Metro Atlanta Hairstylist Celebrates Decades In The Salon Industry

by Black Enterprise
December 22, 2025

Zalika Broady talked to BLACK ENTERPRISE about how she has perfected her craft while keeping the timeless salon experience.

For over 20 years, one metro Atlanta hairstylist has kept her clients looking their best with her signature bobs and luxury salon experience.

Zalika Broady of Z Mahogany Suites has felt an affinity to haircare since she was a teenager. That innate passion grew into a longtime business with loyal clients to match. As she perfected her craft and elevated an industry by providing a lush yet comforting experience for every hair appointment, Broady, largely known as Zee, has become a game-changer in the haircare industry.

Her commitment to her clients comes from this standard of providing excellent service as she emerged as a professional in the game. In her younger years, she remembered the feeling she had while in the salon. It was the conversation, the energy, and the exchange of hopes, worries, and joy that she wanted to replicate in her own space.

“Anytime I would go get my hair done, the feel of a salon or I guess back then we would call it a shop, that whole vibe felt good, from the music and the conversations,” Zee tells BLACK ENTERPRISE. “I would just be in awe of how someone would come in and then how they would leave… I just love the transformation and the environment of the salon.”

She has fostered that same feeling in her own salon. The proof lies in her busy and booked schedule. Broady took off as a trailblazer in the haircare game by perfecting what many, including herself, deem her signature style, the “bob” look.

The popular “short but medium” hair length has become a classic go-to style for many women, with Broady cutting the style even before it regained its current popularity nationally. Broady sharpened her blades and her vision to create a top-tier “bob” execution to fit any head.

Celebrating multiple decades in any industry is a considerable accomplishment, and one that Broady does not take lightly. While she is a proud salon owner now, she believes getting her start under the tutelage of mentors and other owners played a key role in her success. A natural learner, growing from those that paved the way has made the difference.

As for her “Z factor,” Broady believes clients keep returning due to her authenticity and evident passion for making them as beautiful outside as they are inside.

“I would say just me being my authentic self, I think people like that about me,” Broady explains. “They like the fact they can grow with me … they see my growth. It just shows that I’m passionate about the industry,”

As a mother of two and a salon owner for nearly a decade, Broady remains busy, but stays on top of it all through the help of her dynamic team. Wanting to keep that same reliable and helpful environment that shaped her early career, many of her employees are considered ‘Day 1s” for Broady, who continue to shine as the salon grows.

“They respect me as who I am, because I’ve provided this environment for everybody to succeed,” she says. “See [at] Z Mahogany [Suites], it’s like when you come there, I teach a lot. I teach them the way … and everyone has grown as an individual when they come to the salon.” The salon staff has a “you take care of me, I take care of you” mentality, Zee shared.

Zee, who just turned 41, has a lot left on her to-do list, even if she does not know exactly what’s next. While she’s more strict on taking new clients, wanting to maintain the consistent feel with who sits in her chair, she knows she is in the tail-end of her career as a stylist. However, she remains dedicated to providing that old-school feeling of community in the chairs, just with modern amenities and hairstyles that can keep up.

In the meantime, the metro Atlanta hairstylist remains a titan for any bob-look, which she will always recommend, especially for the holiday season.

RELATED CONTENT: Holiday Gift Guide To Healthy Haircare Products—And They’re All Black-Owned

Source link