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Hartford salon owner goes viral for natural hair love

Carmen Veal shifted her offerings during the pandemic and garnered national media attention.

HARTFORD, Conn. — Many businesses have devised creative ways to continue serving their customer base during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Salons were shut down for some time, leaving many to attempt their favorite hairstyles or haircuts at home. 

Carmen Veal Conway, the owner of the Hartford-based Brown Skin Woman Beauty Salon, decided to move to the online marketplace, offering an online course to help those in the natural hair community make sure their crown is thriving, right from the comfort of their own home. 

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"I just started sharing more of the behind the scenes and content has gone viral," Conway said. "People around the world have purchased the courses that I originally created for my clients."

Through her home hair care academy, Conway said her methods have helped people in more than 11 countries fall in love with their natural texture. 

"We have, for a very long time, struggled with just acceptance surrounding our beauty, our skin, our hair, our complexion due to Euro-centric standards of beauty and so we never really had the opportunity to learn how beautiful our hair is and how to take care of our hair," Conway said. 

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Conway said that she takes pride in equipping people with the knowledge and proper techniques to take care of their hair and the confidence boost that comes with that. 

"It's empowering, and it's wonderful to know that my influence and my education and just sharing this is changing people's lives for the better," Conway said. "It's great because they can continue to share that with their kids and their loved ones and the story continues."

All across her salon are reminders that you are beautiful just the way you are. 

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She has this advice for anyone who may need a little guidance. 

"Get the help that you need so you know how to do it the right way so you can show up as your best self, with the best hair that you're proud of and that you're proud to embrace and are confident in," Conway said. "Let that influence the next woman, man, or child with natural hair to do the same."

You can follow the salon and Veal on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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Symphonie Privett is an anchor and host of The Buzz at FOX61 News. She can be reached at sprivett@fox61.com. Follow her on FacebookTwitter and Instagram.

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