Refiloe Mosala is a 28 year old lady born and bred in Bloemfontein, a mother of one and owner of “Beauty@Filoe” a Beauty Spa based in Bloemanda, Bloemfontein.
Growing up, Refiloe was an active child and she liked to experiment a lot, “hair was my thing and I used to play around a lot with it, especially styling my dolls” she adds.
She attended Castle Bridge Combined School, then moved to Kruiteberg Primary school. She later went to Bloem South High School where she completed her Matric.
After completing her Matric in 2009, Refiloe was confused with regards to the career path she should follow so in 2010 she did an IT Foundation year course at NCC. In 2011 she enrolled at Motheo TVET College where she did Financial Accounting. She then moved to CUT, but had to drop out because she fell pregnant. She went back to Motheo in 2016 where she studied Beauty Technology.
Refiloe has always had a vision of owning her own Beauty Spa and her sister was actually the one who encouraged her to enroll for Beauty Technology at Motheo TVET College, given that she is so passionate about beauty. “I used to do people’s hair and did my own, even today”. She says the only time she gets her hair done by someone else, is when she does cornrows.
She learned more about the beauty industry in 2016, her focus was hair and nails. During the duration of the course, she realized that she is more into nails, facials and massages. She then decided to open her Beauty Spa, financing it herself, with the assistance of her parents and sister. She mentions that her business is succeeding due to the support and loyalty her clients have shown since she started. “Most of my clients come in for gel nails, so I decided to cancel acrylic nails and specialize in gel only” she explained.
It has not been an easy journey for Refiloe, as she sometimes had to close her business or work from home most of the time. She dedicated this year to building her brand and business, her mother then decided to build her a Wendy house in the backyard, where she does nails, facials and massages. She has been running her spa for the past six months, she started off with nails, then added facials and massages she also does house calls.
One of the things she regards as a challenge is “staying on top of her game” so that she does not lose any customers as this is a very competitive industry. She mentions that there are regular financial challenges, but keeping her clients happy remains a priority.
Asked what her biggest inspirations are, she answered “my daughter and boyfriend, but he doesn’t know” she said. She also mentioned that seeing her customers happy and constantly come back for more inspires her to push herself harder every time, given that in the beauty industry, if customers are not happy, they will definitely not come back. And mostly importantly she wants to set a great example to her daughter that if you set your mind to anything, you can achieve it, regardless of the challenges you face.
Asked what are aspirations she replied “By the Grace of God that carries me daily, I just want to see my spa grow and be one of people’s favorite place to come and relax and get their desired service and more importantly to create employment for other beauty therapists out there”
Refiloe offers a variety of services including full body massages, hand massage, reflexology, facials, manicures, pedicures, eyebrow shaping and tinting and many more services.
