Today we’d like to introduce you to Victoria Monday.
Hi Victoria, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I am a mother, wife, entrepreneur, and more. My husband and I were resettled in Utah as refugees from Nigeria. My passion for hair began at a very young age. At eight years old, I started plaiting my mom’s and sister’s hair. Soon after, I realized I am good at doing hair, but I also profoundly enjoy it.
When my parents saw my passion, they decided to enroll me in beauty school officially. I would go to regular school in the morning and attend beauty school as an after-school program. I learned many different techniques that I still use today. I continued to practice these techniques on my sister. Soon enough, my work became known and popular in my community, and I was doing the hair of several friends and family members for free! Hair became second nature to me.
When I was 19 years old, I had to leave my home and flee to a refugee camp because I was an activist. Shell had been drilling oil from Ogoni land without compensation to the people but instead paid the Nigerian government. In 1991, Ken Saro-Wiwa formed the movement for the survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) when he noticed that the government was not putting that money back into the community.
In 1993, the Nigerian government killed my father and many other people because of a non-violent demonstration at the government house demanding our rights. Soon after that, it was unsafe to stay in Ogoni land. I had to flee to the Republic of Benin to seek asylum in a refugee camp.
In the refugee camp, I reconnected with an old friend, fell in love, and got married in the refugee camp. We have now been married for 23 years. The United States resettled him in 1999, and shortly after, I joined him in 2001.
We started with nothing but faith and a dream, and Utah was not as diverse as today. It was hard to find African groceries and black hair care products, so my husband and I took a risk and decided to open our business for other people like us, The African Discount Market.
Your one-stop-shop for all your African, and Caribbean groceries and beauty supplies. When we opened our store, I decided to take my passion for hair more seriously. I extended part of the store as a salon, and @hairbyladyvic was born. Day in and day out, I use my passion to help women feel beautiful from the inside and out.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The beginning stage of my business was challenging as I was running the storefront and doing hair; simultaneously, I’ve made poor investments, working through late nights, and marketing to the right audience is still a challenge.
Being a woman entrepreneur is not for the weak. The most challenging part is the sacrifices made behind the scenes and the balance between running a business and being a full-time mom and a wife! It has not been easy, but God has given me strength.
We’ve been impressed with Hair by Ladyvic and Ladyvic Glamour Collection, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I am a versatile hairstylist, a custom wig maker, wig instructor, and wig stylist. It all began as a little girl fascinated with hair and the beauty industry, with a driven passion for making women gain the confidence to showcase their uniqueness of feeling beautiful and glamorous.
This dream prompted me to do my research to constantly update my skills and stay up to date with the latest trends and techniques in the industry; I began to make custom wigs by hand after Discovering the convenience and benefit of wigs for a busy woman like myself. Some of my clients would see it on me and ask if I could make wigs for them, too, and I did.
In 2020 when COVID hit, all hair salons were shut down. So I used that opportunity to teach myself how to make wigs on the sewing machine. It all started with a cheap sewing machine from Walmart. I have broken several of them! But In the end, I figured it out, and I am now the best glueless wig maker in Utah.
Today, Ladyvic glamour Collection is a successful machine-made glueless wig company that offers wigs to women worldwide. Our wigs are constructed and styled with high-quality hair. We are open to all questions or concerns, and we strive to make sure all our glamour beauties are satisfied.
Our glue-less wigs help women feel confident and bring out their inner glamour beauty.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
My favorite was when my cousin got out of a bad breakup, and she was not feeling very confident. I offered to help her get out of her sad mood by doing her hair. It changed her self-esteem and made her feel glamorous.
She had the brightest smile I’d ever seen when she looked in the mirror, her entire mood changed, and she felt more confident than before.
Pricing:
- Sew-in weave install $160+
- One on one wig making hands-on course $500
- Box braiding $250+
- glue-less wig $399+
Contact Info:
- Email: vickynwiyira@gmail.com
- Website: www.ladyvicglamourcollection.com
- Instagram: @ladvicglamourcollection and @hairbyladyvic
- Facebook: ladyvicglamourcollection
