Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Nina Pinidi. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Nina, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

My mission is to serve the military community with haircare products for textured hair. This goal came from my time on active duty-I was in the Navy for 17 years. During my time in, it was always challenging to find haircare products for my hair texture. On deployment, we waited on care packages from family and friends with hair products. Wherever I moved within the US, we could only find beauty supply stores far from base, at times in what the Navy calls “restricted areas” (neighborhoods that could be dangerous). The store on base did not have the products I needed either. I promised myself to make life easier for servicemembers after me and bring the products where they are.

Nina, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a US Navy veteran. I spent the majority of my career on the East Coast. I moved to California and was stationed in Oxnard in 2020, did get sick (rheumatoid arthritis) and was transferred to San Diego to be medically retired. Because of my medical condition, I was conflicted with working at a company. Ironically, 8 months after being out of the Navy, I was diagnosed with breast cancer.
I had started my company in February 2023 – Solime Royal Hair. The lack of haircare products while I was serving and hair issues, I experienced the last few years of my career inspired me to run my own business. I was diagnosed with CCCA (Central Centrifugal Cicatricial alopecia) but after seeing several dermatologists, I learned I was misdiagnosed. After being out of the Navy, I went to the VA hospital and the dermatologist examined my scalp and looked at my hair under a microscope. He explained I in fact had Trichorrhexis Nodosa – the scientifical terminology for dry scalp. My scalp was so dry that my hair grew in a dry environment and broke off “like glass” my dermatologist explained. He then instructed me to oil my scalp daily and deep condition my hair weekly. I was skeptical at first because all the doctors I saw previously prescribed shampoos, iron pills, vitamin D and even scalp injections. My dermatologist explained that it was a very common condition in the black/African American community. I now had another reason to educate customers and prove that my new hair routine worked. After 3 months of implementing my new routine, my hair flourished, and I was happy to share my journey and sell products I knew worked (majority of the products I sell have been tried by me so I can give an authentic testimony).
The cancer diagnosis led me to going under chemotherapy. I was furious and almost refused it because of all the work I put into my hair. Also, I did not want to be un-authentic by selling hair products and not have any hair to show case.

My oncologist presented the option to do cold cap therapy (aka scalp cooling). The cold hair therapy helps conserve hair follicle during chemo. While I still lost about half of my hair, it is now growing back and I am able to foster a healthy growth because of what I experienced and learned prior to the cancer journey.
All these health challenges drove me to find hair products free of harmful chemicals. I know many others would love that option but would not know how or where to find these products. I created Solime Royal Hair to be the one stop shop for haircare free of harmful chemicals. Military servicemembers can get exposed to unhealthy elements, so if I can minimize that exposure with the hair products they use, I feel I would have contributed to improving their lives.

I have been doing pop-ups for a year now I am grateful to my customers, most importantly, their positive feedback I am doing the right thing.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I was medically retired after 17 years of service. Contrary to popular belief, I did not receive a military retirement pay.
I have been bootstrapping my business: my VA disability benefits were the funds I used to get started.

How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.

I sell on solimeroyalhair.com and use Shopify. I chose this platform because it seemed to be the most comprehensive and easier to get started with. I do not have any design skills and Shopify comes with layouts to choose from (free and to pay). The mentor who helped me start also advised Shopify.

The only con is that there are too many useful features I don’t know how to use. Shopify has a YouTube channel however there is not a thorough explanation for everything. So, hiring someone to help will be necessary at some point.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://solimeroyalhair.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/solimeroyalhair/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SolimeRoyalHair
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nina-pinidi/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUSfwcehR8M

Image Credits

Personal Photo: Nandi Nefertiti Mooney (Photographer)