Ugo Igbokwe : Still Rising Against All Odds

-Make Me Beauty Place Surviving the Covid 19 Lockdown

+ How the Pandemic Help Shape Make Me Salon New Projects

Ugochukwu George Igbokwe is an Entrepreneur,  International Hair Stylist and the Creative Director and CEO of Make Me Beauty Place in Lagos Nigeria.  Having been in business for over thirteen years now, Ugo is by no means a small fry as he is Nigeria’s unrivalled Celebrity Hairstylist . Having worked with loads of celebrities , ranging from movie stars like Rita Dominic , Genevieve ,Omotola Jalade Ekehinde , Kate Henshaw etc to top notch personalities like Mo Abudu , Ugo also has strong business ties with world renowned hair products – Loreal and Darling Nigeria asisdes other international acclaimed products . Ugo , has become the brand who has single handedly injected quite a huge dose of glamour  into the beauty industry by changing the written norm and style .

Taking on the reigns from his predecessors like Chief of Downtown and Bobby Signature , who once held Surulere spellbound with their professional appeal ,  Ugo’s Make Me Beauty Place now dominates and stands tall , proudly in the heart of Bode Thomas ,  catering to the “Mane” concerns of women from all walks of life . From their natural hairs to their wigs and extensions, Ugo is the go to guy . And like  Ted Gibson of New York City , Ugo’s services come at  a premium but are much sought after and cut across board various hair needs .

The Journey

Ugo’s , journey started in 2004 and that was the time he started nursing the idea of having a one-stop shop According to Ugo…..”I have always had Make me in mind. I wanted a name that will interpret my entire dream and future plans, so I decided to take Make me….. He , alongside his wife Bukky- who is also a hair stylist,  opened a small shop in 2003. Determined, and staying put to his dreams, Ugo attributes his focus and strength to his wife. As he puts it …. God has helped us get to where we are now. God is the number one factor and my wife is also the most powerful strength around me. We are into the same business, she has kept me on check, kept me on track till date.

The Challenges

Being such a big deal in the beauty sector, comes with its own fair share of challenges , As Ugo puts it ….”It is more challenging than you can ever imagine. One is the fact that you cannot have a life again, absolutely no life. I don’t know anything like holiday again, the period people are going on holiday, that is when I am busiest, that is when I work into another morning. Family also becomes a big task. You also have to put in a lot of energy, you have to put mental work into it in order to strategise, be a stylist and business person at the same time. It is very, very challenging.
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Effects Of Covid 19

Like with other businesses, the once buzzing salon had its own fair share of setbacks as Ugo narrates …”It was a serious shocker for us . This was not in any way anticipated. Even as a graduate of EDC of Pan Atlantic university , we had benchmarks from other countries and cultures with various case studies to arm us with ways of maneuvering various situations but nothing  to prepare us to face a pandemic . We run our business on a day to day basis , we never thought a day  would come when we would be refined to our homes for months and our social lives shut down completely – no parties , no outings etc as every reason for people to visit a salon to look fly was cut off .  This shook our business in a very negative way .While some started changing their business module to running home services , we were unable to do that due to the way our business was structured and also the challenge of moving heavy equipment around while some were stationed and could not be moved at all . The situation literally brought us to our knees . Prior to the pandemic, we were working on something and the pandemic enabled us to see it in a clearer form and we are really excited about it . We would communicate this to the public pretty soon” .

Hair Trends

Concerning hair trends that would be around for a while ,irrespective of season dictates, Ugo had this to say…  “that would be the single braids / plaits . From when they started way back, it was known as “Bob Marley” and when they were done extremely long, it was called “soul 2 soul” . These braids  have been re -invented in different styles and forms. A lot of styles have come and gone but this is going nowhere , it’s cost effective , you can walk into any place without looking less than you should . So no matter what people still come back to it as a get – away beauty point . overtime we have had – Make Me rollers , Luxury curls Ghana weaving with curls …..The latest to hit the scene soon will be called the Butterfly . So look out for it “.