Woman Turns Maternity Leave Hobby into Profitable Braiding Business

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

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

«I just gave birth, and maternity leave is kind of gloomy»

Clients in Daria«s workspace are greeted by locks of colored hair from the threshold. Some are braided into plaits, others curled into ringlets and hung on hooks on the wall. All other 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 truly surprised. Last year, a girl came and said: »I just gave birth, and maternity leave is kind of gloomy for me« — and asked for a bright neon red kanekalon to be braided in, but that»s more of an exception. Colored hair is more often chosen by children,« Daria recounts.

Braiding masters use artificial hair in their work. It«s called kanekalon. This fiber is as close as possible in texture to natural hair. Its base is 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 this!« 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, and bald spots appear. So sometimes you literally have to solve a problem like in math: how to meet the request so it»s both beautiful and safe, and the person leaves satisfied,« the master explains.

Not only women and children come to the studio as clients. Men are occasionally interested in dreadlocks and braids, and they can be challenging. The other day, a young man booked an appointment with Daria, first asking how much a hairstyle costs. The craftswoman replied that on average it«s about 300 rubles (approximately $4 at current rates) per dreadlock.

«He comes and says: »I calculated: I need 15 dreadlocks.« I explain that it doesn»t work that way, because you need to braid about 55–60 pieces for the whole head. He paused, calculated, and replied that he doesn«t need that many: just do 15 for me. For men, apparently, the beauty sphere is a separate universe. He thought it was like a store: there»s a certain amount you can spend to buy two braids, like milk or bread. But of course, it doesn«t work that way,» Daria 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 (about $40 to $100 at current rates), depending on complexity.

Because this field 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 hair is loose, you don»t notice it: strands are lost throughout the day on clothes, in the shower, on a 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 when you unbraid, you see them all at once. Braiding is beautiful and safe if 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 them being «ruined,» though you«ve just returned to your natural density. The only thing that can cause problems is poor hygiene.

«In my practice, lice were found only twice, but each time it happened during diagnosis. You start examining 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 — the best model

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

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

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

Tens of thousands for a hairstyle

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

«I had a client who asked to replicate the most complex hairstyle — a mermaid look. I was truly surprised by the question, but I wrote that if I were to repeat that work, I»d charge 40,000 to 50,000 rubles (about $500 to $600 at current rates). After that, the person vanished overnight. And as for the most expensive hairstyle I was actually paid for — that«s 29,000 rubles (about $400 at current rates),» the Yekaterinburg resident recalls.

Such work can be braided, without exaggeration, for days. There were times when one head took three full days — seven working hours each. And the mohawk that brought Daria victory in a hairdressing competition, she did almost without sleep breaks.

This refers to the World Championship in 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, Daria Zhukova became the silver absolute champion in the «Braiding» direction.

The event was organized by the Georgy Kot International Beauty Academy. 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 our phones, 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 be easily distinguished from everyone else by their red eyes,« the craftswoman recalls.

The image with a mohawk made of braids, adorned with flowers, earned Daria 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. With the 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 barely heard Russian speakers; I feared competition from masters from Africa: this whole direction historically came from them. But in the end, all prize places were taken by girls from Russia,» Daria added.

Now Daria has her own braiding studio, she regularly conducts training, and dreams of attending 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 focus on training, developing those who want to improve their level. And, of course, judging championships. I think they will now appear in increasing numbers. We»ve proven ourselves well, and it«s great that we»re appreciated,« Daria shares.