Today we’d like to introduce you to Gloria Ekong.
Hi Gloria, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Growing up, I was always very artistic using mediums like painting, sculpting handcrafting toys, and miniature objects out of almost anything. My mother didn’t take me to the salon growing up so I learned to do my hair myself. Aside from my sister, teaching me how to corn roll, I learned how to do various hairstyles, acrylic and gel nails, eyebrows and eyelash extensions on my own.
I had a brief period of mischief in high school, so my mother decided to send me to Oneida Baptist Institute which was a boarding school in Kentucky where my passion further developed. I was known as the school beautician, making everyone look good! I did all kinds of hair and plucked eyebrows for all the girls.
Once I graduated and went to college at University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), the reality of adulthood set in and I had to make a living. Hair became my 1st job and everything else second. I did a lot of braiding and wig construction to pay rent. I also held other jobs simultaneously while attending school.
Living in Baltimore was a true test of my resilience. One of the first apartments I lived in when I went to college got burned down after leaving the stove unattended to retrieve groceries. After losing all of my belongings I had to rebuild and regroup. Baltimore was not an easy place to live in. I would often witness shootings and in-progress robberies. Another place I lived in the county was broken into and all because I had my hairdressing business sign in the yard. The sign vandalized and left lying in the yard almost like a warning to stop doing hair in that area. While Baltimore taught me how to survive, it also taught me so much about doing hair because the industry there was thriving.
Because of the amount of work, I had to do and a lack of focus I had in college eventually became difficult as well, pushing me to switch my focus from hair to solely landing a corporate job. I said goodbye to all of my clients and started focusing on my industrial organizational psychology degree and career development.
Right before graduating college, an Army recruiter convinced me to join by telling me my career goals were reachable through a military intelligence role. For a little under 4 years, I was an airborne intelligence analyst living in Italy during Covid lockdowns of the region. The Army was difficult and challenged my ability, mindsets, and outlook on life. I earned a master’s in cyber security while balancing Army life which set me up to obtain a contracting position in Cyber after service.
While serving I met a man through an arranged meeting and got married. Are families knew each other and it is a common practice in Akwa Ibom, Nigeria for people to meet that way. I was living on base in Vicenza, Italy at the time and for some reason the Italian embassy would not approve my husband coming to live with me. I didn’t know it then, but I believe that was God’s protection. The marriage ended up being a major setback for me because I endured a lot of abuse and setbacks business wise. It was so bad that I lost my creativity and the drive I once had. We were together during Covid 19 when I decided to start my official business Glory Hair, which I would need assistance with since I was overseas in Italy for the Army. A lot of fights surrounded my need for assistance and caused an abrupt halt to my operations. Orders were missed or shipped late due to his lack of concern for the business, and my reputation was shot. I got pregnant at the onset of the pandemic in 2020 and was alone for the majority of that time while overseas. When I visited home for breaks, abuse would occur which numbed me more and more each time. That marriage produced my son Ndi, and my life was devoted to taking care of him for the next 4 years.
My son was born premature at 35 weeks with multiple complications. I was contracting nonstop for a week and a half before birth due to unknown circumstances causing my body to see my womb as inhabitable for the baby. When Ndi was born, he was weak and needed incubation. He didn’t latch at all, and it was a struggle to get him ready to be able to go home from the hospital. For the majority of the birth process I was alone without the husband that I had by my side.
The last instance of abuse I endured was on Christmas Day 2021. I came back home for a break and Ndi was 4 months old at the time. My first husband didn’t like my mood and started a fight, which ended with him physically assaulting me and causing me to drop my baby on the staircase as I tried to flee. For me that was the last straw, and I decided to leave him. With lots of court and escape planning, I was finally divorced, with my own house, left the Army, and moved back to Maryland to work as a contractor in Cyber Security after the Army in 2022.
I struggled to regain myself after divorce for the next few years while also taking care of my son who received a diagnosis of autism and Global Developmental Delays at the age of 3. Naturally things are harder for me because of how much attention my son needed coupled with a lack of a support system and not enough resources. During this time, I tried to do more with my business doing several rebranding attempts and always lost momentum with each setback life had.
In an attempt to better my business, I got my master’s in business administration while working and taking care of my son. While at the course I created a new business plan, vision statement, and 5-year plan that sparked my drive to network and did more. Shortly after I met my current husband online, we were married in less than a year. He has afforded me the opportunity to leave my day job to pursue my passion again. To do this, I decided to join Paul Mitchel schools to obtain my Cosmetology license to finally do things the right way and give my 100% effort. Hearing Paul Mitchell and Jean Paul DeJoria’s (the founder and cofounder of Paul Mitchell) stories, I was inspired to defy the odds in my own life and become everything I set out to be.
Currently I am a hairdresser, homesteader, and free-lance artist who designs furniture. We raise quail, ducks and are beekeeping at home which brings my family together and has brought back joy and creativity in my life. I am nurturing two businesses, Glory Hair LLC and Mercy Seat LLC, that I hope to grow into renown establishments in the next 5-10 years. I am currently rebuilding, meeting new likeminded people, and committing every day to honor myself and to do the best job I can with what God has given me. I thank God for my new support system and all that I will achieve in the future.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Covid 19, abusive marriage, my child’s autism diagnosis,
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Glory Hair LLC?
We provide high quality, affordable human hair wigs and hair products. Our Virgin and Raw hair is 100% unprocessed, cuticle aligned from few select donors. Each wig is hand sewn to a standard of comfortability and excellence which sets us apart from other commercial wig brands. Our mission at Glory Hair is to provide the highest quality of hair extensions and hair products that will empower individuals to explore, express, and love themselves and their unique beauty. Our goal is to transform everyday haircare into extraordinary hair experiences. We also offer services including Japanese Hair Straightening, wig construction, wig sewing lessons, hair and scalp treatments, color, cutting, sew-ins, locs and natural hair care. I’m proud of our brand because we operate with the highest level of integrity and we are client centric. This means we value the clients experience over control or stringent policies that other stylist and hair care professionals these days impose on their clients. We want people to love their hair and feel comfortable enough to keep coming back again and again. Most of all God is at the center of our business so we embody kindness, grace, mercy, and love for all.
How do you define success?
Success is not linear. Success is being satisfied with the life you create by being a blessing to yourself and others.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Gloryhairsales.com
- Instagram: @gloryhairsales
- Facebook: Glory Hair
- Youtube: @glo_stylez9535
- Other: https://gloryhairllc.glossgenius.com/services?team_member_token=10017-b742b29d-4a27-4973-9c86-4c51cd5819a9
