This is a story of my hairstylist Ana, Vidal Sassoon trained and a former backstage hairstylist with TONI&GUY. She is the best hairdresser I have known so far: perfection and beauty is her signature in her work.
Ana Mamic-Langley, originally from Zagreb, fell in love with an English guy. Their love soon culminated into their marriage and she bore a beautiful child, a boy named Jyoti Prem, which means a “flame of love” in Sanskrit. The arrival of the baby brought a lot of joy to the sweet home of Ana, and she was on top of the clouds.
However, Ana’s dream life of having a happy family with a loving husband and her little baby had started to fade when the harsh reality of life was setting in. During her maternity leave, from her well-paid job in a prestigious salon where the cost of a haircut was from 70 pounds onwards, she had used up her savings and the financial strain started to take away the happiness of her sweet home. Her husband’s attitude towards work was poor and it always cost him his job quickly, so mostly he was busy “searching” a new one. He anyway looked only for small jobs, for being unqualified.
This way Ana’s life was changing and started to take a toll on her and her baby’s health. It was not just the financial difficulties, but also the family life had become a challenge. Her husband had probably never anticipated the responsibilities that come with being a father. When Jyoti was born and he saw his invisible seed flowering into a wonderful little human being, he was overly joyous and proud. Perhaps he thought he was the biggest creator of the world, somebody similar to a God. But the naïve young father had no clue that that little human being has needs, too. Needs of practical, financial, social and very importantly emotional care!!
To meet the financial needs, Ana had to resume her job part time soonest possible, leaving her baby with her careless husband. She could work a few days a week and only for a few hours, because her husband didn’t want to look after their baby.
Playing a little bit with the baby was acceptable to him, but he hated tasks like changing nappies, feeding or calming the baby when it cried. He would even turn aggressive.
With passing time, life was becoming harder and harder for Ana and Jyoti. Her husband was becoming more upset, even abusive under the influence of alcohol and other intoxicants. Jyoti was very vulnerable and was growing up watching everyday his father lazing around on the couch or shouting, screaming, breaking things in the home for no reason. Ana was tired and tried to seek help from her husband’s family, which was of no use. His mother didn’t intervene and rather supported her own son. Ana also tried to seek support from her own family back in Croatia, but they couldn’t help much.
Tired and worn out, finally, when Jyoti was three-and-half years, Ana decided to put an end to this domestic violence and take her child away to safety. With the help of her old friends she separated from her husband, trying to remain amicable with him and eventually moved to Lagos.
Moving to a new country, finding work to sustain her life with dignity, learning a new language were all challenging, but it was worthwhile, for it brought peace to the life of mother and son.
Now, Jyoti is six-and-half years old, just few days back he entered into the first grade “Primaria.” He is quite grown up and very happy to live in Lagos, to go to his school, to meet his buddies and have fun, speaking Portuguese in proper accents. The old wounds of domestic violence he had suffered are somewhat healed, but still they have left permanent scars on his tender mind. A few years have passed since he separated from his father, whom he remembers only as: “Daddy screams and shouts and throws things around….” or “Daddy breaks things, breaks glass and my toys also!” What that innocent child must have gone through facing a reckless father, just a thought of it breaks the heart!
Their life is now peaceful, but the challenges as a single mother are still standing like a Goliath before Ana. She wishes to give everything good, if not the best, to her child: a good education, a cozy and safe home and a joyous life. She strives and works very hard to make ends meet, which is not easy in Lagos, as she charges barely a quarter of the sum for her highly professional work, compared to what she used to get in England.
Ana has now opened her own salon “A-line Studio” in the old city, near Lagos-shopping Cinema. It’s still new and her clientele comes mainly by word of mouth. She is the SUPERB hairstylist I know so far, and I guess any of her clients, be it a lady or gentleman, would vouch for her work. Her clients are mainly British or North Europeans and some style-conscious locals.
She is also a very nice person, who receives her clients very friendly, pampers them with a cup of tea and biscuits. Often you get to meet Jyoti also there. He sometimes tries to help his mother by sweeping the floor or entertaining the guests, cutely. Sometimes he mimics his mother cutting and styling hair. He would like to become a hairstylist, too.
Apart from being a great hairstylist, Ana is also well trained in holistic care of hair and scalp. She knows how to care for different types of hair properly, and how to treat problems related to hair and scalp with natural remedies. She also offers a relaxing head massage, which is really calming and soothing for the nervous system.
I wrote this article to support this single mother, who charges meager fees for her celebrated professional work and thereby earns less than she needs to maintain her life. To pay the bills, on the day when she has no appointments, she even takes up side jobs, like being a waitress in a restaurant for just 5 euros/hour.
I feel a wonderful artist like her deserves to be in her studio. It is in our good interest as well, for we all need a hairstylist on whom we can count. Isn’t the hairstyle as important as our wardrobe for our personality?! For me my personal hairdresser is as important as my dentist, and once I have found the best one, I am going to go to him/her even far away (I have had sometimes really “surprising” experiences from the friseurs in the past).
Don’t just rely on my opinion about Ana’s work, but book an appointment with her (her mobile number is 913 396 671) and make your own experience. This way you will also support this hardworking single mother and her little son Jyoti. I am sure you will have the best haircut/hair-color/hair-treatment of your life.
Other than working as backstage hairstylist with TONI&GUY for their celebrated Fashion and Beauty Shows, Ana has also worked with prestigious salons like “Concept”, Salon BBK, Glamour and Jasminka Kos, to name a few. Now she is here in Lagos and available to us for affordable prices, so go ahead and try her work once, may be you will fall in love with your hair, newly.
Please spread the word to your friends and family. After visiting her salon, you can also write a review for her work on the internet portals like Google, TripAdvisor, Facebook or any other you prefer.
Have fun!
You can contact Ana at:
E: anamamicline@gmail.com
T: 913 396 671
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/A-line-hair-studio
The writer is Ariane P from Germany, who enjoys the quality and easy life in Lagos. She knows Ana personally for a long time.
