Harriet Akotowah Mensah has built a bridal beauty business in Italy after seeing Black women struggle to find professionals who understood their hair, skin tones, and beauty needs.
The Ghanaian entrepreneur is the founder of Hetty’s Beauty Parlor and The Afro Beauty Team. Based in Brescia, she has lived in Italy for 12 years and provides mobile bridal hairstyling, makeup, and wig installation services across the country.
Her business began after she noticed a clear gap in the beauty industry. Black brides often depended on personal referrals, traveled long distances, or handled their own hair and makeup when they could not find the right professional.
Harriet Akotowah Mensah Saw a Gap in Italy’s Beauty Industry
Mensah said Hetty’s Beauty Parlor started from a personal experience. She saw that many Black women in Italy were struggling to find beauty professionals who genuinely understood their needs.
That included working with different hair textures, matching makeup to different skin tones, and understanding the beauty preferences of Black clients. For brides, the problem could become even more difficult because their wedding day leaves little room for mistakes.
Mensah said some women told her they had searched extensively for someone who could work with their hair and skin tone. Others contacted her after poor experiences or after traveling for hours to find suitable professionals.
Her Bridal Beauty Business Serves Black Women Across Italy
Mensah now offers mobile services, allowing her to travel to brides instead of requiring every client to come to one location. That has helped her serve women in different parts of Italy.
Her work has also grown through recommendations. While Instagram has helped more people discover her services, Mensah says personal trust remains important when it comes to securing bookings.
“Social media gives people visibility, but trust is what converts that visibility into bookings,” she said. Wedding images shared among friends and relatives have also led to inquiries from women living far from her base in Brescia.
Harriet Mensah Took Her Beauty Services to Destination Weddings
One of Mensah’s notable bookings came when beauty influencer Micaéla Verrelien chose her for her wedding at Villa Merlo Nero in Florence.
Verrelien had spent about a year looking for a professional who could provide both technical beauty skills and an understanding of Black beauty. Mensah ultimately traveled almost five hours each way for the wedding, carrying the products and tools she needed for the bride’s hair and makeup.
The experience showed the level of preparation required for destination bridal work. Mensah explained that artists cannot simply return to their salon when they realize they have forgotten something.
“You have to anticipate everything,” she said, describing destination wedding bookings as much more than simply arriving with a makeup kit.
Black Brides Are Willing to Travel for Beauty Experts They Trust
Mensah frequently receives requests from women across Italy. Some clients are willing to pay higher travel fees because they value finding a professional they trust.
For her, distance is not always the biggest concern for clients. Instead, many women are looking for someone who understands their beauty needs and can deliver the service with confidence.
“What is interesting is that sometimes the distance is not even the biggest issue for the client. Their priority is finding someone they trust,” Mensah said.
That demand has helped her business reach clients beyond her immediate area. It also shows the challenge Mensah believes still exists for Black women seeking specialized beauty services in Italy.
Harriet Akotowah Mensah Wants Better Beauty Access for Black Women
Mensah believes Italy’s beauty industry needs better training and more professionals who understand Black clients. She argues that women should not have to depend on community searches or travel for hours to find someone capable of working with their hair and skin.
“A wedding is not the day to experiment,” she said.
She wants Black women in Italy to have more choice and easier access to professionals who understand their beauty needs. Her vision is for that level of service to become normal rather than something women have to search extensively to find.
The Afro Beauty Team Could Help More Black Brides Find Skilled Artists
Mensah is now working to expand the solution beyond herself. She is growing The Afro Beauty Team so more professionals can serve her clients while maintaining the quality of service she expects.
That goal is important because her growing reputation has created demand that one person cannot meet alone. Building a team gives the business a way to serve more women while creating opportunities for other skilled beauty professionals.
“I don’t want the solution to be that every Black bride has to find one person — me,” Mensah said. “I want to help build a professional beauty ecosystem where more skilled artists can serve this community at a high standard.”
For Mensah, the bigger goal is therefore not simply to become the person Black brides call when they need their hair or makeup done. She wants to help create a wider professional network where Black women can find quality beauty services without having to travel far or rely on limited options.
Her journey from identifying a gap to building Hetty’s Beauty Parlor and The Afro Beauty Team shows how a business can grow from a problem within a community. As she expands her team, Mensah is working toward a beauty industry where Black women in Italy have more options and greater confidence when choosing professionals for important occasions.
