Uhuru Stylz celebrates two years of ‘new growth’
By Bill Beene
Of the St. Louis American
“If black people didn’t want to be freer, they wouldn’t have fought against Jim Crow laws after the Emancipation Proclamation. We are about being free, and each generation seeks and expresses more freedom.”
Those are the sentiments of auricular acupuncturist and massage therapist Kelly Wimbley, co-owner of Uhuru (Kiswahli for “freedom) Stylz salon in South St. Louis.
Wimbley, along with co-owners (and his wife) Erica “Natural” Wimbley and Kelly Weeden, celebrated two years of making blacks freer through the naturalization of their hair and holistic body and soul care.
“Not only do you look good on the outside, you feel good on the inside,” Kelly Wimbley said of patrons who experience the complete natural services of Uhuru Stylz.
In addition to natural hair care and organic manicures and pedicures, Uhuru Stylz sets customers free with massage therapy, energy work (touch-free health treatments) and auricular and reke acupuncture and natural nutritional and herbal preparations.
“In the foundation of creating Uhuru Stylz, we went with a Kemetic (Egyptian) model n where you go to get your hair done, you got healed,” Kelly Wimbley said.
The natural and holistic nature of the salon doesn’t stop there.
Kelly Wimbley in his quarters uses light bulbs and fixtures similar to sunlight, and the salon is cleansed with non-chemical, tea tree-based natural products.
Even the artwork has positive and healing life-affirming messages. More works of art by local artists were on display at Saturday’s anniversary and customer appreciation celebration.
The celebration also included a panel discussion on natural hair care, relative poetry, music by impromptu band Spontaneous Invention and an African fashions and natural hair show.
“I loved it,” said 21-year-old Christina Weekley, a full-time SLU student who tagged along with her mother, a client at the salon.
While Weekley’s mother sports locs, a natural hairstyle, she plays her hair permed like a few other attendees.
With all the good talk about natural hair and bad talk about permed or unnatural hair, Weekley said at first she felt like, “Oh, my God.”
But she’s no stranger to natural hair. Her mother’s hair has been “loced” for more than 10 years, and she’s been asked by her matriarch to go natural. Weekley said she wants to, but she just doesn’t think she can comb through the awkward stage from perm to natural hair, which in some cases means cutting the permed hair completely.
After listening to the panel discussion, Weekley said she was moved closer to going natural and admits that because she knows a lot about her African background, she doesn’t like having to perm her hair.
Erica “Natural” Wimbley said people like Weekley shouldn’t be forced to go natural because they have to be ready.
“You can’t make people do it,” Natural said, adding she may even suggest that they don’t do if it’s for the wrong reason. “But educate them on what it means to go natural, and show the beauty of natural hair.”
However, Weeden said the natural hair care business has boomed so steadily that stylists aren’t dependent on people with processed hair going natural.
“We can hardly handle the clientele we have now,” Weeden said. “More people are freeing themselves.”
Uhuru Stylz is located at 2012 S. 39th St. in South St. Louis. Call (314) 771-8487. Operation hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday.
