At Merge Business Showcase: UrbanHair, House of Curls and Staunch Founder Sarah Åsard
Changing the Narrative Around Textured Hair in Scandinavia
For Sarah, founder of Urban Hair, House of Curls, and Staunch Hair, entrepreneurship was never just about building a business.
It was about building what she never had growing up.
Born in London and raised in Scandinavia by a Nigerian mother, Sarah grew up navigating two worlds at once — balancing structure and survival, Scandinavian culture and Nigerian resilience. Looking back today, she sees how much of her entrepreneurial mindset came from watching her mother.
“She was very independent and business-minded,” Sarah says. “When I look back now, my life kind of resembles my mother’s life.”
That upbringing shaped more than her personality. It shaped the foundation of everything she would later create.
Building From What Was Missing
Sarah’s businesses were born from both passion and absence.
Her love for hair came naturally, but so did the frustration of not seeing textured hair represented properly in Scandinavia. Growing up, access to salons, products, education, and even simple hair care knowledge for textured hair was limited.
Instead of accepting that gap, she decided to build solutions herself.
“What inspires my business today is my passion for hair,” she explains.
“But also the fact that I was missing a lot in my upbringing when it comes to hair care, products, and salons. I wanted to give the community what I was missing.”
That vision eventually became Urban Hair — now one of Scandinavia’s most recognized salons focused on textured hair — along with House of Curls in Norway and her own product line, Staunch Hair.
But none of it happened overnight.
Entrepreneurship Without a Blueprint
Like many self-made founders, Sarah didn’t come from a formal business background.
She learned everything through experience: taxes, registrations, staffing, branding, leadership, and the emotional weight of carrying a company on your shoulders.
“I built everything from scratch,” she says.
“And the hardest part has been separating myself from my business.”
For Sarah, business has always been deeply personal. Sometimes too personal.
She openly speaks about leading with heart — caring deeply about employees, clients, and community — while also learning the difficult balance between emotion and business decisions.
Another challenge was the loneliness.
For much of her entrepreneurial journey, she felt isolated. There were few visible networks for women of colour in business, especially within the beauty industry in Scandinavia.
“I felt alone for most of my entrepreneurial life,” she says.
“Very alone and very different from other people.”
Today, she sees change happening through communities and networks that support women of colour in business — something she wishes had existed when she first started.
“Being able to connect with women who understand your journey changes everything”
Sarah, Founder of Urban Hair & Staunch Hair
The Power of Being the Underdog
One of the strongest themes throughout Sarah’s story is resilience.
She describes herself as someone who becomes even more driven when things go wrong.
“When things aren’t going the way they should, that’s where I get my fuel,” she says.
That mentality started early. As a child, she constantly challenged herself to compete beyond expectations — wanting to run faster, jump higher, and prove herself in spaces where she often felt underestimated.
As a Black woman in Scandinavia, she says she always felt the need to prove herself more.
“You are ten steps behind everyone else,” she explains.
“So you learn how to become a problem solver.”
That ability to adapt, navigate different personalities, and push through obstacles became one of her greatest strengths as an entrepreneur.
Changing an Entire Industry
Sarah’s impact goes far beyond her salons.
Over the last 17 years, she has helped reshape how textured hair is understood within the Scandinavian beauty industry. Through education, product development, and visibility, she has challenged outdated ideas and created new standards for textured hair care.
She was the first hairstylist in Sweden to create a full hair show focused entirely on textured hair on one of the country’s biggest hairdressing stages.
She also introduced new language and approaches that are now commonly used within salons and education spaces.
“I’ve changed the narrative,” she says proudly.
And she’s not stopping there.
Her long-term vision is to continue expanding Urban Hair across Scandinavia while building Staunch Hair into a globally recognized textured hair brand — something she describes as “a MAC Cosmetics for textured hair.”
More Than Hair
At the center of everything Sarah builds is representation. Not just for clients, but for the next generation — especially her children.
One of her proudest moments came recently when she watched her daughter confidently wear her natural curls using products Sarah created herself. “I looked at her the whole day thinking, I can’t believe I made something that fits my daughter so well.”
That moment represented something bigger than business success.
It represented normalisation.
Visibility.
Confidence.
And the possibility for future generations to grow up seeing textured hair not as “different” — but as something fully understood, celebrated, and cared for in Scandinavia.
Because for Sarah, this journey was never only about hair.
It was about changing what people believe is possible.
At Merge exists at the intersection of storytelling, culture, and community.
Through our Business Showcase series, we spotlight founders and businesses shaping the future of entrepreneurship across Scandinavia and beyond.
Know a founder or brand with a story worth sharing? We’d love to connect.
