Viola's Entrepreneurial Goal

“Modern fashion trends for women, first heralded by the introduction of the ‘bobbed’ haircut in the 1920s, created an explosion of adventurous career opportunities for ‘beauticians’, who earned their livelihood by advising women on hair care and cosmetics. Beauty parlors offered steady and socially respectable opportunities to many entrepreneurial women across Canada and the United States” (Backhouse 1999, 234).

The Bobbed Hairstyle

Many Black women were of benefit in this genre of employment as women are able to cater to a “multi-racial clientele with particular expertise in hair design and skin care for Black women” (234). This became Viola’s entrepreneurial goal. But there was one main problem, all the training facilities available for individuals to become beauticians in Halifax restricted Black women. She then moved to Montreal where she was accepted into the Field Beauty Culture School in 1936. Her hard work  and teachings inspired Viola to more from Montreal to New York where she took more schooling to learn about wigs and different techniques in styling. 

In 1940 she received a diploma from Apex College of Beauty Culture and Hairdressing.