Ural Woman Turns Maternity Leave Braiding into Profitable Business

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

E1.RU correspondent Polina Krasnopevtseva visited Darya«s studio and found out how many hours (and money) it takes to turn hair into a scorpion, what the pros and cons of this craft are, and why braiding championships even exist.

«I Just Gave Birth, Maternity Leave Is Kind of Glum»

Clients in Darya«s studio are greeted by curls of colored hair. Some are braided into plaits, some are curled into locks 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 genuinely surprised. Last year, a girl came and said: »I just gave birth, maternity leave is kind of glum for me« — and asked to braid bright neon red kanekalon, but that»s more of an exception. Colored hair is more often chosen by children,« Darya says.

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

However, before artificial strands are woven in, several steps must be taken, and the first is diagnosis, because there are contraindications for braids too.

«Often people come with a picture from the internet and say: »I want 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 you can pull too tight. Circulation is impaired, hair can fall out, bald spots appear. So sometimes you literally have to solve a problem, like in mathematics: how to meet the request so that it»s beautiful, safe, and the person leaves satisfied,« the master explains.

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 ($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 we»re like a store: there«s a certain amount for which you can buy two braids, like milk or bread. But of course, it doesn»t work that way,« Darya clarifies.

You can wear such hairstyles from one week to several months. They don«t require special care: wash with special foam once a week and re-braid if necessary. These services cost from 3,000 to 8,000 rubles ($30 to $80 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 are loose, you don»t notice it: hairs are lost throughout the day on clothes, in the shower, on the comb. But if they are in a braid, they physically cannot fall out; they remain «locked» in the weaving. Over a month, about 3,000 of these naturally shed 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,« the expert explains.

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

«In my practice, lice were found only twice, but each time it happened during diagnosis. You start looking at 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 says.

Daughter — Best Model

Darya started creating masterpieces on heads by accident — 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 »fishbone.«

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

Her 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 and less to experiments with kanekalon. The girl does sports, and wearing artificial hair for long becomes heavy. However, now she actively participates in developing her mom«s business and braids braids 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 photo shoots 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 repeat the most complex hairstyle — a mermaid look. I was genuinely surprised by this question, but wrote that if I repeat this work, I would charge 40,000–50,000 rubles ($400–$500 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 ($290 at current rates),« the Yekaterinburg resident recalls.

Braiding such work can take, without exaggeration, days. It happened that one head took three full days — seven working hours each. And the mohawk that brought Darya victory in a hairdressing competition, she did almost without sleep breaks.

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

The event was organized by the International Beauty Academy «Georgiy Kot.» More than 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 over 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,« the craftswoman recalls.

The image 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: moistened 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 money to the model. Together with the flight and accommodation, it came out like eight of the most expensive hairstyles. But I don»t regret anything. I surpassed all my expectations for myself. 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 already in the role of 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. Well, and of course, judge championships. I think they will now appear in increasing numbers. We have proven ourselves well, and it»s great that we are appreciated,« Darya shares.