A salon owner who learned how to braid hair using mango seeds in Ghana is now teaching the next generation of hairdressers.

Belinda Gyampa, the owner of Belinda’s Hair and Beauty Academy in West Street, Sittingbourne, has marked her second year at her salon by introducing new training courses.

Her journey to becoming a successful businesswoman starts back in Ghana, where she practised her skills on leftover mango seeds.

Growing up in the capital city, Accra, she had no contact with her father.

She also had little contact with her mother, who lives in Itlay now, although later on in life they have become closer and chat on the phone.

Instead, her grandmother on her mum’s side, Agnes Mirekuaa, took on her and her two siblings, Barbara and George.

Before taking on the three children she had been a bread baker but had to give it up which meant the family had very little money.

“It was really tough for her,” Belinda said. “She was looking after three young children when she was an old woman.

“There wasn’t much money around but she made money by selling plastic water sachets.

“We had an apartment which was really small thinking back to it. My grandmother would sleep on a mattress in the living room.

“She was everything I want to be. When she died in 2016 it broke my heart as she was both my mother and father figure.”

During the summers Belinda would get leftover mango seeds and use them to practice braiding so she could braid her own hair.

“We didn’t have much money so the fact I would have to pay someone to braid my hair meant I had to learn it for myself,” she explained.

“The seeds were really hairy so they were perfect to practice on. I didn’t have the money to buy a mannequin so that was the way I had to learn.

“I would either buy a mango or if there was no money get the leftovers and dry them out on our roof.

“Once they were dry I sometimes found some charcoal and watered it down to make a dye.

“Sometimes I would go to local saloons and pick up the loose hair on the floor and take home to make hair extensions for myself as I couldn’t afford new ones.

“I was so focused when I was plaiting the hair that when my grandmother would call me I wouldn’t answer making her think I was out of the house.

“When my grandmother saw me doing this she would tell me that I had to go into hairdressing. She saw the potential in me.

“I would even practice on her when she let me.”

When Belinda finished secondary school at 17 she started off doing odd jobs to make money, like selling fruits when they were in season and living with a family as a maid.

Meanwhile, her grandmother scraped enough funds together to pay for her training at a local salon.

“She wanted me to break the cycle,” Belinda said. “With my mother never working and father not being around I didn’t have good parental role models.

“So she wanted me to get a job and have a skill I could use.”

Belinda started by running errands for the apprentices who would send her to the shops before she got the chance to cut extensions out of customers' hair.

“When you start working at a salon in Ghana your boss is called a madame,” she continued. “But they don’t give you any of their equipment so lucky enough I had a blade I could use to get started straight away.

“The madame I worked for for two years was a really tough woman as she would slap you or push you over if you got something right.

“I thought this was normal until I came to England and saw how different things are.

“But I loved it there and it meant I started bringing some money home to help look after my grandmother.”

Despite her love for hairdressing, a chance encounter with the brother of the Ghanaian president John Kufor, who was in power from 2001 to 2009, saw a career change.

She had finished her training at the salon but was now looking for a full-time job.

“I had been walking to a prayer group on a weekday when I walked past four men,” she said. “It turned out to be George Kufor who asked me whether I was working and if I had any receptionist skills.

“I said I hadn’t but was looking for work so I was sent to see a lady who bought me office ware and gave me the job at a banking equity company.

“The money was a lot better than hairdressing and I ended up meeting the father of my child there.

“However, this was a boring job and I wanted to get back to hairdressing.”

During this time at the company, she met her future husband, from Kent, in 2004.

He owned a flooring company in Rainham and she used visit to meet him. But in 2007 she managed to get a full visa and moved over to Teynham, near Sittingbourne.

However, after seven years together they split up and Belinda moved to Sittingbourne with her baby son Cameron in 2011.

She had taken up a job working in a care home Pine Lodge Care Home. However, after nearly two years looking after the elderly she fractured her back and was unable to work.

It was at this point she started hairdressing again, this time from her home.

After building up a client base over two years she opened up Belinda’s Touch at 17 West Street, filling in a gap in the market for Afro-Caribbean hair.

“There was nothing like what I do now in Sittingbourne when I was planning to open up,” she said. “Then in 2014, I opened up my first salon.

“It was a big challenge but I have worked my way gradually and now I am where I am today.”

However, she would outgrow the store as she wanted to have a dedicated room to train in so moved down the road to number 11 in March 2022 and is celebrating the second anniversary of the move this month.

On Saturday, February 3, she launched her training academy, where she offers basic hairdressing for those getting into the trade but also more specific courses if people want to cut a certain kind of hair.

The Mayor of Swale, Cllr Sarah Stephen and the Mayor's Consort, Cllr Paul Stephen attended the ribbon cutting of the academy.

Belinda said: “Training is something that I have planned to do for years but had to wait to get my full accreditations which I got in February last year.

“I was hoping to have everything up and running by Christmas but I was so busy I couldn’t start it but I am so happy to start teaching people.

“Now I can show young hairdressers how to work on both European and Afro-hair which have completely different needs.

“When people go to colleges they have to sign up for a two or three-year course. Whereas I can offer a shorter course that specialises in one particular area, such as cutting, straightening or dying.”