Naïma Hadji, a passion for hairdressing that “brings back a smile”

Born in Saint-Vallier in Saône-et-Loire, Naïma Hadji grew up in Creutzwald, in the north-east of France. Initially oriented towards a BAC Pro/bio, she instead imagined a future in the early childhood professions, before considering a career change in care. Even when she was young, she spontaneously wondered about hairstyles, noticing the difference between her curls and the straight hair of her school friends. Furthermore, his interest is focused more on artistic activities, without benefiting from the adequate support to evolve in this sector.

During her last two years in high school, Naïma Hadji remembers being “a lot bored”, due to a lack of an appropriate framework to capitalize on her vocations. She returned to her initial interest in hairdressing, which led her to join a training school in Metz. “I had within me this desire to have good hair and to do people’s hair well, to perhaps participate in giving a little feeling of well-being and a smile to certain people, in that way,” declares she told Yabiladi.

But at the time, training for the profession exceeded 5,000 euros. “My parents didn’t have the means. But my brother Mustapha joined professional football at that time. He really encouraged me by reassuring me about funding for the school and by pushing me to do what I wanted most, because he always wanted the best for me,” Naïma confides to us.

Hairstyle, a little attention to your well-being

For more than 10 years, Naïma Hadji has now worked in hairdressing in Morocco, where she managed to open her salon in Marrakech. “I think my brother had the right intuition and he gave me this chance. I’m happy with what I managed to do with it,” she adds. But before this lasting installation in the ocher city, she goes through a real obstacle course.

Once she graduated in France, Naïma Hadji first joined a hairdressing salon in Farébersviller. She quickly became a manager, before working this time in hairdressing on the assembly line. Multiplying professional experiences, particularly in the Paris region, she returned to her hometown after a divorce. On site, she moves away from the field to join another, which is just as much a part of her favorite fields. She works as a school assistant, to support children in difficulty.

During this period, Naïma Hadji kept in mind the idea of ​​returning to hairdressing. At the same time, his brother Youssouf opened a salon with his wife. Naïma worked there with her sister-in-law for several years, while taking care of her first daughter. A single mother, she decided to make a new stop in the field. “A little later, during a vacation in Morocco, I met my current husband, who was also in professional football,” she recalls.

Since then, the succession of events has gradually led the mother to settle permanently in the country of origin. After her second marriage, Naïma Hadji now takes care of her two daughters, while considering launching into hairdressing in Morocco. “It was very complicated, because I couldn’t find a suitable position, my husband had to return to France to progress in his professional career… I had great support from my parents, from the family, but the “it wasn’t easy to get started,” she tells us.

After an initial installation in Casablanca, Naïma Hadji made frequent trips to Marrakech, where her brother Mustapha settled after signing with the national team. The former international once again supports his sister, to open a first salon in the ocher city. After a series of adventures over a few years, the hairdresser managed to perpetuate her brand: Niya Beauty. In addition to having built customer loyalty, it stands out for its content on social networks. Between makeup and hairdressing, success is confirmed.

A lasting installation in Marrakech

Naïma Hadji managed to find her current premises and buy it. Its brand is now established in the city center of Marrakech. Also supported by her husband throughout these years, she benefited from exclusive training with the famous Lebanese hairdresser Mounir, who taught her the tricks of the trade.

Committed to giving herself the means for her professional development, training her teams and continuing to satisfy her customers, Naïma Hadji makes the decision not to “stay on her chair”, as the owner of her hair salon . “If I had that posture, I would have closed a long time ago. The secret to success is always to get your hands dirty, to support your staff,” she tells us, saying she was strongly influenced by the level of professionalism of her trainer.

With a 22-year career in hairdressing, Naïma Hadji would like to remind us, at the same time, that “no profession is less noble than the other”. In her wider circle, the hairdresser hopes above all “that parents are aware enough to support their children’s vocations, rather than pressing them to invest in careers through which they would not cultivate their passion and would be unhappy more than anything else. “It’s the kindness that I want in the parent-child relationships that I see around me and I remain very attentive to this towards my daughters as well,” she confides to us.

As mothers and fathers, Naïma Hadji believes that “we should be firm towards our young people, to the extent that we are there to instill in them that nothing is easy, that they must work to get there and that we we would not do things for them; but we must show them at the same time that we are there to support them in their efforts and in their decisions, when they choose their path and that we do not impose it on them.”