Nubia Suarez Is Helping Women Love Their Curly Hair

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Within seconds of meeting Suarez, I felt like I was reuniting with a favorite Tía (aunt) I hadn’t seen in years. She would address me as “my love” or “mama” and greet me with a warm cup of cafecito while giving me a tour of the breathtaking outdoor patio area that’s filled with French-inspired table sets and a wall fully decorated with artificial roses, that makes you feel like you walked into a mystical wonderland. The floral wall is symbolic of the inspiration behind Suarez’s cutting technique.

Suarez’s father was a farmer back in her native Colombia. She describes him as a very humble man who taught her how to appreciate nature and the importance of being a self-sustaining woman with a career of her own. Her mother, who was also a big nature lover, had a deep love for flowers — roses in particular. Suarez cuts hair the way she used to see her mother trim roses.

The curl expert and educator, who had studied and trained under other curl educators such as Ouidad, DEVACurl, and Aveda, soon developed her own curly cut technique known as the Rëzo cut, which is a dry cut that adds volume, balance, and shape to curls. After 16 years of working at other salons as a curl expert while also taking care of her mother who suffered from Alzheimer’s, Suarez eventually opened her first salon Utopia Salon & Day Spa in Westfield, New Jersey. She also launched her Rëzo Academy to help train stylists around the globe on how to do her coloring and cutting techniques.

“In this technique we push volume out like a flower blossoming. A rose has very tiny petals in the center and then it opens wide. Depending on the texture and the density, using this technique we are able to push the volume, even for clients who have thick or thin hair from the bottom up, just like a flower,” she tells me. “

Suarez who has a deep love and appreciation for textured hair, approaches every head of curls like a piece of art. She’s driven by so much more than just a haircut but by wanting to change lives and help women love, appreciate, and embrace their natural hair. She fell in love with curly hair after suffering from alopecia that was triggered by nerves and stress several years ago. Dealing with hair loss while being a stylist, made her develop an even deeper appreciation for hair. She felt for her curly hair clients who were not appreciative of their natural textures because of what society had told them about their hair and beauty.

“I look at a curly girl and I see the most beautiful creation in the universe. I have learned that in order to understand textured hair you have to also understand where that texture hair comes from and the pain and history that came with it. You have to learn and study history and understand where this mentality of curly hair “being bad” originated from,” she says. “You need to know that before slavery, in Africa decorating your natural hair with adornments was seen as a sign of pride. But when these communities were ripped from their lands and brought to the Americas and to Europe, the pride got removed.”

Suarez believes that to truly be a good curly stylist, you have to know how to work with every type of textured hair while also really understanding the history as to why curly hair has been seen as “bad” for so many centuries. She makes a point to include that education in her training because she believes that in order to help a curly girl to love and appreciate her natural hair, you have to understand her story.

“I’ve never done a relaxer in my life. I always tried to tell the woman in front of me girl you’re beautiful and if it’s too dry, let’s work on making it a little bit softer. If it’s dull, let’s make it shiner,” she says. “Let’s find what’s going to help you fall in love with your hair. Let’s understand what so many of these women went through putting these harsh chemicals in their hair. The chemicals involved that were and still are so harmful to the body and that had been given to little girls and women almost as a gift of beauty.”

While the COVID19 pandemic has come with its challenges, especially for many salon owners who had to keep their doors closed for months, Suarez has kept not only her Utopia Salon and Day Spa up and running but also her latest location, the Rëzo Salon, which opened right before the pandemic really hit the states. The salon first opened its doors in February of this year and they have been hanging in there since re-opening their doors in the summer. 

Suarez has a way of not only helping you appreciate your curls, but helping you understand what your curls are capable of. I like to say she’s the curl fairy that helps you meet your curls’ fullest potential. I came in that day with limp, lifeless curls that have been dry and way less bouncy after getting pintura highlights in September. Olaplex No.3 at-home treatments have helped significantly, and a recent cut at Miss Rizos salon helped clean up my ends, but my curls haven’t been as defined or voluminous. But Suarez knew just the trick. She booked me a complimentary appointment for a B3 treatment that instantly repaired the bonds in my hair, leaving my curls significantly softer, stronger and much more hydrated. She also showed me how I can wash, care, and style my curls to get them to be bouncier and more voluminous. I was skeptical that she would be able to achieve all that with the slight hair coloring damage, but voilá — I walked out of there almost with a new head of curls that left me emotional. At no point did she make me feel like my curls were a “problem” or something that needed to be “fixed.” And at no point did she make me feel bad about the slight color damage. Instead she educated me about what may have gone wrong with the color, while teaching me how to repair my curls, and style to get them to look — well, how God intended them to.

For Suarez, working with curls isn’t just a job, it’s a calling.

Featured image credit: Johanna Ferreira