She Can Do That For You Rosé Beauti By Mitsy Nails & Spa Professional Esthetician

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

If you were to Google “Nail Salons in Toronto,” some of the results you would see would be: Top 10 Best Korean Nail Salons, and Top 10 Best Japanese Nail Salons. In February 2018, Hype Hair (a popular black hair magazine) presented their readers with a Nielsen Report that showed that Africans and Caribbean’s living in the diaspora outspend on everything, and when it comes to beauty, our spending is off the charts. It was reported that we spend nearly nine times more than our non-black counterparts on beauty products including: hair, beauty, make-up and nails. If we want to look at the numbers, you’re looking at $473 million in hair care, $127 million for grooming aids, and $465 million in skin care products.

This report only confirmed what we already know; there is power in the black dollar, and we continue to give our power away to other communities; this is not opinion, this is fact. Personally, it has been a challenge finding ways to spend my money in the community, especially when it comes to hair products and beauty products. You can imagine the joy I felt when I was introduced to a young lady who has changed my life, and will change the nail game in the city of Toronto. I would like to introduce to you Mitsy Boo!

“I enjoy making people happy” Mitsy

Mitsy was born in Clarendon, Jamaica, and from a young age she found herself in a creative space. She really enjoyed drawing, and wanted to find a way to utilize her creative ability in her community. When she finished high school, she found herself in a financial position that would not allow her to go to college, so she decided she needed to pick up a skill. Her first thought was to do hair, but the cost for beauty school in Jamaica is pricey, so she had to figure out what else she could do. Her cousin ran a beauty school, and offered to mentor her in becoming a nail technician. Mitsy enjoyed drawing, so she figured, “Why Not?” This began a journey for Mitsy that would differentiate her, and make her the nail artist that she has become.

Mitsy studied under her cousin for six months; after her certification, she worked with her cousin, and learned everything she needed to about the nail and beauty business. Mitsy began to perfect her craft, and when her sister asked her to move to the Cayman Islands to come and live with her; Mitsy saw this as an opportunity to spread her wings and bring her skills to another part of the Caribbean.

The move proved to be a difficult one at first; the first lesson she had to learn when she moved to the Cayman’s was that unlike Jamaican women, women in the Cayman’s like to wear their nails thin, and not thick and curvy. Mitsy had to relearn how to do nails, but she decided that she would take on the challenge. Her first position was at a salon called Beauty Behind a Veil; it was slow at first because no one trusts you when you are the new girl. One of her co-workers began to refer clients to her, and then like that that, word of this skilled new Jamaican nail technician began to spread through the island.

Mitsy only spent six months at Beauty Behind a Veil; she moved on to another salon called Hype Salon. Once again, things started slow, but she had already begun to develop a reputation, so things picked up quickly at the new spot. Mitsy noted to me in the interview that one of her challenges was finding the right environment to work in; she found it at Panach Salons, where she mastered her craft from 2011–2017. What made her enjoy her work there was the fact that the owner did not act like a boss. He was supportive, caring, affirming and he spent time building his employees. Her work became a part of her life, and the people she worked with became her family. Things changed in 2017 when the owner decided to sell the business; Mitsy had been working non-stop for eleven years; she realized that it was time for a break, and she took a year off to discover herself and travel.

 I’m not just a nail technician, I am also a councillor.” Mitsy

During her time off, Mitsy took the money she had made, and she invested it back into her education. She decided to go to school to complete a business degree with a minor in psychology. She reflected on the fact that during her appointments, women and men shared their stories with her, and she had to learn how to respond to them intelligently, and empathetically. She became cognizant of the fact that she spent a lot of time educating her clients about their nail care. “First world clients have no clue about nails,” Mitsy told me, “Salons in Canada are not educating people about their nails, and the proper health and care of them.” I found this interesting, and asked her about how she ended up in Canada. “Once again, my sister had moved here, and invited me to come. She had actually started telling people about her sister from Jamaica who could do nails. I had clients here before I even arrived.”

Her attention to detail, her creative touch, and her still, yet strong presence is what makes Mitsy the go to nail technician in Toronto. She has a select and very private client list, and the only way to book an appointment is through her instagram @mitsyboo1. As a community, it is important to continue paying attention to whom we spend our money with. There is a lot of talent in the Toronto Caribbean community, time to start supporting and promoting that talent.