Hair Riah showcases The Art of Hair

BY: ALYSSA MAHADEO

For a woman, her hair is everything. The ability to transform, and reinvent herself, lies in the ability to change her look at will, put her sexuality on display or showcase a more sophisticated, fun nature that allows her natural beauty to shine through.

Young Entrepreneur Tashauna Rae-Brown comes from a Jamaican, Grenadian background, born and raised in Brampton, Ontario. From an early age, the path to entrepreneurship was very evident in her life, through the positive influences of her parent’s example and her own young hustler mentality.

“I would definitely say that entrepreneurship was my path from small,” Tashauna shares. “When I was younger I tried applying to work at McDonalds, but I was 15, one year younger than the age requirement to work there.”

Although she was able to secure an interview once they found out her age, she was unable to gain employment. However, Tashauna wouldn’t let that discourage her from finding a way to make some money.

“That experience motivated me to start my own business called Tashauna’s Tutoring Company,” she explains. “I got good marks in school, so I used my strengths in English, French, and Math to tutor younger kids.”

Her first business plan was a success, she was able to help people and parents were very happy with the results. Tashauna was able to keep her tutoring company alive until her final year of high school when the stakes were raised, her schedule got a lot busier and it was time to prepare for university.

“There was a lot on my plate, I was on various athletic teams at school, I needed to focus on my own homework, there was prom, grad and university applications to finish and on top of that I had a part-time job working at a rec center dealing with kids.”

Both of Tashauna’s parents were young entrepreneurs and they motivated her by never really going to work, but always working. Through their own journey to success, her own ambition grew and flourished in all of the work she did and would pursue going forward.

In 2016 Tashauna graduated from Ryerson University with a with a Business Degree in Human Resource and Law.

“I started in the business stream looking to do more accounting,” Tashauna recalls those moments when you dive head first into a program realizing it might not be what it seems. “Deciding to pursue accounting was based off my getting almost perfect in high school, going in thinking it would be the easiest thing in the world but then realizing it’s not exactly what you thought it was going to be.”

Since she was still in her first year it wasn’t hard for her to change majors, and her program allowed her to get a sample of all aspects related to business management.

“I know myself,” Tashauna maintains, “I’m not a person to sit behind a computer the whole time crunching numbers so when I started taking the classes I realized this is definitely not what I want to do for the rest of my life.”

Her university experience taught her a lot about herself in terms of what she wanted to accomplish long term. It allowed her to discover who she was, and how she would inevitably choose to run a business down the road.

“I was given a well-rounded education in business, including accounting, finance, economics, and global management,” she explains. “I picked human resources because I love dealing with people and I knew no matter what career path I chose, I wanted it to do something with dealing with people in terms of hiring, making a difference in people’s lives and giving them a career path.”

In 2010 Tashauna got her first introduction into the world of wigs, weaves and hair extensions when her parents opened their own hair extensions business. Prior to university, she had no knowledge of hair extensions, she wore her natural hair, until one day her mom showed her what it’s all about.

“My mom educated me about the hair extensions they were selling at the store,” Tashauna recalls. “I would see extensions being sold for $200 and I didn’t understand why people would pay so much for it when you could get it so much cheaper at a beauty supply store.”

She soon learned that not all hair extensions were made equally. There was a difference in the quality, textures and hair reactions when it was treated with heat, or colour that really made the difference when it came to buying cheap or high-grade hair extensions.

“We went to the beauty supply store, bought some hair and did tests on it, and I could immediately see the difference in how the hair would react, how it would frizz when curled or straightened while the ones my mom was selling would come out sleek and feel amazing after.”

She was immediately impressed by the world of hair extensions. Seeing how the high-quality hair could easily match your hair type, you could colour it, wash it, blow dry it and it could be treated like normal hair.

Tashauna parents ended up closing the business wanting to go back to their other entrepreneurial pursuits where their passions lie. 

“Although they closed it down, I found an interest in it,” Tashauna says. “I helped out in the store, working there I saw the clients when they came in and how happy they were after their purchase coming back to the store weeks later to show off their new styles.”

Tashauna started her business in 2012 knowing this was something that she had a passion for and she was committed to. She came up with the name, the logo, and the idea behind her brand and what she wanted it to represent.

“Hair Riah is ‘hair’ spelt backwards and it means ‘to flow’ in the Greek language,” she explains “My hair is high quality and when you shake it, it just flows in the wind.”

Hair Riah is a hair and eyelash supplier providing high-quality hair extensions backed by research, education and a desire to connect and build lasting relationships with their clients.

“I want to supply my clients with good quality hair extensions, extensions that you can keep reusing and can treat as your own,” Tashauna says.

Remy air is said to be the best type of hair extensions available. Out of the entire human hair category, Remy hair gives the most natural appearance. It is the preferred choice for wigs and hairpieces because of its appealing qualities. It is also referred to as cuticle hair, virgin hair and raw hair.

“Of course you can go the synthetic route which is the cheaper alternative, but I want my company to be known as a high-quality company so I made sure to do a lot of research into my products and I’m not just selling any kind of product. I researched into what I’m selling and also educate my clients into what they are receiving.”

Through her company, Tashauna is committed to her clients, from showing them through her YouTube channel how their products are made, to building relationships, and friendships where people are able to trust the products and can trust they are an honest company that wants their customers to return again and again.

“I love people, I love talking with people associating with them, people make the world, without people the world would be boring, there’d be no jobs, no fun,” Tashauna says.

“Our hard work in creating and delivering high-quality hair products through world-class environmentally friendly procedures is rewarded in the form of our thousands of happy customers.”