Prelude
For many women, a trip to a salon is an intimate experience. So intimate that a trip is all it takes to empower or to embarrass. And while there are plenty of salons available in Singapore offering meticulous hair and scalp care to customers, few salons are as accommodating to the women who wear the hijab.
Due to religious reasons, women with hijabs are unable to freely remove their headscarves in public. A trip to a salon that offers these customers a private space for a haircut is akin to finding a needle out of the haystack. The same can be said for Rozza Ramli when she first moved to Singapore. Having been enamoured by the luxurious hairdressing experience at salons that offered private rooms for women wearing the hijab in Kular Lumpur, Malaysia, Rozza was exasperated to seek something similar in Singapore.
That spurred the influencer-turned-entrepreneur to open KARVA, an inclusive hair and nail salon for women based on the sunny island. Helmed by an all-ladies team, KARVA, Rozza says, sees success by targeting the underserved Muslim women who seek new levels of sophistication in their daily lives. “Through word of mouth, we have seen throngs of customers – both regulars and new – coming with their family or friends for get-togethers here.”
“We are committed to providing affordable luxuries to customers in Singapore and Malaysia, especially Muslim women who seek new levels of sophistication in their daily lives.”
Rozza Ramli, owner of KARVA on being the bridge to the underserved Muslim beauty community.
Since its first inception in 2015, the homegrown label has expanded to several five outlets in Singapore and an outlet in Malaysia. Some of the best services offered here include treatments using the Kérastase Chronologist Ritual, the finest hair care product ever created by Kerastase. “Infused with caviar, the anti-aging treatment hydrates, strengthens, and repairs your hair while adding shine, volume, and UV protection too,” she shares. “Our customers love coming back for our Algana Argan Oil Anti Frizz Treatment as it is a safer and healthier option to manage their frizz in humid Singapore.”
In the lead-up before the official National Day Celebration, Rozza speaks exclusively with hoolah on how KARVA remains modern, inclusive, and future prospects.
What does it mean to offer bespoke hair care for women?
Bespoke hair care has become mainstream recently and at KARVA, we strive to do the same and stay current too. Our strong and strategic partnership with Kérastase provides a path for KARVA to offer customised hair and scalp solutions to others. We recognise that each woman walks into the salon with a unique hair background. Our team of stylists and scalp consultants is trained to address the specific needs of our clients.
“I feel that bespoke hair care is not only limited to understanding a client’s hair background; it goes beyond that and entails an understanding of the client’s lifestyle, career and perhaps a little bit of their personality.”
Rozza Ramli, owner of KARVA on providing bespoke hair services to the brand’s clients.
How did COVID-19 impact your business?
As a business providing hair, nails, and scalp services, the pandemic has curbed clients from visiting the salon in the early days. It wasn’t until later on that the business picked up. We channelled our focus on home care retail when salons were required to temporarily shutter. That’s when we provided home care tutorials and live sessions to stay in touch and build rapport with our clients.
How did hoolah enter the picture? Did hoolah help alleviate any pain points?
When we were able to resume services after the Circuit Breaker, we saw clients being keen to sign up for packages to address their untreated scalp and hair. Being a “Buy Now, Pay Later” service provider, hoolah was there to provide the right financial platform for them to take advantage of our value-for-money packages. For both our customers and KARVA, hoolah has been a win-win solution. When purchasing service packages, our clients have always inquired about installment plans. With a “Buy Now, Pay Later” approach, we have seen our sales conversions shoot up with hoolah; both clients and KARVA are satisfied with how easy and user-friendly the platform is.
“Our take-up rate from our clients has been excellent with hoolah. 20-30% of our customers have used hoolah and our closing rate has increased between 15-20%.”
Rozza Ramli, owner of KARVA on the brand’s success after joining hoolah.
Today, what are some notable achievements KARVA has received?
Originally designed for only ladies, KARVA has expanded its brand to families with its new concept, KARVA Salon for Family. With six outlets in both Singapore and Malaysia (one of which is the family concept salon located in Tampines), KARVA’s success is rooted in serving clients who are looking to pamper themselves with sophistication and authenticity.
As part of our corporate responsibility, KARVA is committed to making a real difference in the community it serves too. A training centre was set up in partnership with a halfway home — the PERTAPIS Centre for Women & Girls to empower its residents with hairstyling and beauty skills that they can use in the future.
“Together with our partners L’Oréal & Kérastase, we are set to launch more family concept salons in the future. This new and exciting concept welcomes families who want to do their hair together in an exclusive environment at the same time!”
Rozza Ramli, owner of KARVA on the brand’s next steps to creating a more inclusive environment.
All images courtesy of KARVA.
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