"After enrolling in law school, I decided that law was not the field for me. The legal field and I just did not match," says Darlene Oliver, owner of Oliver, a Connecticut Avenue natural hair salon.

After that discovery, finding her niche in life was not an easy case. "Before entering beauty school in 1977, I had several jobs including managing the now-defunct RSVP nightclub and a major fast food outlet," she says.

Unlike her law school experience, Darlene says her beauty school experience was wonderful. "I was very happy. I didn't feel any animosity or competition between the students. We all worked together. I didn't have to watch my back," she recalled.

After graduation, Oliver worked at a few hair salons and landed a dream job with several beauty manufactures. "I got assignments from major beauty manufactures to show products and teach classes all over the world," she says.

Oliver's road to natural hair was also not a straight path. "I have gone through every look, from Diana Ross, Patti LaBelle, and Donna Summer to Grace Jones," she recalls. Then she began learning about the natural hair business. Again, the "closeness and sisterhood," she found among those already in the industry attracted her.

However, it was her scalp's reaction to the ingredients in relaxers that naturally motivated her to learn about non-chemically treated hair styles. She added, "When I learned and finally let in dawn on me that it was the relaxers that were causing by scalp to burn, I yelled ‘that is enough!'"

Soon, she began attending seminars in New York to learn the business. Besides the basics, they also taught social re-engineering. "They emphasized that nappy hair is beautiful and not to be afraid of it," says Oliver.

She also went back to school to learn more about natural medicine and begin investigating the ingredients in skin care products. In 2000, Oliver started her line of products. The line includes body scrubs, hair and scalp butter, bath products, bath oils, and soap - - all made with no animal by products. "When you work for yourself, you have to set up your own retirement account and this is it," she quips.

Today, from her Connecticut Avenue shop, Oliver is going through every new natural look, from Erika Badu, and Vanessa Williams, to Malcolm Jamel Warner.

Darlene Oliver

 5225 Connecticut Ave, NW
Washington, DC USA
Tel  202-686-9714
Fax 202-686-9715

Tuesday thru Friday
 10a to 6p
Saturday 9a to 2p


producers of personal care products with
 no animal by-products