She Really Braided It! Woman Turns Unusual Maternity Leave Hobby into Profitable Business

Yekaterinburg resident Darya Zhukova earned an honorable title at one of the most unusual championships — she became a silver medalist in braiding competitions. This area in hairdressing is called braiding, and it emerged relatively recently.

Polina Krasnopevtseva, a correspondent for E1.RU, visited Darya«s studio and learned how many hours (and money) it takes to create a scorpion from hair on a head, what the pros and cons of this craft are, and why braiding championships even exist.

«I just gave birth, on maternity leave it»s kind of sad«

Clients in Darya«s studio are greeted by curls of colored hair from the threshold. Some are braided into braids, some are curled into curls and hung on hooks on the wall. All other raw materials are carefully arranged on shelves: on the top are the favorite colors of little princesses, and below — shades for their mothers.

«Usually clients come and ask for something to match their natural hair color. Although there were a couple of cases where I was really surprised. Last year, a girl came and said: »I just gave birth, on maternity leave I«m kind of sad» — and asked to braid bright neon red kanekalon, but that«s more of an exception. Colored hair is more often chosen by children,» says Darya.

Braiding masters use artificial hair in their work. It«s called kanekalon. This fiber is maximally close in texture to natural hair. Its base is heat-resistant synthetic material, most often modacrylic.

However, before artificial strands are woven in, several stages must pass, and the first is diagnosis, because there are also contraindications for braids.

«Often they come with a picture from the internet and say: »I want it like that!« And I look and understand: due to hair growth patterns or skull shape, it won»t work. Some things we can«t do for safety reasons, because it can be too tight. Blood circulation is impaired, hair can fall out, bald spots appear. So sometimes you literally have to solve a problem, like in math: how to meet the request so that it»s beautiful, safe, and the person leaves satisfied,« explains the master.

Not only girls and children come to the studio as clients. Men are occasionally interested in dreadlocks and braids, and with them it can sometimes be difficult. The other day, a young man booked an appointment with Darya, first asking how much a hairstyle costs. The craftswoman replied that on average it«s about 300 rubles (approximately $3 at current rates) for one dreadlock.

«He comes and says: »I calculated: I need 15 dreadlocks.« I explain that it doesn»t work that way, because for the whole head you need to braid about 55–60 pieces. He was silent, calculated, replied that he doesn«t need that many: like, make me 15. For men, apparently, the beauty sphere is a separate universe. He thought it was like in a store: there»s some amount for which you can buy two braids, like milk or bread. But of course, you can«t do that,» Darya clarifies.

You can wear such hairstyles from one week to several months. They don«t require special care: wash with a special foam once a week and re-braid if necessary. These services cost from 3,000 to 8,000 rubles (around $32 to $84 at current rates), depending on complexity.

Because this direction is relatively new, many myths live in people«s minds: supposedly hair will start to smell bad, get damaged, and eventually all fall out. Clients come to the salon with caution, and mothers worry whether fashionable braids will harm their daughters.

«A person normally loses 80 to 100 hairs daily. When they»re loose, you don«t notice it: hairs get lost during the day on clothes, in the shower, on the comb. But if they»re in a braid, they physically can«t fall out, they remain »locked« in the weaving. In a month, about 3,000 of these naturally lost hairs accumulate, and at the moment of unbraiding, you see them all at once. Braiding is beautiful and safe if everything is done by a professional,» explains the expert.

If you wear additional volume from artificial kanekalon for several weeks, your own hair after removing the hairstyle will seem light, thin, and sparse. The brain interprets this as them being «ruined,» although you«ve just returned to your natural thickness. The only thing that can cause problems is failure to follow hygiene rules.

«In my practice, lice were detected only twice, but each time it happened during diagnosis. You start checking the hair with a comb, and insects almost jump out at you. I said: »Sorry, you came to me with lice, I won«t braid you,»« the craftswoman recounts.

Daughter is the best model

Darya started creating masterpieces on heads by chance — when she gave birth to her daughter and went on maternity leave. Her entire conscious life before that, she worked as a business trainer and teacher, and couldn«t even braid a simple »fishtail.«

«Already at discharge from the maternity hospital, my daughter had long hair, and sitting on maternity leave, I tried to make pretty things from ponytails. Then I returned to work, and my colleagues said: »Why are you struggling, you can just braid a braid.« I immediately said this isn»t my thing, and they offered to gift me courses. It was my birthday,« says Darya.

Daughter Milana was the best model for her mom for a long time. Recently, she turned ten — about the same time Darya has been braiding. But lately, she agrees less often to experiments with kanekalon. The girl does sports, and wearing artificial hair for a long time becomes heavy. However, now she actively participates in developing her mom«s business and braids hair for accessories herself.

Tens of thousands for a hairstyle

Besides hairstyles that can be worn for months, Darya also braids unusual braids, for example for creative photoshoots or competitions for masters. For these, the craftswoman typically doesn«t get paid, but if converted to money, it would be a substantial amount.

«I had a client who asked to replicate the most complex hairstyle — a mermaid look. I was really surprised by this question, but wrote that if I replicate this work, I»d charge 40,000 to 50,000 rubles (approximately $421 to $526 at current rates). After that, the person disappeared overnight. And if talking about the most expensive hairstyle I was actually paid for — it«s 29,000 rubles (about $305 at current rates),» recalls the Yekaterinburg resident.

Brading such work can take, without exaggeration, days. There were cases where one head took three full days — seven working hours each. And the mohawk that brought Darya victory in a hairdressing competition, she made almost without sleep breaks.

This refers to the World Championship of Hairdressing Art, Makeup, and Nail Service. It took place in late November 2025 in Sochi. The competition included three categories: «De-curl on a mannequin,» «Decorative braids,» and «Creative image.» As a result, Darya Zhukova became the silver absolute champion in the «Braiding» direction.

The organizer of the event was the «Georgy Kot» International Academy of Beauty. Over 1,500 participants from around the world gathered at one venue.

«The World Championship is something incredible. We returned from there in complete delight. We couldn»t tear ourselves away from the phone, constantly reviewing and discussing what we saw. It lasted five days, and during that week we probably slept a total of nine hours. Braiders at the competition could easily be distinguished from everyone else by their red eyes,« recalls the craftswoman.

The look with a mohawk made of braids, decorated with flowers, brought Darya second place in the «Decorative Braids» category. All elements of the hairstyle were made using kanekalon, and even the flowers were created from this material: soaked in a sticky solution and heated with a flat iron. The craftswoman needed many hours of preparation — and a large sum of money.

«I recorded all expenses, down to the ruble. Bought beads, ribbons, paid the model. Together with flight and accommodation, it came out like eight of the most expensive hairstyles. But I regret nothing. I surpassed all my own expectations. There, I practically didn»t hear Russian speakers, feared competition from masters from Africa: all this direction historically came from them. But in the end, all prize places were taken by girls from Russia,« Darya added.

Now Darya has her own braiding studio, she regularly conducts training and dreams of going to hairdressing championships as a judge, not a participant.

«I would, of course, like to make the studio work independently, without my constant involvement, and then only engage in training, developing those who want to improve their level. And, of course, judge championships. I think they will now appear in increasing numbers. We»ve proven ourselves well, and it«s great that we»re appreciated,« shares Darya.