Barbara Hollands, Alan Eason
One man’s flair for hair has been a real blessing, writes with pictures by
high school, Cembi’s creative flair became sought-after and both girls and boys flocked to have their hair fashioned into neat cornrows at break time.
“I would use a ballpoint pen instead of a comb, but I designed my own creations and they were all getting compliments. No one had money, but some of them would share their lunches with me. Anyway, I did it for the love of it, not for money.”
After matric, Cembi moved to Johannesburg where he followed his acting aspirations by doing the audition rounds and landed roles as an extra on shows like Generations , Muvhango and Backstage, all the while moonlighting as a mobile hairstylist who visited clients’ homes.
“Even then I never saw it as a career – it was just a way to make some cash to get me to auditions. But after five years I got frustrated that I was not getting any lead roles, so I rented a work station at a salon and started specialising in dreadlocks and some celebrities used to come to me.”
Cembi’s fashion-forward styles – there are 20 of them – also became a hit in his home village and before long he was spending a week every month tending to the dreadlocks of his hometown customers.
“The people from Mthatha and Dutywa started coming to see me in Mount Frere and eventually I spent a few days every month in Dutywa.”
Before long, customers from East London, King William’s Town and Mthatha started flocking to Dutywa and Cembi knew there was no longer any need for him to catch buses to Johannesburg.
By then working until 3am to keep up with demand had taken its toll and Cembi needed help, so he trained a student in Johannesburg in the art of dreadlocking.
“She now has a salon in King William’s Town. I then started training more and more people and now they have salons in Uitenhage, Graaff-Reinet and Port Elizabeth,” said Cembi, who does not charge those he trains. “Most of them came in to ask for a job, so I knew they were hungry to work. I wanted to share my gift from God and I’m very proud because I gave them a way to make a living.”
Cembi dreams of formalising his training service and would love to open a dreadlocking academy and produce his own range of hair care creams and hair gels. In the meantime he continues to empower prospective stylists and, while he applies the finishing touches by braiding Mdutyulwa’s long locks, Neo Shete, 29, waits patiently to begin his first day of dreadlock training.
“My mom is a client of Siya’s so when I came to fetch her I became interested in doing dreadlocks. They are so fashionable and I can’t wait to start – I really like to see beautiful women and make them even more beautiful.”