TheNiche Young Entrepreneur: Emmanuella’s OsayiGlam beauty parlour enhances women’s looks with semi-permanent eyebrows, lash extensions
By Eberechi Obinagwam
For years, Emmanuella Osayi Idemudia worked as a consultant with the Bank of Industry and later with a financial institution where she ran loans for SMEs. But behind the stability of her paid job was a growing sense of dissatisfaction. The routine of waking up early every morning, returning to the same desk and doing the same thing gradually became unfulfilling.
Speaking with TheNiche in an interview the graduate of Accounting from the University of Calabar said: “I just got tired. It wasn’t my thing. I knew that was not me. I needed more. I wanted to be my own boss. I didn’t like waking up early and rushing somewhere. I wanted to be able to control my own timing, and still be able to watch over my children.”
Seeking something more meaningful, Emmanuella made a bold decision: She left her well-paying job to learn semi-permanent makeup, a skill she had admired and loved since her younger years.
Her skill centres on microblading, a form of semi-permanent brow enhancement designed to last for two years or more, and lash extensions, which give the appearance of fuller, longer eyelashes. Although she also offers pedicure and nail services, microblading and lash extensions remain the core of her business.
In 2023, after training under top professionals in Port Harcourt and Lagos, she took another major step by establishing her own brand – OsayiGlam.
She started from her parlour, showcasing her work on social media and gradually building a clientele through referrals. What began on a small scale soon grew as more women discovered her services and recommended her to others.
Today, women seeking convenient beauty treatments turn to Emmanuella for semi-permanent makeup, particularly microblading for enhanced eyebrows and lash extensions that can last for up to two years, depending on the individual and aftercare.
Training process
Emmanuella trained under top professionals in Port Harcourt and Lagos, a decision she said was driven by her desire for perfection.
“I am a perfectionist. Anything I do, I like to be so good at it. Hence, my training from top professionals in different places. I spent millions learning this skill because I wanted to be the best,” she said.
According to Emmanuella, the training lasted several months as she sought to gain expertise from different professionals.
“I wanted to be the best, hence my training in different places. It took me a long time, so many months put together,” she said.
After completing her training, Emmanuella started her business in Benin, Edo State in 2023 before moving to Lagos in 2025. She later took a break from the business and resumed in 2026.
Capital
For Emmanuella, raising capital was one of the challenges she faced when starting her business. The owner of OsayiGlam said she had to turn to family and friends for financial support.
“I reached out to some family and friends, and I was able to gather some funds to start up,” she said.
Breaking into the market
Emmanuella did not have to spend much time trying to break into the market. When she started in Benin, she operated from the comfort of her home, using her parlour as her workspace. Although she rented a three-bedroom apartment in the GRA area in Benin, she had no physical shop or signboard to announce her presence.
Instead, she turned to social media, posting her work on Instagram and Facebook and running sponsored advertisements to reach potential customers.
“I feel like social media is there to help us. When I was in Benin, I didn’t even have a physical store. It was my house, my parlour. I had a very big parlour. I rented a three-bedroom apartment which was on a road in GRA, but I didn’t have a signboard outside, so I just focused on social media,” she said.
She said the strategy began yielding results almost immediately.
“As soon as I started, I messaged one lady who helps me with adverts online. She helped me target my audience, and I put money into Facebook and Instagram and started running the adverts. People who were interested started coming,” she said.
Turning point
One of the early signs that encouraged Emmanuella to keep pushing was an unexpected referral from someone she had never met.
A young woman who wanted to learn brow and lash techniques contacted her through social media and later visited her for training. During their first meeting, Emmanuella asked how she had heard about her and she said her cousin recommended her as the best person to learn brows from in Benin. “The answer came as a pleasant surprise to me,” she said.
“I was like, ‘How? Who is your cousin?’ She told me, and I didn’t even know the person. Her cousin had seen me on Instagram and, whenever she showed her other people, her cousin would say, ‘No, no, no, that’s OsayiGlam. That’s who is the best,’” she recalled.
For Emmanuella, the unsolicited endorsement was more than a compliment; it was evidence that her work was beginning to speak for itself.
“It felt so good to hear because I don’t know this person from anywhere. The person actually follows my page, likes my jobs and is even rooting for me. That was a big win for me,” she said.
As word about her work spread, Emmanuella began receiving messages from more people interested in learning from her. The growing number of students seeking her training became another major encouragement for her to keep building the business. “After that referral, many students messaged me to train them. That was one of my major breakthroughs too,” she said.
A downturn
Despite her early successes, Emmanuella’s journey was not without difficult moments. At one point in Benin, a lack of clients left her questioning whether she should continue with the business.
“There was one time in Benin when I actually said I was done because I wasn’t getting clients. Things were just not working. I was like, ‘What’s going on?’ And when clients came, it was just this negative energy I didn’t understand,” she said.
The difficult period eventually influenced her decision to relocate from Benin to Lagos. According to Emmanuella, the move brought a change in fortune.
“Since I changed location from Benin to Lagos, it’s been good,” she said.
But starting afresh in Lagos came with its own financial challenges. Emmanuella wanted a physical shop separate from her home, but she did not have enough money to finance the move and the new setup. She therefore turned to a bank loan to raise the funds.
“Because it was what I wanted, I had to borrow money from the bank to do all of that setup. So, as money was coming in, I was paying my debts. The interest was so high, ridiculously high. It was very challenging for me at that time,” she said.
Overcoming the setback
Emmanuella also encountered a difficult experience with a client that tested her patience and professionalism.
Her landlady had introduced her friend to her after seeing others coming to the house and complimenting her work. She referred the friend for a brow treatment.
Emmanuella said the client was satisfied with the result when she left. Her 14 years old daughter, who accompanied her, also complimented the brows. But two days later, the woman contacted Emmanuella to complain that she was unhappy with the result and demanded either a refund or that the brows be removed.
“I said, ‘Why? You liked it when you were here.’ I even took pictures. How come you don’t like it all of a sudden?” she recalled.
She explained to the client that the treatment was semi-permanent and could not simply be removed like ordinary makeup. When the client continued to demand a refund, she decided to return her money.
“I didn’t even understand if she was doing it purposely. I later felt that the landlady was trying to get to me. I didn’t know if it was something they had planned between themselves to try to frustrate me. But I’m a very easygoing person. I just told her to send her account number, and I sent her the money back. That was an experience I didn’t like,” she said.
Running business in Nigeria
For the CEO of OsayiGlam, the rising and unpredictable cost of materials forms a challenge in running her business. From lash extensions and glue to other tools and products she needs for her work, Emmanuella said the prices often change, making it difficult to maintain consistent charges for her services.
“I buy products to use for work, like lash extensions, glue and everything I need. The prices always change. What you used to buy for N5,000 or N6,000 is now N9,000 or N10,000 and above. It’s huge,” she said.
This puts pressure on what she charges her customers. While increasing her service fees may be necessary to cover the higher cost of materials, Emmanuella said some clients are unwilling to pay more, leaving her with little choice but to adjust her prices.
“Because if the prices of tools are increasing, you have to increase the price of your service. But some clients are not willing to pay. So you have to maybe reduce your price so that they can come, and that has a little effect,” she said.
Plan to empower women
Looking ahead, Emmanuella plans to organise a one-day group training programme for single mothers in Lagos, where she hopes to train between 20 and 30 women at once.
The proposed training would focus on semi-permanent makeup, particularly microblading and lash extensions. Emmanuella said the initiative is inspired by her own experience as a single mother and her desire to help other women gain skills they can turn into sustainable sources of income.
“Because I’m a single mom, I’ve been a single mom for four years, and I have two children. I know that a lot of single women in Nigeria are suffering financially. So, I would like to do a discounted training for single mothers in Lagos to come and learn the art of semi-permanent makeup, microblading and lash extensions,” she said.
For Emmanuella, the goal goes beyond teaching the skill. She hopes the women will be able to use the knowledge to start their own businesses, earn an income and provide for their families.
“When I teach them this skill and pour knowledge into them, they will be able to start their own businesses, make money and help themselves and their children,” she said.
Japa
Emmanuella said she has plans to relocate abroad and continue her beauty business there. She said she would love to maintain her business in Nigeria after relocating, but she is concerned about entrusting its operations to staff in her absence.
“I am just in Nigeria for now, but that doesn’t mean I’m still going to remain in Nigeria. I actually have plans of leaving Nigeria,” she said.
According to Emmanuella she plans to continue offering lash and brow services after relocating and expand into the sale of human-hair wigs, a business she has already started alongside her beauty services in Nigeria.
“I will be doing lashes and brows, and also selling human hair to Nigerians in the diaspora. I already sell human hair here too, and it goes well with my clients because they are mostly female,” she said.
About Emmanuella
Emmanuella is the face behind OsayiGlam. She was born and raised in Benin City, Edo State where she did her primary and secondary school. She proceeded to University of Calabar where she had her B.Sc in Accounting.
Emmanuella has a team of workers and also trains people in her skill.
