Braids, haircuts and fitness: Black business owners in Yellowknife talk about their journeys

CBC Trailbreaker is broadcasting live Friday morning from LJJ Barber Shop in Yellowknife. To listen to the segment marking Black History Month, go to the CBC Listen app or visit CBC Listen online. 

When Diana Lubansa gets ready to braid hair, she's thinking about the seasons, the weather, the mood — all things that factor in to what type of braid she chooses.

It's winter, which means right now most people want single braids, the type that will last.

"The weather [is] very dry and harsh for our type of hair ... and no matter what you apply, it breaks," Lubansa said.

"Most women like to have on protective hairstyles to protect their hair. Single braids is a really good one that women just like to do because they can keep it for up to four weeks or more."

Lubansa is the only person in Yellowknife who offers professional hair-braiding, something that has great significance to the Black community.

She works with her husband, Jonel Louis-Jean, who owns LJJ Barber Shop, which welcomes all customers but has a focus on styling Black hair.

The barbershop is one business being featured on The Trailbreaker Friday morning to mark Black History Month.

Louis-Jean opened LJJ Barber Shop in January 2022 with Lubansa and two other barbers. Aside from braiding hair, Lubansa also handles the administrative side of the business.

Lubansa learned how to braid hair when she was growing up, and has worn most of the hairstyles she specializes in herself.

"It was part of the culture — everybody did it," she said.

Braiding dates back thousands of years, she noted, adding she recently found out that in North America, when Black people were enslaved, some would use different patterns of corn rows to map their escape routes.

"The slavemaster had no idea what that was — they thought it was just a style, a pretty style that somebody came up with," she explained.

"So braiding is something that is deeply, deeply rooted in Black culture."