 ‘Nabila Changes’ declares the book. And it’s true, she really does … all the time. It’s not just her hair that Nabila seeks to change every six months or so. Over the span of her 25 year long career, Nabila has time and again aligned new targets for herself, conquered new ground and set loose new hair and makeup crazes. She has revolutionized hair cutting, dabbled in cutting edge styling techniques, masterminded brilliant celebrity makeovers and endorsed international brands. She’s moved from one achievement to the other effortlessly, always innovating, experimenting, evolving, never conforming. It only makes sense then, that a book that chronicles her life should be titled ‘Nabila Changes’. The recently released book epitomizes the milestones in Nabila’s life by way of a sumptuous pictorial journey through the many phases of her career.
And what a journey it has been! Among other things, Nabila Changes is filled with fantastic photographs of Pakistan’s glitterati, transformed by Nabila’s magic make-up wand. There’s Babra Sharif in her famous Marilyn Monroe avatar, an introspective non-gujjar like Shaan, Neha Ahmed in fluorescent colors, a blonde bombshell Iraj and a casually intellectual Wasim Akram, among others. “Models, actors, politicians, housewives …I’ve worked with everybody,” she tells me. Which politicians, I immediately ask to which she smirks and says, “No names, but the ones that look good.”
I meet up with Nabila in her apartment, a spacious, minimalist haven, decorated in varying shades of white, nestled high above Karachi’s hustle and bustle, overlooking the sea. As we flip through the book, she declares, “When this book was finally completed, I looked through it and it made me realize all the work I’d done and all the people I’d worked with. As it is, I am not in the habit of looking back and taking account of all my achievements. Even on the day of this book’s launch, I was lining up my appointments for the next week. I’d rather focus on the future and what I want to do next than preen over the past.”
The book, sponsored by L’Oreal, is a testament to Nabila’s enigmatic career, replete with images of celebrity clients and miraculous makeovers, accompanied by text penned by journalist Aamna Haider Isani. One would accuse Nabila of blowing her own trumpet except that, in truth, her entire career really has been that groundbreaking. A book on Nabila was bound to be filled with avant-garde images. It’s the way her career has always been! But more riveting than the celebrity images are the photographs of Nabila herself. The pictures chronicle the various phases of her life, reflected by her ever-changing hair. As in the book, she explains, “My medium of communication is hair … it has always spoken volumes about my life. To be seen, heard, felt and taken seriously, my hair has been my silent partner.”
 Nabila changes… her hair
“My hair has been my way of self-expression,” says Nabila. “My moods, my personality and my feelings are all there in the way I cut my hair.” In chronologically placed images in the book, Nabila’s hair rises and falls, become unruly and then in place again, always echoing her personal ethos and almost always in contrast to whatever hairstyle was in vogue at the time.
“I’ve always been ahead of my time,” she shrugs. “And I’ve never been a wallflower and would rather look unique than follow trends that everybody else is following.” Pointing to a photograph of herself from the ‘80’s, sporting a short bob, she elucidates, “Back when I cut my hair into this bob, perms were all the rage. Bob-cuts came into fashion a few years later but by then I had, of course, moved on to something else.”
In another image, from 2002, she has an unruly mane, bleached at the ends. “People were mostly opting for neat, straight haircuts in those days,” she reveals. “They’d come up to me and tell me that though they loved my hair, they wouldn’t be able to maintain such a hairstyle. A few years later, when the style became common, suddenly they were all able to carry it off. Every hairstyle has to be worn in a particular way … and I’ve always carried my hair very well.”
As a case in point, she points to a photograph of herself from 2005, taken by Amean J. The image itself is glamorous and sophisticated but the text accompanying it reads,
“More in control of things professionally, I battled with my weight, which was spiraling out of control. I started to use my hair to hide my face.”
“I got away with being overweight for such a long time because no matter what, I made sure I looked good,” she admits. “While this photograph looks great, this was actually a time when I was hiding my face with my hair and avoiding mirrors. Then, one day, while doing yoga, I looked at my own reflection and decided that I would either shed off the extra pounds or die!”
 Nabila took on the challenge head-on, dieted sensibly and brought her weight down, a feat that most women in their 40’s would declare close to impossible. But then again, for Nabila, setting goals and making sure she achieves them comes naturally. As she explains, “I’ve always done things my way. I have never settled for what life gives me. There are so many people who compromise and then whine about their problems for the rest of their lives. Instead, I’ve found ways to overcome obstacles and do what I want to do. Why should I settle when I can maneuver things around and make sure they go my way?”
And while at this point in her life, as one of Pakistan’s most successful female entrepreneurs, it may be easy to have such faith in herself, Nabila always opted to pave her own path, even when she was young, even when she didn’t know what she wanted to do with her life…
Nabila changes… her life
“I’m told I was born with attitude and if I was a freak – I must have been – then I didn’t know it. But how else can I explain wearing a white satin maxi with my favorite brown leather boots to my sister’s wedding?”
– Nabila Changes
 As a teenager Nabila once returned home with an Afro perm. “I got the beating of my life, then,” she laughs. “My parents were always fretting over me, wondering what I’d do next. In fact, they’re still like that, although they do have more faith in me now! But back then, I was the troublemaker who always had a prank up her sleeve. If I had been my mother, I would have recognized my creativity because even when I was being naughty, I would do it in such a unique, offbeat manner. I would construct lizards and dress up as a ‘bhoot’ … and would subsequently get the thrashing of my life.”
Fortunately for her, her husband was more easygoing about her creative urges. Marriage came at an early age for Nabila and it gave her wings to pursue her dreams. “I got married at 19 and by my family’s viewpoint, it was a late age. My sister had gotten married at 14,” she says. “Once I was married, I could do whatever I pleased. My husband was the tenth out of 11 siblings and since there was no space left in the family home for us, I was lucky enough to have my own apartment from the very onset of my marriage. I ran my home as efficiently as I run my salon and business now. I delegated and supervised and even though I had given birth to two sons by the age of 21, my house was always spotless and my children immaculate. I was a high-heeled, hands-on mom with perfect hair, who made it all look so easy. I would want to go out every weekend and I would work hard for that late night out. My children would be asleep early and I’d leave the maid with a brand new Indian movie and be back home within two and a half hours, before the movie ended. In my personal life, as in my professional life, I always found a way to do things in my own way.”
With her well-ordered life running smoothly, Nabila tried her hand at art, played around with photography, danced, traveled and studied for a bachelors degree. She also cut hair, her own as well as for friends and family.
“I had already been dabbling in various genres of art and knew that I would inevitably get involved in one of them … that vision came from my ‘waxing lady’, who literally admonished me to get the training and start cutting hair professionally.”
– Nabila Changes
 “I remember coming back home and looking at my home’s 8x8 servant quarter, thinking that with a mirror here and a sink attached there, it could be turned into a small salon,” says Nabila. “I discussed it with my sister and she volunteered to take care of one of my sons while I went away for training. My husband offered to take care of my other son. I wanted my training as a stylist to be my own personal achievement and so, instead of asking my husband for money, I sold my wedding diamond set and left for a 35 week training course at Vidal Sassoon in London.
“In retrospect, it sounds like such a monumental decision but back then, it just made so much sense. Of course I missed my children terribly but at least they were so young that they hardly realized that I was gone,” she surmises.
When she returned, Nabila’s first few clients were family, friends and neighbors and then by word of mouth, the customers kept coming in. “I had been cutting hair for people even before but for free. I’d never charged them because earlier, I didn’t have any professional training. Now, with the right training, I started taking a very low fee for my haircuts. I’d save up and then leave for more training. I wanted people to treat me as an expert, the way they treat a dentist. When you go to a dentist, you tell him what you want but then, once he starts his work, you don’t question him on what he’s doing. I wanted the same respect from my customers and I could only get it by being informed and well-trained in my field. This is why even now I still place a high priority on going abroad for different training courses every now and then.”
“And right from the first day … I didn’t advertise because I was my own best publicist.” – Nabila Changes
Nabila changes... for the better!
With multiple training courses to her credit, a penchant for innovation and a fine eye for aesthetics, Nabila’s career sped on. From the servants’ quarter to the house’s kitchen to the corridor to a separate salon; from a one-woman enterprise to a multi-staffed salon; from the most affordable hairdresser to the most expensive one; from a women’s parlor to a men’s salon, a spa and then, a nail bar.
Her clientele became more diverse. Her first celebrity clients were actresses Babra Sharif and Neeli, who both came for their makeup on the same day, for a BBC documentary.
“Babra opened the celebrity corridor when we met, almost 20 years ago, and women followed in her footsteps wanting the same magic she had been touched with.” – Nabila Changes
 “I didn’t work with Neeli after that one appointment because her career was on the wane by that time,” recalls Nabila. “Babra, on the other hand, became my best friend. Other celebrities just followed, some wanting just a haircut or styling, others requiring complete makeovers. One of the most challenging looks I worked on was Shoaib Akhtar’s. He had such a weathered look about him, with scanty hair. I tried to make his appearance softer with a wispy, layered cut.”
Professional challenges were accompanied by personal obstacles. When her children entered their teens, she sought to improve communication with them. “I tried – and succeeded – in becoming less of a mother and more of a confidante and friend for them,” she remembers. After a 22 year long marriage, Nabila and her husband decided to divorce and while the separation itself must have been painful, Nabila feels that at the time, it was necessary.
“My children were already grown up and living abroad so their lives weren’t affected by our divorce. My first husband and I had drifted apart and it felt wrong to continue the relationship. When I look back, I am glad we divorced for the right reasons because a few years later, I met Emu,” she says, referring to her second marriage to the Fuzon keyboardist.
Nabila and Emu met at an awards function and he pursued her while she, on her part, was initially more keen on styling his hair! Eventually, the two decided to marry. “Good food, traveling and lots of fights, that’s how Emu and I make our relationship work!” she smiles.
“At 40 I resolved to declutter my life. I reconfigured my relationships, my home, communication with my kids and the way I managed finances and my career … Today it (life) is mercurial.”
– Nabila Changes
 “There’s so much going on in my life right now,” she reveals. “I am planning to launch a product line of my own. I also continue to be creative consultant for L’Oreal, a job I enjoy. In addition, I have a reality TV show in the pipeline. I am producing the show on my own and it focuses on makeovers with the use of styling as well as science, where necessary. There are people who are scared of plastic surgery but I feel that you only live once and you should change anything and everything that makes you unhappy. It could mean changing your career, your lifestyle, your weight or even your nose!”
Busy with new plans and projects, Nabila prefers to stay away from Pakistan’s spate of multiple fashion weeks. “The fashion fraternity needs to sort themselves out and I’ll only be interested once they sort of their clutter and streamline the events,” she opines. Meanwhile, her upcoming reality show is going to be titled, once again, Nabila Changes. An apt title to refer to the work of a woman who has always held fast to her beliefs and hasn’t been afraid to maneuver and change life in order to fulfill her dreams. ‘Change is the only constant,” says a line in the book and while Nabila does change all the time – may it be her hair, her ambitions, her weight or her lifestyle – she always does it with great conviction, great finesse and always, always for the better.
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