September 9, 2014

The Hair Care: Black Women Find a Business Opportunity that are Growing

Not many seem unusual game point, and Kadeian Brown in a neat square Flatbush, Brooklyn, a community, it seems that each block has its own African hair braiding salon storefront church off the street.

African-American women's long, smooth hair posters fill the window. Abdominal round cans of shea butter on the shelves of slender hair dye box. Wig perched on the model's head.

What makes black girl divine beauty products and salon visitors made ​​Double-Take is everyone's complexion. "I go," Look at all the faces on the box, '"said Judian Brown, recalling other shopkeepers and customers surprised when they realize that she is not an employee, but the owner. "Who should have these stores?"


Brown Sisters "is a multibillion dollar industry, a small shop, focusing on things both a political flash point of pride and black women: their hair, however, Brown is selling hair products, such as relaxation, curl cream, wigs and hair braided black women, not just in New York, but one of the owners of about 10,000 in the store only a few hundred black around the country. vast majority of Korean-American owners, this phenomenon can be traced to have stimulated since tensions between black consumers and an ethnic Korean businessman what some black people see in profit from the 1970s, and shut down the other.

This imbalance growing awareness encourage more black people to hang out their own shingles. Products have changed, too: as a "going natural" - abandoned in favor of natural human hair texture smooth curls and braids - has become more popular and the Internet expanded, black entrepreneurs, most of whom are women , are claiming a larger share of women a medicine cabinet shelves.

"We know where we want to go to the dollar, we know that our per force, we realized that we choose to wear our hair the way cultural significance," founder Patrice Grell Yursik said the Afrobella, a popular natural hair blog. "There has been a lot of power to recover, many are from the Internet."

Blog showing dozens flock to the industry to test new products, view their readers and social media distribution in the word. Thousands of women watching natural hair tutorial on YouTube. Rochelle Graham - Campbell's line, Alikay America, she has passed her YouTube video marketing is one of the most successful independent brands, including hair and Oyin Handmade, has gained traction online and in retail spot on the shelves.

Nevertheless, there is nothing better than brick-and-mortar stores in order to facilitate, and have the opportunity to touch and sniff creams, beauty products like these prompted the Institute, Atlanta groups, began training blacks to open their own stores.

Ownership issue has been filled for years. Some customers complained that black South Korean managers to follow them around the store, as if they suspected shoplifting. Some black wig shop owner accused of wholesalers and manufacturers, most of which also have refused to do business with people from South Korea, but other Koreans.

2006 documentary Korean industry was prompted Aron Ranen dominance of some black women to participate in the boycott of Korean-owned stores. Mr. Ranen had recorded one in Pittsburgh, California, where a black store owner is accused of setting fire to a nearby Korean-owned stores.

Korean immigrants began in the 1960s, when the wig is South Korea's top exports to enter the United States made a business. Hair is not much of a leap retail.

And lack of competition: middle of the century, many black women to buy their products door-to-door salesman. Several shops dedicated to hair care products. White fly off a lot of white-owned stores, clearing the way for Korean companies.

"A lot of people think that these people are from black owners put it away, but that is not the case," Lori Tharps, co-author of the book says: "Hair Story: untie black hair root in the United States."

"They are creating a new business," she added. "They just do it where no one wants to open a shop."

Western saying among Korean immigrants said, "who pick you up at the airport is the one who gave you a job," either in beauty products or fruits and vegetables, dry cleaners and nail salon and other South Korean-led businesses.

For Tony Parks, 45, who owns the Flatbush Avenue prospects Sugar on beauty products, and Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn, prove to be correct. Like many other Korean shopkeeper, he began working in the industry to move to the United States after a friend of his shop. He saved to open his own shop around four years ago: a dream, saying Mr. America Park.

Kaysong Lee wrote in the publishing industry in South Korea and the United Kingdom publication, said he was simmering anger directed at South Korea boss, many of whom turned to the business, they turned away, because the traditional career path shocked language obstacles. He believes that competition between a beautiful Korean Times column stores in March has lower prices, black consumers.

"Despite the challenges, Korean Americans opened their business in the heart of African-American community, at an affordable price with quality beauty-related products," he wrote. "It does not make any sense to treat these industrious Korean-American entrepreneurs as a band of criminals."

Black people running their own stores, said South Korea to ensure that the accounts with major wholesalers may be difficult because they require retailers to buy in bulk to qualify for discounts. For the first time in Korea boss, who can participate in the established fee owners or other retailers separatist forces, which tend to be smooth, not only because wholesalers are sometimes provided to other Korean simpler terms.

Outside Detroit, Princess Hill opens an area that black-owned company, as she scarce, she called the move to the second part of her beauty supply store catering black women, "the people who can not afford to make your power come back."

She found that she would have to provide 10,000 berets are eligible for a 50% discount and free shipping - an impossible deal, because she could sell 100 beret within a year.

As a result, customers may complain, said: "Our products can be more than a quarter, or 50 cents or a dollar, compared with South Korea's shops, they really do not understand why," she said. Other black boss to face complaints that they do not have enough product.

But the young, natural black hair consumers - "naturalistas," some call them - more than ever, their dollars go to more awareness, as well as what happens in their hair.

They are women like Corinthia Alvarez, 25, nursing students in Brooklyn, who spent several hours a day by scrolling Instagram, and watch YouTube videos and read reviews to learn about new products and styles, and then try their own . She also spent her hair up to 80 months.

"You have your phone bill, you have your cable bill, then you have to buy your hair products," she Fulton Street in downtown Brooklyn, where the model's face in a recent hair shop, from alluringly behind their curtains peep outside, said the afternoon, in a wig dozen styles and colors. "Melah" wore blond streaked shares fell swoop, "Jesse" A copper red bob; platinum blond curls cascading "Yara's" shoulders.

Ms. Alvarez's latest acquisition: curly hair, "Brewer cream" whipped cream curl. "I take a lot of pride in my hair," she said. "If my hair does not look pretty, I do not think I'm beautiful."

In South Florida, Alikay Naturals Graham - Ms. Campbell recently made the biggest of her career she announced nearly 100,000 YouTube user: Her line of organic hair oil, oil and air conditioning black woman, her products have been cooked her own kitchen, was hit on the shelves of Target stores.

Graham - Ms. Campbell, 27, began her business $ 100 as a college student, to sell their products on YouTube, and sales in the Etsy. Now, her film can view up to 200,000 fans to draw from.

"They want to know who is behind the brand face?" She said. "You can with my hair, you can compete with me, my natural journey?"

Most importantly, she said, she likes to see her picture on Alikay a letter from a woman who bottle. They told her that they tell their children:. "Some people say that the product looks like you do."

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