March is Women’s History Month and the beauty industry is filled with amazing women who are creating impact and change for the world. But one woman stands out. Meet Dafina Smith, creator and founder of one of our favorite hand ties extension brands, Covet + Mane.
Dafina Smith is changing the hair industry through innovative products with a thoughtful touch. Her passion is personal. Dafina’s journey began as a child when she experienced firsthand how a Black woman’s first trip to the beauty supply store is not only the beginning of her lifelong relationship with hair but also one of her first and most demoralizing experiences. She saw firsthand how customers are discriminated against and forced to walk through metal detectors, leaving their purses at the door. “It doesn’t cost more to treat people with respect,” says Dafina, “I knew there was a better way.” Her family did too, and her parents opened their first beauty supply store in Minneapolis in 1992. Smith’s mother, a retired elementary school teacher, treated the store like her ultimate beauty classroom, teaching every employee (including Dafina) how to treat customers with utmost respect and dignity while sharing her extensive knowledge about the hair industry. She turned what once was a demoralizing trip to a beauty supply store into an empowering
experience.
Dafina developed some of the first experiential brand activations at Bloomingdales and worked in film, television, and event production with the management team for Outkast. In 2007, she opened Atlanta’s flagship location of Sunny’s Hair & Wigs which quickly became a fixture of the beauty community. Known for providing the industry’s highest-quality extensions, wigs, and hair products, Dafina’s signature concierge-level service really set Sunny’s apart. It became a trusted name with celebrities such as Jennifer Lawrence and Nikki Minaj and was featured on shows such as The Real Housewives of Atlanta. Sunny’s incredible success also highlighted flaws in the multi-million-dollar hair extension industry which was filled with hard-to-use products and improperly trained hairstylists.
In 2019, Dafina disrupted the market by launching Covet + Mane, the world’s first line of customizable hand-tied hair extensions which offer stylists unparalleled color with unique patent-pending cut-point wefts for a seamless, luxurious, and natural look without the complications of traditional application methods. Smith innovates both color and texture while staying true to her roots by focusing on comprehensive, hands-on, peer-led education through the brand’s carefully cultivated “Covet Collective.” This exclusive group of professional stylists allows Smith to focus on the brand’s signature method while empowering stylists to invest in their own success. She thoughtfully refers to Covet + Mane as “the Chanel of hair extensions;” superior, quality, hand-made products delivered with a white glove touch.
Dafina WE LOVE YOU and COVET + MANE! Thank you for helping us create beautiful hair transformations on our Garnish Guests by providing an amazing product that is ethically sourced, tested, and one that you stand behind!!
