19. Building a Stronger Salon with Wafaya Abdallah

[upbeat music] Hey, everybody. Welcome to The Connector, Intercoiffure's weekly podcast connecting salon owners and professionals with the leaders, artists, and innovators shaping the future of the professional salon industry. I'm your host, Gordon Miller, General Manager of Intercoiffure America Canada, the industry's only not-for-profit association representing employment-based salons across the US and Canada. To learn more, visit intercoiffure.com and sign up for our free weekly e-newsletter while you're there, and be sure to check us out over on Instagram where we can be found as @IntercoiffureAC. All right, important to note, ICA's annual Fall Atelier: The Tapestry of Beauty is happening in New York City October 3rd through the 5th. The website is live with registration and hotel booking open. All that over at intercoiffure.com. All right, on to today's episode. Our guest is Wafaya Abdalla, owner of Curly Oasis Salon in Rockville, Maryland. Wafaya is also a mindful meditation teacher, certified life coach, and a really passionate curly hair specialist. I first learned about Wafaya in late 2025 when she was a guest on the Forest FM podcast. She appeared more recently on the Hairdresser Strong podcast. She became a member of Intercoiffure America Canada in early 2026. I am most excited to welcome to Intercoiffure's Connector podcast, Wafaya Abdalla.

Thank you. So nice to be here.

It's nice to be here with you. I'm, you know, I, I have to say up front, you know, we don't know each other. You know, we've had, you know, a, a brief, you know, connection, and I've loved every minute of it. I'm excited to have you on the podcast. You're a new member to Intercoiffure, and I think that really excites me to have somebody who's new to the community, um, who was willing and able to go through the process of getting here. So before we even get started, why Intercoiffure for you? I wanna hear that.

Really, it honestly wasn't on my radar. I wasn't really aware of what was happening. Uh, but it was Kristen Stutts, who is somebody that I know through various channels, and she mentioned it, and when I started to read about it and see, um, what the mission is, where it's going, I really got excited. And then I know a local salon owner, Diane Cole-Stevens-

Oh my gosh, yes

... who I think is just a brilliant human. And, uh, I was excited to be, you know, to talk to her about it, and when she shared, uh, everything that's going on, really that it's people who are change-makers in the industry and who are paving a new road. And for me, that's really exciting, and so that's what brought me to Intercoiffure.

I so love that. And, and Kristen Stutts, you know, is, is a, you know her, I, I'm sure, originally through Strategies, and now she's out there doing financial coaching, which I, which I actually love, and she's a, a brand partner of Intercoiffure. So, thank you to, to Kristen for bringing you here. Um, and welcome on behalf of, of, of Intercoiffure. So excited to talk to you today. Um, we had a brief conversation, I think, last week or so. And, oh my gosh, I... We have to start with your story. But let's talk about how you got into the industry and, and how you