We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mendey Nabie. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mendey below.

Mendey, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

The name of my company is unique to the tribe my family is originally from in Sierra Leone, West Africa. My family was born and raised into the Mende tribe and the Mende language is their first language. I have visited Sierra Leone a few times and love my culture dearly. Because I focus on natural products, and source them from Sierra Leone I decided to bring light to my family’s home country. The best part is that Africa truly is the motherland and I am grateful that I know my direct heritage and love it so I want the world to also know of the beauty of Africa.

Mendey, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Actually, I originally wanted to be a medical doctor but as I got older and really tuned in I realized how much I loved the beauty industry more, but I wanted to find a way to tie both my passions in one. I love helping people feel good and whole about themselves and I also love creating art so I decided to cater to both. I have always styled my hair since I was in middle school, and as I got older I fell more in love with the art of doing hair. My sister was actually a cosmetologist but I never really grew up in a salon, so when I decided it was what I wanted to do, it was definitely a change for everyone in my family. I just received my Natural Hair Care License and I am very happy and proud of that because I have been working on being licensed for some time and things were just not working out. I have actually gone back and forth a lot on doing hair but I can definitely say I have found my passion for it overtime. I am a big advocate for healthy living so I am excited to add my health knowledge to my art and truly help people live better lives overall.

I am currently creating an all natural product line that will be available for everyone to purchase soon. I want it to be all inclusive for all hair types and grow from there. It will include a shampoo, conditioner, and moisturizer system with care instructions on how to use it. In the future, I will only be using and promoting Mende Beauty products to my clients. My goal is help clients take better care of their natural hair and wellbeing from within. I strongly believe we can be beautiful in our natural beauty as long as we know the right steps to take in order to ensure the best care for each individual.

I am most proud that I have kept going. It has definitely been a journey and every time I see how far I’ve come it brings me a sense of peace that I love. I’m happy to be working on this product line and I’m very proud to say it will be releasing very soon. I want potential clients to know that Mende Beauty is a place where you’ll know I value your whole being. I make sure to provide a relaxing environment for my clients and educate them on all natural remedies and care for their bodies. I focus on healing from within, giving the best results for overall wellbeing.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

In 2018, my dad was re-diagnosed with prostate cancer, and the doctors had told my family there was nothing else they could do. At this point in my life, I was heartbroken and had just started my business as a side hustle while I was a sophomore in college. I was torn by the thought of having to lose my dad while also trying to understand a navigate this new business venture. I was in school to become a medical doctor, and I decided to transfer schools and be closer to home to help my dad move around. The two years I spent at home, changed my life completely and just made me want to go harder in everything. I learned a lot about myself, my family, and just my journey as a whole that forced me to pivot my entire direction and just put my all into my business and change my focus to breaking the generational curse in my family. At this point, I started to realize the important things that we didn’t have in order due to my parents’ simply not knowing which I don’t blame them for. I also had to learn how to forgive myself and everyone for things of my past and dedicate my all to this new growth. I have learned so much about medicine, holistic care, and overall wellbeing that has opened my eyes to a new way of living I now work on embodying every day. It’s still a journey but I love it here and I have no regrets.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I had to unlearn was believing that there is limit to what you can do in life. God has genuinely changed my life in so many ways to where I fully believe that anything and everything in life is possible. We are born into a world where we are brought to believe that you can only accomplish certain things, but once I learned that there are no true limits, God has been opening many doors for me. In 2018, my dad’s health had taken a turn for the worse, and doctors said there was nothing else they could do for him but wait. I broke down crying and prayed to God about it for guidance to help me get through and to give my dad peace and wellbeing. Fast forward, now in 2022, my dad is still living with cancer and doing pretty good. It has definitely been a very rocky road, and some days are still harder than others, but learning that all great things are possible, has helped my family and I through in knowing God can change anything.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mendebeauty.com
• Instagram: @mendebeauty_
• Facebook: @mendeholisticbeauty
• Twitter: @mendebeaut
• Other: Tiktok: @mendebeauty