have to put in the work, that's what I always say, because nothing comes on a platter of gold, you cannot just get from 1 to 100 in a day, you have to give yourself time to grow, don't think you can just grow in one day or in one week, it's not magic. You put in the work and then you get the results.
It took me, this is my 6th year in the hair industry, and it took me, maybe it even took me 3 years to try to get my first 30 or 100K followers, I can't even remember. So it doesn't always come on a platter of gold, you always have to put in the work and be patient, I feel like so many people nowadays are not patient, they just want to quickly get what they want to get, so you have to really be patient to see your results.
Just always put in the work, be happy doing the work, and make sure it's something you have a passion for, because I feel like this hair thing, if you don't have a passion for it, it's not something you can easily do because it's very very tasking, I need to stand up almost all day doing hair and all that, so you have to just be ready to put in the work and be patient and this guy will definitely be your starting point.
"Could you introduce yourself to potential clients and explain what your brand represents? If someone is looking to book a Posh Class in the future, what should they expect? Do you specialize in celebrity, bridal, or everyday hair? Do you focus on frontals or wigs?"
So, please introduce yourself and explain what you do to make it easier to market your services to potential clients.
Tell us about your brand, what your brand stands for, and what clients should look out for at Hair by Posh Class in the near future.
Okay, so my name is Onyinye Ekene Onyeibe and I'm CEO of Hair by Posh Class. Hair by Posh Class is a hair styling brand that keeps us to the needs of everyone that wants to look beautiful by doing their hair well.
So we do hair for both:
- Brides
- Photoshoots
- Events
- Everyday hair that you want to wear to go out
We deal on less things as well. So for clients that would want to have maybe a hair that they can just throw on their head and then go to work, or even clients that are not in the country, we also deliver to clients outside Nigeria that want us to make less things for them as well.
So we deal on both glue-less things and customization of frontals, bridal hair styling; we do any kind of hair that you want us to do as long as it's within our reach and it's something we can do.
So yeah, we do not just do celebrities' hair only, we do anybody's hair that can be able to look good. Thank you so much for your time and see you again soon.
So, can you tell us about your pivotal moments in the industry? Have you successfully made the necessary changes for yourself?
I feel like yes.
Do you know what are the other points? Tell us about important points in the industry, other points that you feel have to be changed to move into a limelight, so can you tell us about it?
The turning point in my career came in December 2020 when a client purchased hair from Mizuaneka and came to me for a hair installation. She travelled from Owerri to Otakon for an event, and I did the installation for her. Afterward, I posted the result on my Instagram page and tagged Mizuaneka, whom I had been following and admiring from afar.
The next day, I was doing a photo shoot with a makeup artist at Otakon when I started getting a lot of calls from people, which was unusual for me. After some time, my sister called and told me that Mizuaneka had posted about me on her page. This made me realize that all the calls I was getting were because someone had shared information about me somewhere.
So prior to then, I always had time to do shoots. But after this happened, I went to my Instagram and I couldn't even find the post. That was how, that was to explain the kind of traffic that came to my page. So when I went to my notifications, I didn't even see the post, I just saw a lot of followers and a lot of comments from people that she posted on my page. So people were coming to my page and I was like wow, your Instagram is called Otakon and you are really nice, I just saw you from Mizuaneka's page. So when I went to her page, I saw the post and she really wrote a lot on that post. I was in awe because I was like wow, I didn't even expect it because this is someone I have never met from anywhere. Mizuaneka, a well-known hairstylist, posted about me on her Instagram page. This unexpected endorsement led to a flood of new clients and significant growth for my business. It was a pivotal moment that greatly impacted my career.
So I feel like that was the major turning point in my career because after then, I barely had time to even do shoots. I was now always booked and busy because just from that one post she made, everybody that bought her hairs from her started coming to me in Port Harcourt and they were booking me even to style other of their hairs. So that was a major turning point in my career. From then, I stopped having time to even sleep. I was always booked and busy. I was always working.
Could you please provide the names of the celebrities you mentioned earlier, and let us know which ones you enjoy working with and why? If you'd prefer not to mention specific names, could you share the reasons why you enjoy working with these celebrities?
Okay, so I think I've worked on celebrities like the likes of:
1. Miss Waneka; 2. Mo Abudu of Ebony Life; 3. Equal Rose
4. Maria Chike Benjamin; 5. Mercy AK; 6. Dario Ichinlova; 7. Omotola
8. Inedo; 9. Mercy Ivy.
So tell us what are the things you enjoy working with while you are with these celebrities you mentioned? Is it the way you get to interact with each other while you guys are making the hair? Do you get to see their personality every once in a while on TV? So just tell us.
So the major thing is I actually enjoy working with everybody I've worked with and I often, anybody that knows me knows that I am a lover of content. So I don't look at my content at all and they always come correct with their content, right? So this is one thing I always enjoy, I always enjoy filming them wearing the dress up and even during the process of the dressing up, during the process of the hair installation and make-up, the whole process of glamming up, I enjoy the contents I get and yeah, so majorly the whole process and then the contents, yeah.
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
Okay, so, I would say, um, it was in July of 2019 when I was working on his shoot set and then I started receiving a lot of calls from people asking to book my series. And, so, some things that would not usually happen. I mean, I had clients already that usually booked me, but it was not that number that would, like, make me have, like, 10 calls in, like, 20 minutes or 30 minutes.
So, that was when I was working on his set and then my staff quickly called me to tell me that Miss Waneka just posted me on her page. So, I had previously done a client that used her hair for a location and then I posted the client on my page and also tagged her as well because the hair was from her. And then she posted me on her page and that post really made a lot of people come to me to book me for my series.
And, um, I even had to find a way to get her number because for some reason I messaged her on Instagram and she had not responded to me. Then I really wanted to thank her because I was having a lot of followers and people were really booking me after she made that post.
And I got her number finally from someone and I called her to thank her. I even asked her to please send me her account details for me to say thank you for what she had done for me because I felt like she didn't even know what she had done for me at that point. But she was like, you know, that I should put whatever I wanted to give her back into my business.
So, I feel like that was one point in my career that I would never forget in a hurry and, yeah.
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