Sharonda Bowman:  Changing Lives One Hairstyle at a Time
by Walinda West

For 15 years, Sharonda Bowman battled Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, conditions that left her in severe pain and with an ileostomy bag that had to do the work of her colon. But when her very private struggle exposed itself in a public way through the loss and thinning of her hair, it took her on a personal journey in which the trained cosmetologist sought solutions for herself and for others who might be in the same position.

“I know the pain of hair loss,” Bowman said. “Any time I touched my hair, it fell out.” In 2014, Bowman opened Salon Nevaeh in Rincon, offering customary hair services like wash and sets, haircuts and blowouts, but Bowman said her real passion is creating hairpieces for people like her who may have lost hair from medical or other conditions where the hair no longer grows or is fragile.

With a client list of nearly 1,000 on the books, Bowman said she knows all of the clients and the conditions that brought them her way, and many of them are return clients. And her clients love her for what they say is her honesty and integrity.

“I build relationships. As a hairstylist, it’s the equivalent of a doctor with good bedside manner except I have good chairside manner,” Bowman said. “In school, we are taught to understand our clients—their wants and needs—and over the years, I believe I have mastered that.”

More Than a Hair Stylist

Jesline Palmer, who has been a client of Bowman’s for 13 years and makes the 45-minute drive from Savannah—passing dozens of salons along the way to appointments with Bowman—said she wouldn’t think of going any place else. Palmer said Bowman also styles her daughter’s and mother’s hair. “She is more than a hairstylist. She is a friend,” Palmer said.

Bowman said most of her clientele is African American, many of whom suffer from traction alopecia caused from pony tails or cornrows that tug on hair with extreme force, damaging the cuticle—the hard outer casing of the hair. For those clients, she may recommend wigs or other protective styles that cover the damaged hairline or give it a break while the hair recovers. Bowman said she is able to accept insurance for hair replacement for certain conditions. She also has a contract with the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide wigs to for military veterans with hair loss as a result of medical conditions.

Hair Loss is a Common Condition

In general, common conditions that cause hair loss, according to the Mayo Clinic, is family history, which is the most common cause of hair loss which happens as a result of aging; hormonal changes like pregnancy, menopause or thyroid conditions; medications and supplements, where hair loss is a side effect; emotional stress; or hairstyles or treatments that stress the hair.

The American Hair Loss Association estimates that 35 million men and 21 million women suffer from hair loss, which takes a tremendous toll because hair is often linked to identity, representing youth, vigor and attractiveness, experts say.

“Scarred scalps often equal scarred hearts,” Bowman said, referring to her clients who look in the mirror and see bald or balding heads staring back at them. Bowman said she considers Salon Nevaeh, which is heaven spelled backwards, her Christian calling.

It also is that calling that fuels Bowman’s desire to volunteer her hair services in her community. For more than a decade, Bowman has given free haircuts during a back-to-school blowout event held annually at Effingham County High School. She also has volunteered at the Effingham Hospital, offering her services to patients there.

Almost a Nurse

A native of Guyton, Bowman lived most of her childhood in Springfield in a close-knit mobile home community.

Early on, Bowman said she wanted to be a nurse after caring for her ill grandfather, but having a barber for a father and an aunt who is a cosmetologist ultimately influenced her decision to follow them into the hair field.

It was a career detour, though, that led Bowman to the man who would become her husband. As a cook at Blocker’s Fine Foods in Springfield, Anthony Bowman was a frequent patron who ordered the same thing: a hamburger with ketchup and fries. “But he would order it twice a day,” she joked, later figuring out he wasn’t really there for the burger and fries, but for the person cooking the burger and fries.

The rest, she said, is history and the pair have been married going on 12 years with six children and two businesses between them; he owns Get U Right Auto Detailing. The couple lives in Rincon.

Just a short distance from the couple’s home sits what is now called S Nevaeh Academy, nestled between the YMCA and Wiley's Furniture. As you walk in the door, you are greeted with a mannequin head donning a neon yellow wig with sunglasses holding back the sides of the hair. Right behind it is another mannequin in a bright red wig. The message Bowman wants to send, she said, is just because you have to wear a wig, it does not mean you have to abandon the latest trends. “You can still be fashionable. I want you to be confident, and if you want to spiff it up, we can do that for you.”

Hair School

The back of the building reveals Bowman’s latest challenge in hair replacement. She has opened a school to teach students how to do what she does. Hair stations line the wall, each with shampoo bowls and everything needed to make and maintain hairpieces. Bowman opened her doors in April as S Nevaeh Beauty Academy, just one month later than she wanted. She said she received 60 applications for 25 spots.

While the school has not gained federal accreditation that will allow it to benefit from student financial aid, the cost of the program is $11,000, with some scholarships available for students unable to pay the full price. The program is expected to take 50 weeks full time and 100 weeks for part-time study. At the end, students will receive all they need to take and pass Georgia’s cosmetology school licensure requirements.

Zikia Sledge is one of Bowman’s new students who said she was eager to enroll in the program. Sledge, who works full time in an office setting, decided to teach herself the art of doing nails during Covid. She decided to formalize her training and drives about an hour from Statesboro into Rincon so that she can learn from Bowman.

“The minute I stepped in the Academy, I enrolled. I didn’t have to talk it over and I didn’t have to sleep on it. I knew I wanted to do it,” she said. Sledge, who said she is basically camera shy and not the first to take or participate in videos, was so excited about the school that she asked to make a video. “I just wanted everybody to know how good this program is and that I am glad to be a part of it.”

Now Enrolling for Cosmetology, Esthetics, Nail Tech, Master Educator and Hair Design.

www.snevaehbeautyacademy.com/s-nevaeh-beauty-academy-04182021

Facebook.com @snevaehacademy

1214 N Columbia Ave

Rincon, GA 31326