This Ghanaian Entrepreneur Built a Thriving Black Bridal Beauty Business in Italy.

Harriet Akotowah Mensah recognized the growing need for Black beauty services in Italy and transformed that opportunity into a thriving mobile bridal beauty business.

For Black women planning destination weddings in Italy, finding beauty professionals experienced with textured hair and deeper skin tones can be challenging. Ghanaian entrepreneur Harriet Akotowah Mensah recognized this gap in the market and turned the lack of accessible, specialized beauty services into a successful business opportunity.

Mensah’s growing business recently took her nearly five hours each way to Florence, where she prepared Micaéla Verrelien for her wedding at Villa Merlo Nero. Verrelien, co-owner of Brooklyn’s Sweet Fire Cafe & Studio with her husband, had spent an entire year searching for a Black bridal beauty professional in Italy before her social media community repeatedly pointed her toward Mensah. According to Mensah, the experience highlights a larger gap in Italy’s beauty industry and the growing demand for professionals who understand the unique needs of Black clients.

“Hetty’s Beauty Parlour grew out of a deeply personal experience. I recognized a gap in Italy’s beauty industry and saw how difficult it could be for Black women to find professionals who truly understood our hair textures, skin tones, and unique beauty needs,” Mensah told Travel Noire.

That unmet demand has created a market where clients are willing to travel significant distances—and pay additional travel fees—to access specialized beauty services. Mensah explained that for many clients, distance is less important than finding a beauty professional they can genuinely trust.

For Mensah, that trust has also become a powerful driver of business growth. While social media helps new clients discover her work, she says personal recommendations and referrals are what ultimately turn online visibility into paying customers.

“Social media helps people discover your work, but it’s trust that ultimately turns that visibility into bookings,” Mensah explained.

Now, Mensah is setting her sights beyond running a solo operation. Through The Afro Beauty Team, she hopes to grow a network of skilled beauty professionals who can serve Black clients while maintaining the high level of expertise and quality her customers have come to expect.