Today’s entrepreneur is just as comfortable in the high art world of high fashion as in the neighborhoods of Barnstable County… and she has a lot to teach budding entrepreneurs. Meet the ridiculously talented and incredibly gracious Erica Gomes of E.J. Gomes Hair & Makeup. Erica spoke with Amplify’s Rachael Devaney.

As I watched Erica Gomes weave beautifully plaited braids and corn rows throughout my 11-year-old daughter Fressia’s thick and textured hair, I was mesmerized. Not only because of how fast her fingers were moving -- expertly sewing every single hair immaculately into place -- but because her talent goes far beyond style and crosses into a cultural cosmetology experience.

To hear Fressia say that she felt beautiful was nothing short of magical. And could even be called revolutionary as Fressia held her chin just a bit higher -- a smile tenderly spread across her face -- and stayed there -- as Gomes added finishing golden clips to her braids.

As Fressia transformed in the hair and makeup chair, I couldn’t help but think about the many Black girls that share their own hair journeys with their parents, aunties, sisters, and yes, their stylists, who intertwine Black Girl Magic into perfectly sculpted braided crowns or lusciously twisted locs, and even beautifully coiffed edges they coax gently into place.

For Gomes, who is a hair and makeup artist for Ennis Inc., and owns E. J Gomes Hair & Makeup, her aptitude for hair and makeup is most definitely a superpower she takes seriously. An ability that took “practice, patience, and outright determination,” she said, but also a level of skill that can only blossom and bond from her own defining hair and makeup moments -- creating a level of love and value for people of color across Cape Cod and beyond.

Amplify: What does your business have to offer?

Erica Gomes: Specifically, I do hair and makeup for editorials and advertising campaigns -- so whether that’s a website or magazine or e-commerce content -- I style the models. I also take clients at my home and I do bridal content as well. But my main work is in advertisements.

Amplify: What steps did you take to get into the cosmetology industry?

Erica Gomes: When I first started out, I knew I needed experience. I ended up emailing a bunch of talent agencies that represent hair and makeup artists and wardrobe and set designers and asked them if I could shadow. I wanted to learn the industry and told them I didn’t even care if I was paid. Only one agency wrote back. But that was enough for me. They added me on to a breast cancer awareness fashion show that was happening in Boston. I went and I was definitely nervous, and I didn’t show up with anything. I didn’t have a kit and I had no idea how to help. But I just knew I wanted to be there and learn how things operated. I cleaned brushes and made sure that the stylist I was shadowing was set up and organized. That stylist brought me on other shoots and my kit developed as well as my knowledge and I loved it. I knew that’s what I wanted to do.

Amplify: Were there obstacles you needed to overcome doing this kind of work?

Erica Gomes: I had to work really hard to do the kind of work I wanted to do. For example, the industry can often be really white washed and I had to speak up and ask my agent for more work that would allow me to work with people of color. In reality, that kind of work can be hard to find in the Boston/New England area. It’s not like down South where that kind of work surrounds you. I really had to advocate for that, but it worked, and my portfolio is growing.

Amplify: What influenced you to start this kind of business?

Erica Gomes: My love for hair and makeup goes back to my mother. In a lot of ways she was minimal with what she did in terms of makeup, but she always had her hair and nails done. She moved us to the Cape (from New York) when I was young, but my dad stayed in New York. Every summer during school vacation we would visit, and I would go to the Dominican hair salons with my mother. I would wait for her and just stare in the window as they did her hair, and I was just in awe. The vibe of the salon and the skill of the stylists captured me. It was like Christmas watching them work. And, believe me, no one blow dries hair like the Dominicans. It’s on a whole other level. When my mother was done, she would come out and I thought her hair was absolutely beautiful and she always had these bright red nails with little designs on them and bright red lipstick. I knew then that I wanted to be able to do that someday.

Amplify: What was your own hair journey like on the Cape?

Erica Gomes: There were so many times that I would leave hair salons here on the Cape with my hair still wet because the stylists didn’t even want to try to blow dry my hair.  My mother ended up just sending me to get my hair relaxed for most of my life because she didn’t know how to do it either. Up until a few years ago, I always straightened my hair but when my kids started to want their hair straight, I decided to never straighten my hair again. It became more important to show my kids how to love their natural hair.

Amplify: In your opinion, is there a lack of education on the Cape on how to style textured/POC hair?

Erica Gomes: Absolutely. Cape Cod is primarily populated by white people, which I think influences how local cosmetology schools design their programming. They offer minimal education on how to style Black hair and most programs just have a few modules during school that focus on that. So, it’s not necessarily the stylists’ fault that they don’t know how to style Black hair, but I definitely think it comes down to an individual wanting to learn. It is a stylist’s responsibility to further their education and a lot of people don’t focus or even think to focus on textured hair at all. I’ve always been self-taught. I remember sitting in my bedroom as young as second grade with my Barbie dolls and my sister’s friends figuring out how to braid hair. We didn’t have YouTube or even the Internet so I would just sit there and figure it out. When I hit middle and high school, I was corn rowing for $5 a head. I was also immersed in 1990s hip hop culture and fashion and it was just my dream to be a part of that. I worked harder to be what I thought I needed to be to get the clients. But I think all of that focused energy has attracted clients to me at this point and that made all that hard work so worth it.

Amplify: Has Covid affected your business at all?

Erica Gomes: Yes, it has. My business dropped drastically and the whole industry shut down around this time last year and there was no work at all. Very slowly productions have started up again. I’m someone that panics when any of my work slows down, so I had to really disrupt that whole thought process and understand that the time I have now won’t be forever and I’ll be busy again soon. My business and opportunities had a great momentum before, so it’s hard to be so slow. But this has become a time to catch up on life. I’ve been able to do a lot of test shoots -- which are collaborations with wardrobe and photography — and I’ve been able to be more creative and build a portfolio. I’ve also been able to produce work I want to show versus work I’m hired to do and that’s been helpful.

Amplify: You are also a wife and mother of three -- including a new baby -- how do you balance everything?

Erica Gomes: I don’t balance anything. There is no balance. You just hustle through your days and that’s all you can do. I take it one day at a time. But I will say, that my husband Alex is so hands on and so great that it makes life much easier -- even with our new baby. My girls are older, and they are more self-sufficient and they help out so much also. We try to stay organized and stay on top of tasks and my mother-in-law comes to help as well. I have a lot of support. So, it’s not my balance, it’s everyone else keeping me balanced.

Amplify: Where do you see your business going in the next five years? And are there any other endeavors you are working on?

Erica Gomes: One thing I’m working on is starting up a new service where I book free hair styling appointments for children of color who are in the foster care system. I was briefly in foster care before my mother adopted me so I wanted to try to give back and provide one-on-one training for foster parents who may be uncomfortable with textured hair. We lack a lot of diversity when it comes to foster parents here on Cape Cod which means that our children of color are in homes with backgrounds that aren’t similar to theirs. I’d love for my skills and knowledge to be useful for those who choose to foster children and have my talent be used in a more impactful way. As I stated earlier, no one knew how to do my hair growing up. My goal is to be an extra resource for our local DCF (Department of Children and Families) and plan to work with them closer on this moving forward.

As far as where my business will be in five years, that’s always a hard one for me to answer.  I love everything about what I do now and just hope to be booked and busy and traveling for work again once we are over this hurdle from the pandemic. -- Rachael Devaney

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On the Web: https://www.egoco.online/
On Instagram: @_ejgomes
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/erica.morales.180/photos
Agency: ENNIS INC info@ennisinc.com