I’ve been working from home in a quiet village since last year, a stark contrast to the urban chaos I once knew. For the past 11 years, I’ve proudly worn dreadlocks — a hairstyle that’s become part of my identity. But since relocating to this rural spot, keeping them maintained has turned into a logistical headache. Salons with skilled stylists are few and far between, forcing me to make regular pilgrimages to Kisumu for dreadlock maintenance. These trips are time-consuming, costly, and frankly, starting to wear me down. As I sit here typing, it’s been over a month since my last visit to my stylist — life, work, farm life, and a tight schedule have kept me grounded. Fed up, I started hunting for a way to bring the salon to me. That’s when I stumbled across Braiding Nairobi, an app that celebrated its first birthday last week, on March 7, 2025, and piqued my curiosity.
I first learned about it through a Reuters article from November 2024, which painted a compelling picture. Developed by the Ndeza Collective and spearheaded by Natachi Onwuamaegbu, Braiding Nairobi is a home-service platform connecting hair braiders with clients — a kind of Uber for hair care. Onwuamaegbu’s inspiration came from a storytelling project at Nairobi’s bustling Kenyatta Market, where she interviewed braiders struggling to adapt after the pandemic shifted their trade from pavement salons to private homes. She saw an opportunity to level the playing field, especially for Kenyan women who, according to a 2023 International Labour Organization report, often lack reliable internet or the digital literacy to thrive on platforms like Instagram or TikTok. According to Reuters, the app, launched in March 2024, had onboarded 180 customers and around 100 braiders last November, with more waiting to join as she scales it slowly. Despite its noble mission, the Play Store shows just 100+ downloads — a surprisingly low figure for such an innovative idea. It’s also available on iOS, though I couldn’t track its Apple stats.
Eager to test it, I downloaded the latest version 1.3.3, updated on March 12, 2025, with promises of bug fixes and UI enhancements. The setup wasn’t smooth — logging in with Google or Facebook failed repeatedly, forcing me to manually input my email and phone number. Then came the kicker: the app demands hyper-specific location data, including building number, floor number, and house number. In a village where “next to the big mango tree” is a more practical address, this felt out of touch. Worse, it raised red flags about security. Nairobi’s insecurity is no secret — stories of break-ins and worse flood the news — and handing over exact coordinates feels like rolling the dice. What if this sensitive data fell into the wrong hands? The app’s privacy policy is reassuring but not immediately clear how they safeguard it, which left me uneasy. Still, I pushed forward so that this article doesn’t end here.
The app’s premise is brilliant: pick your preferred salon or stylist, and they come to you. It even calculates travel time and transport fees based on your location — handy for a work-from-home guy like me. But when I tested it, the estimates were off, likely because my rural coordinates threw it for a loop. I was thrilled to see it’s not just for women — options for dreadlock maintenance and styling cater to guys like me too. You can browse braiders, check their profiles, and book directly, all from your couch. Yet, as I explored, the app’s Nairobi-centric focus hit me hard. My village is hundreds of kilometers away, and the braiders listed are all based in the capital. My dream of a local stylist pulling up to my gate evaporated. But features like the “Products” tab, still marked “Coming soon,” suggest there’s more in the pipeline — maybe hair care items or tools — but for now, it’s a work in progress.
Despite the distance, I can’t help but admire Braiding Nairobi. Onwuamaegbu’s vision — to empower braiders sidelined by the digital divide — is inspiring. Braiders like Doris Kyengo, quoted by Reuters, credit her for boosting their clientele beyond what social media alone could achieve. It’s a lifeline for Nairobians tired of salon hassles, as I’ve seen in X posts from Nairobi babes lamenting bad hair experiences. For me, though, it’s a bittersweet discovery — a perfect solution that’s just too far away. I’d love to see it expand to Kisumu or rural areas like mine, where quality salon access is a luxury.
So, Android Kenya readers, especially those in Nairobi, maybe give Braiding Nairobi a look. It’s rough around the edges — security concerns, glitchy sign-ups and estimates need addressing — but it’s a local gem worth supporting. Weigh the risks of inviting someone into your home and sharing precise location data, but if you’re game, it might just save your hair day. For me, I’ll keep my fingers crossed for a wider rollout while planning my next grudging trip to Kisumu. Happy styling!
