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| Sequence 2nd from right with President of LABHCA, Hon. Atanda (2nd Left) with City Queen and Funmi |
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| Ms. Grace Akangson, CEO Sequence Beauty Salon & SPA |
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| Students of LICOHM |
Sequence Salon
and SPA is a very popular name and brand in the Cosmetology world. The owner, a
beautiful and ageless woman is a society lady that is well known for excellence
in what she does. Being a very busy woman, getting her for an interview was a
herculean task, but Abesan News did
all we could to hook up with the CEO of SEQUENCE BEAUTY SALON & SPA, Ms.
Grace Akangson at her Surulere office. In this interview with Femi Odeyemi, the Cosmetologist par excellence
and Adviser on Education to the President of LABHCA, dealt on issues that have
to do with taking care of the skin, what to do and what not to do to as regards
your skin. Enjoy the excerpt.
ABESAN NEWS:
Good afternoon, can you please introduce yourself?
SEQUENCE BEAUTY SALON & SPA: Good afternoon, my name is Grace Akangson
and I am the CEO of Sequence Beauty Salon & SPA situated at 71, Tejuosho
Road, Surulere. Most people out there know and address me as Sequence because
that’s my business name.
ABESAN NEWS: I
like to commend your beauty firstly, you also look ageless. Can you tell us the
secret?
SEQUENCE BEAUTY SALON & SPA: (smiles) Thank you. Everybody says I am
beautiful. The secret I will tell you firstly is God, good food, being happy
all the time and being simple. And of course not forgetting eating and living
right.
ABESAN NEWS: Can
you tell us what Cosmetology is about?
SEQUENCE BEAUTY SALON & SPA: Cosmetology on its own as a study is
the scientific study whereby you are being taken through all beauty therapy in
total. Cosmetology has various sections. Cosmetology can also be said to be the
practice of beautifying the face, hair and skin. I am an expert in skin
therapy. That is what Sequence is well known for.
ABESAN NEWS: Can
you tell us how an average woman should take care of her skin?
SEQUENCE BEAUTY SALON & SPA: The skin is the mirror, it tells who
you really are, and it tells a lot about you. The first perception of people
about you is your skin, it reveals a lot about the kind of person you are and
so it should be well taken care of, both men and ladies. There is a lot of
stress in this part of the world (Nigeria) where we are from and so we have to
be careful with our skin. For a woman who wants to keep her home and who wants
to be up in her game and for the happiness of the children and herself, she
must take care of her skin. The skin is the total coverage of the whole body
and so should be well taken care of.
ABESAN NEWS: You
haven’t told us particularly how people should take care of their skin, you
have told us however the importance of taking care of the skin. Can you please
tell us, if it is not your trade secret, how an average person should take care
of his or her skin and the kind of cream he or she should and should not use?
SEQUENCE BEAUTY SALON & SPA: (smiles) This would have cost you about
thirty to forty thousand naira if you came for consultation but I’m going to
tell you. As simple as water is, it is very important to the skin. The skin
needs 95% water to be ok. Water is important for both internal and external.
The first layer of the skin is called epidermis; it is the mirror of the other
three layers. The epidermis must glow and so water is a good factor for glowing
of the skin. After that, you need a good moisturizer on the skin. I normally
tell my students in class that moisturizer is very important. Not cream, not
lotion, a rich moisturizer is important. The kind of soap you use is also very
important. You need a beauty bar and not soap for the skin. Another important
thing also is your intake. The intake like water, fruits and vegetables help in
flushing and nourishing your skin. Don’t forget this, be happy always. Don’t
let anything get to you.
ABESAN NEWS: If
someone comes to you for the first time that she wants to take care of her
skin, what will you put into consideration?
SEQUENCE BEAUTY SALON & SPA: The first thing is to know the
lifestyle of the client, I need to know her past record, where she works, where
she likes to go, what she eats, if she smokes, if she drinks. When she gives me
all these information, it will then be a good place to start from.
ABESAN NEWS: Is
bleaching of the skin a way of taking care of the skin?
SEQUENCE BEAUTY SALON & SPA: The word bleaching gets to me when mentioned. You can make yourself
beautiful with your colour. You don’t need to change colour to look good. If
you are a fair skinned lady, your skin must be milky-creamy fair and not
reddish fair. If you are dark skinned, you must glow, if you are chocolate, it’s
beautiful. It is a pity that there are ladies out there that are bleaching,
what it means is that the product they are using is more than 2.5% Hydroquinone based.
That’s what we see these days. That’s why you see their skin red. What they
ought to do is to glow and have an ageless look.
ABESAN NEWS: If
a dark skinned person comes to you that she wants her skin to become light,
what will you call that and can you do it?
SEQUENCE BEAUTY SALON & SPA: Yes, there is nothing that can’t be
done. For lightening, it takes time, it’s a process. That’s the difference
between lightening and bleaching. We have the technology that will turn a dark
skinned person into a light skinned person immediately under 2 days or 3 days
but that’s total bleaching. This has after effect on the skin. We know about
skin cancer. Lightening is a gradual process that comes to stay. A dark skinned
person can become fair over time and she will be very beautiful with no side
effect. Her skin will glow and her friends might not recognise her. A good
sparkling glowing skin is not a fair wrinkled reddish skin. So, yes I can take
a dark skinned tone coloured lady to become fair skin tone. In cosmetology
world and cream mixing, we have different tones. We have tone 1, 2, 3, 4. It’s
a format and we know what it means. For a dark skinned tone person, I call them
tone 1. For a hi-light skin tone person, I call tone 4. I could take someone
from tone 1 to 4, its possible but a gradual process.
A cosmetologist
could be a Therapist. I am a Therapist. A therapist goes through cosmetology
where she is well groomed in the study of taking care of the skin. Gone are
those days when cosmetology was reserved for the dropouts. It is now being
studied in higher institutions all over the world. I belong to LICHOM which
means LABHCA Institute of Cosmetology and Hair Management. It’s total
cosmetology in the school. LABHCA is Lagos State Berbers, Hair Dressers and
Cosmetologists Association. You go to the institute to become a Cosmetologist
or a Therapist or a Dermatologist or a consultant or a nail technician or a
makeup artist or just a Beauty lecturer.
ABESAN NEWS:
What is the first thing you do when a client comes to you with a skin disease?
Do you treat both men and women?
SEQUENCE BEAUTY SALON & SPA: Skin diseases differ. I am a skin
Therapist. We have a skin Doctor who is a Dermatologist. It depends on what skin disease the person
has. If the person has a real disease like a growth or a fist grade breakout, a
good example is if a client comes in with a serious acne on the face, the first
thing I do is to recommend the person to a Dermatologist to diagnose if its
internal or external. A Therapist takes care of the external while the
Dermatologist takes care of the internal. The client goes first to the
Dermatologist who now signs and approves that she is ok for the Therapist to
take care of her. The Therapist will only take care of the outer skin while the
Skin Doctor takes care of the inner problem. What we do is take care of skin
disorder which is usually an aftermath of the disease you had that has been
treated by a Dermatologist. We then use either organique or chemical products
to take those things off the skin.
ABESAN NEWS:
What happens when someone has more than a colour on her body which makes the
skin look as if it’s peeling? Is it a skin disease and can it be treated?
SEQUENCE BEAUTY SALON & SPA: I’ll call that skin discolouration.
This is where you have more than one colour showing on the skin. It could be a
factor of cream usage, it could be the effect of drugs used, it could be a burn
from fire. If a client comes in with that problem, the first thing to do is
consultation. This is where you sit down with the client and get adequate
information with a lot of patience. If it was caused by cream, I can handle
that and if it’s an after effect of a treated burns, I can also handle it. It
depends on what level the damage is.
ABESAN NEWS: Are
there some skin diseases that defer treatment?
SEQUENCE BEAUTY SALON & SPA: I believe if it’s still internal, it
might defer the outer treatment because the more you care the outer skin, it
still comes out from the inner skin which the dermatologist handles.
ABESAN NEWS: Can
you give us a tip of what not to do to the skin to have a lovely skin?
SEQUENCE BEAUTY SALON & SPA: The worst thing to do is to abuse the
skin. As a proper African woman, beauty is uppermost. The good thing is when
people look at you and cannot tell your age. You abuse your skin by your
smoking habit, drinking habit, not sleeping right, not eating right, not living
right especially for ladies. When you don’t live right and you are not happy,
definitely you will abuse your skin. You need to eat right, use a good
moisturizing product, you will glow and look ageless.
ABESAN NEWS: Finally,
what will be your advice for someone who wants to learn your trade?
SEQUENCE BEAUTY SALON & SPA: Firstly, education is important. Have
formal education and then get into a Cosmetology school, come out and work with
someone to have experience for like 2years. You must also have passion for your
job and have a good relationship with people. With all that, you will do fine.
ABESAN NEWS:
Thank you for your time and we hope when next we come, you will oblige us.
SEQUENCE BEAUTY SALON & SPA: Yes, you are welcome. Those that want
to get across to me can get my number from Abesan News or email
slgsequence@yahoo.com
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