Harriet | Afrotherapy Salon

Afrotherapy Founder Harriet Kessie-Cudjoe is a talented Creative Director. She has been passionate about hair and, in particular, multi textured, mixed race and afro hair since the age of 15. Her extraordinary talent and commitment to the industry has seen her styling hair for over 31 years, winning numerous hairdressing awards along the way and her work widely published in both the trade and consumer press.

When not working in the salon, you’ll find her on hair and fashion shoots for various hair and fashion magazines, training and developing her team or providing comment and advice as a Hair Expert.

What do you love most about hairdressing?
I love making people look and feel fantastic. I can’t think of any other job that allows me to be able to do that everyday. It allows me to be able to express myself including my beliefs and values. It also gives me the opportunity to nurture and mentor young people. I find great satisfaction in seeing individuals I’ve trained progress and be successful.

My job also allows me to meet different people from all walks of life. My clients have actually taught me a lot over the years through the interaction that we have and I love learning all the time, so this is a great aspect of my job.

Who do you admire in the hairdressing industry and why?
There are so many brilliant individuals within the industry. Vidal Sassoon is a true inspiration and a great ambassador for the industry. Observing Errol Douglas over the years has taught me to never quit. I’m inspired by the creativity of people like Desmond Murray and Angelo Seminara. Also the longevity of people like Charlie Miller and how he has developed his team, kept it as a family business, yet inspired the team to achieve. I’m also inspired by women like Beverly Cobella and Fiona O’Brien who are leaders in their field, yet have to maintain a family balance.
From the perspective of the business side of the industry, I admire Toni Mascolo of Toni & Guy for their business acumen.

What awards have you won over the years?
I have been fortunate enough to have won several Business & Hairdressing Awards. These include:

Winner, Styling Team of The Year – Black Beauty/WAHL Awards
Finalist, L’Oreal Colour Trophy – Mizani Afro Look Award
National Finalist – HSBC Start Up Awards
Winner, Rising Star of The Year – Black Enterprise Awards
Finalist, Avant Garde Stylist of The Year – Black Beauty/WAHL Awards
Finalists in 3 categories of the Business Link For London Excellence Awards
Regional Finalist – Shell Livewire Young Entrepreneur of The Year
Winner, Avant Garde Hairdresser of the Year – Afro Hair and Beauty

Some Recent Clients Styled by Harriet

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Read Harriet’s Amazing Client Reviews…

Cassandra Frith

I was a bit apprehensive going to my appointment. I have locs and my hairline is thinning. The staff at Afrotherapy made me feel very welcome, gave me some good advice and answered my questions with respect and I left with a hairstyle that I am very happy with. It is such a blessing to go to a hairdressers that provides such a professional service with a smile and a cup of tea. Big Up Afrotherapy! I will be coming back again. Thank you. Sandra

Lola Olusoga

the decor and layout of the salon is great. I went in for a relaxer on 4 year virgin natural hair. Miss Harriett blessed my tresses and days later I am still in LOVE with the results. I had a consultation first, was given before and after style advice. Harriet knows her stuff about hair. I will definitely be returning xx Thanks

Rosemary Baker

My first time at the salon. Harriet was my stylist. She was welcoming. My hair was in a very bad condition. I had a protein treatment put on my hair and a brilliant hair cut. So many compliments from friends. Like I said to Harriet I wish I had known about the salon a long long time ago. Have already booked another visit. Will recommend it to all my friends.

Angela Baidoo

Afrotherapy has been my go-to salon for a number of years, as the service is always over and above my expectations, I am able to talk to Harriet about my hair care and she is always offering up knowledgeable advice on how I can improve and look after my hair,as well as encouraging me to try new things. The salon itself is one of the primary reasons for my continued loyal attendance, it's the best in the area, where you feel welcome and attended to at every stage of your hair service, I look forward to each appointment and hope Afrotherapy continues to grow and thrive in the future.

Pauline

Afro therapy continue to provide excellent service. All staff are well trained and take a genuine interest in my hair care needs. I am confident to have other stylist treat my hair in the absence of Harriet.

Maxinne

I have been attending this salon since its infancy. Harriet and Joseph have always provided excellent customer services which includes advice best quality products and professional environment. You could be in the west end. The monthly hair plan makes it easier to plan hair care routine. Thanks to a brilliant team!

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Fadeke It was my first time at the salon ,I was a little nervous as i didn’t know what to expect but left having a good experience and i’m happy with my new hair cut/look (I got a tapered cut), the owner /head stylist at the Salon Harriet was very nice to talk to and was reassuring, which made me feel comfortable to voice out what I wanted with the haircut I was going for, throughout the process of getting my hair done Harriet asked me how i felt about the direction of my haircut and if was happy with how it looked, how short I wanted it etc. I enjoyed getting my hair washed, my hair is type 4, high destiny hair (medium to thick strands) i have had past hair salon experiences where my natural hair wasn’t handled with care however at Afrotherapy that wasn’t the case it was one of the most relaxing washdays I’ve had. The other staff at the salon where lovely as well and the atmosphere of the salon was lovely, relaxing music, clean and simple design of the salon. A couple things I didn’t like as much was being told to change my original booking time to an earlier time, I’m based in south east london and the Salon is in North , pretty long journey, this meant not only did have to leave early , which initially planned to do but I felt added pressure which made me super anxious, which also meant had to rush m my journey to the salon (it didn’t help that there was traffic in the area going to the salon), Harriet explained why I needed to come to the salon earlier than I had planned due to the fact she needed to check the condition of my hair prior to my haircut and also asked for photos of my hair on the day of the appointment. Looking back I wish these 2 requests were made a day before or a couple days before my hair appointment so I didn’t feel so anxious on the day of my hair appointment, this is something that could be improved on to help with customer experience with the salon, if customers where given necessary info well in advance if possible . There was also a time I was left under the dryer for what I felt was a bit too long , it started to get slightly uncomfortable with the heat and although Harriet did finally check on me and my hair to see if it was dry (my hair was being set for a bantu knot out hairstyle with my tapered cut), I wished she would’ve of told me an estimate time for how long I would be under the drier or if i could take some breaks in between ( but that’s on me for not speaking up). Overall I did have a good first time experience at Afrotherapy, especially considering it had been years since I stepped into a black salon let alone one that would cater to my natural hair. Yes the pricing is expensive but for me this was a self care moment to get my hair professionally taken care of and rock a new hair cut, the pricing was definitely something I considered and was a little indecisive about initially when booking at this salon but then again looking at other similar hair salons I saw that it was similar pricing for the service I got.