Spotlight on Sonia Vasconcelos
About Hairbysoniavas
For more than 3 years, Sonia has been the ‘go to’ mobile hairdresser for the International Community in and around Porto. Many, many women (and men) from the Porto Together Community and beyond welcome Sonia into their homes and hearts to not only give them a great haircut but also to brighten their day with her sunny smile.
As you can imagine, it is hard work keeping up the pace of a busy mobile salon so last year Sonia started to look for a chair to rent in someone else’s salon, This seems to be a difficult thing to find here so she started to look for a place of her own instead.
Luckily, at the end of October 2023 Sonia came across the perfect little space in Matosinhos and just after Christmas she signed the contract. After a bit of a makeover to make the space her own, Sonia opened her salon in mid February this year.
Sonia is now able to give clients the salon experience that she was used to providing back in South Africa. This includes a great wash with a lovely head massage, and for those who would like, a personalised hair treatment.
The salon is open from Tuesday to Saturday and Sonia still does home visits on Mondays for those who cannot get to the salon.
Interview with Sonia
What do you enjoy about being a hairdresser?
Oh my, that’s easy, I’ve always wanted to be a hairstylist since I was small, but life took over. Only once I got divorced and went back to living in my parent’s cottage in my 30s did I get the chance to fulfil my dream and put myself through college to get my qualifications.
I love that being a hairstylist allows me to make people feel good because their hair looks better and I really enjoy listening and conversing with my ladies. Making a connection with my clients is so important to me. I learn so much from them and hopefully they learn from me too – and not just tips on how to keep their hair healthier!
What do you enjoy about having your own business?
Working for myself has allowed me to grow not just in my business but as a person.
During the last 3.5 years I have travelled all over Porto and even as far as Braga and Barcelos. I have had the opportunity to meet many lovely people from all over the world. I won’t lie though, at first it was strange for me being in people’s homes, but I am very grateful that they welcomed me into their home.
Opening my own salon now allows me to continue to grow my business. Being able to have two clients at same time means I also get to connect people. Just the other day I had a mom in who is having difficulty with the school her child goes to and the other mom was able to help by sharing her son’s experience. They ended up making plans to get together. I am so happy that I can be part of making that happen.
What made you choose to start a business?
I came to Portugal at the end of July 2019 and initially worked in a salon. When Covid hit the following March it prompted me to start my own mobile service. I remember a client of mine asked me to come to her house and do her hair. She said, “I cannot have bad hair and be in lockdown!!!” J.
I laughed, but then I advertised my services in the Expat Groups on Facebook and it was clear that my client wasn’t the only one who could not have bad hair in lockdown. And so my mobile service began.
Did you have a business in your home country or is this a new adventure?
I have been a qualified hairstylist since 2008 and Hairbysoniavas actually started back in South Africa. While I didn’t work for myself there, my boss allowed us to have our own social media and promote our own work.
Going out on my own since moving to Portugal has been a natural progression of this and the beauty of having my own business is – now I get to do things my way.
Contacts
- WhatsApp/Phone: +351 934 064 405
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hairbysoniavas