Since opening a location over a decade ago in Renton, Miny Tafesse’s Abyssinia Hair and Beauty Clinic has expanded, not only to a separate location in Kent, but also a nonprofit beauty school, allowing budding, underserved cosmetologists to reach their potential.

Twenty-four years after Tafesse, a highly trained trichologist, opened her first Abyssinia Beauty Clinic in Nairobi, Kenya, the Abyssinia Beauty School opened its doors in 2024 where Nakiya McIntyre became a student.

While growing up, McIntyre loved doing hair for herself, her family and her friends, but she had not considered making a career of cosmetology.

“I kind of had a stigma on hairstylists, especially being a Black woman, that it’s not looked at as a real serious profession. I didn’t want to have that image on myself and I didn’t really pursue it,” she said. “I had a 9-to-5 job, I was working a good job, but I felt like I wasn’t having any purpose in my life … I just was not feeling very confident in who I was as a person and my friend was just like, ‘Why don’t you do hair?’”

After looking into other beauty schools in the area and seeing the cost of enrollment, McIntyre found Abyssinia through Tafesse, whom McIntyre calls “Miss Miny.”

“My mother still gets her hair done by Miss Miny and I’m the type where, if my mom goes, I’m gonna go,” she said.

McIntyre, a Renton High School graduate, eventually received a scholarship and was soon learning the tricks of the trade like color theory, proper hair dying methods and cutting techniques for all hair types. She also got to know her fellow beauty school students.

“I met so many different people here and they were amazing, we all helped each other,” she said. “I feel like because we all related to a lot of stuff that was going on in our lives, it really helped us have a family connection and find a solid safe haven.”

Along with providing a beauty school designed to uplift people who are low-income and underserved, McIntyre added that Tafesse’s work as a teacher and mentor helped create that atmosphere.

“Who gets this opportunity, you know? I have a woman that’s from Africa that came all the way this way, and I’ve never seen anybody give eight different women a safe haven for free to learn,” she said.

When she graduated as one of the first students of the Abyssinia Beauty School in June 2025, Tafesse surprised McIntyre with a position at the Kent location, saying that her leadership skills during beauty school had made her stand out.

For Tafesse, it’s important to lift up others and to help those in her community, which is why she decided to make her beauty school a nonprofit organization.

“I see potential in young folks and I love the city so when I’m involved with volunteering, I talk to them and they [say] they’ve been in the street because they don’t have anyone and being so close to [Renton] High School. I hear different stories from the young folks,” said Tafesse, adding that she opened the shop after seeing so many people struggling during the pandemic.

“If I don’t help support these kinds of poeple, who am I?” she said.

Abyssina Beauty School is located at 203 South 2nd Street, sharing a parking lot with the Safeway, and is currently taking donations. Open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Call 425-255-0385 for more information or visit abyssiniabeautyschool.org.