A Nu Story: Anu Prestonia's Khamit Kinks -
By: LaTeisha Clément -
 Every February, we honor Black people who contributed to society; tipping our hats to space travelers, inventors and neurosurgeons, like Dr. Mae Jemison, George Washington Carver and Ben Carson. But what about hair stylists? History does acknowledge Madame CJ Walker for her pressing combs, however, more gratitude should be given to our “follicle masterminds.”
Anyone can tell you females love to get their hair done, so why not turn the spotlight on the individuals behind the scenes.
“In the past, I’ve styled Stevie Wonder, Terry McMillan, Angela Bassett, Alfre Woodard, Iman, and Angela Davis”, recounts Anu Prestonia, owner of Khamit Kinks, a natural hair care salon in Brooklyn, NY.
“A friend of mine wrote an article and asked me if she could use some of my pictures to submit for Essence Magazine. I said, ‘sure’. She submitted the article with the pictures and let’s just say, “The rest is history.”
 Well, ‘history’ is sufficed to say because Anu has been making a living doing hair for 32 years. Her story began in 1978 while attending Howard University in Washington D.C. “In those days, most of my clients were students, artists, and those involved in African culture. And even though it was controversial back then, I even had some airline stewardess’ who wore my styles.”
After taking some time off from school, Anu moved to New York, then to Miami, and back to the Big Apple where she resided in Harlem for ten years. “That’s where I really grew my business; in Harlem.” But it was the shift to Brooklyn where Khamit Kinks was conceived. Anu was working at the popular Kinapps Hair Salon for about eight months before venturing on her own in 1989. She registered the salon’s name and became incorporated. “I purchased a brownstone in Brooklyn and converted one of the floors into a salon with four salon chairs, four stations set up with vanities, and one shampoo bowl.”
With business booming, Anu felt the need to upgrade her few stations and single shampoo bowl. Hence, the move to Tribeca, which changed her clientele from surrounding Brooklynites to people from New Jersey and Connecticut, along with working travelers. “We have had Japanese girls with long hair who wanting to get the Pixie, and a number of Caucasian clients who got locks.”
The salon introduced hairstyles such as Trini and Goddess braids, the Jill Scott and The Chaka Khan, to name a few.
 
 But be careful to take her accomplishments lightly. Anu Prestonia did not foresee a 20-year-plus longevity. She likens her success to a newly famous rock band that people automatically deem an overnight sensation, explaining how it is quite the contrary. “You work for years and years, and then one day, you are presented to the world.”
For more information on Khamit Kinks, please visit www.khamitkinks.com.
February 1, 2010
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