by
Black Girl With Long Hair
When Chris Rock’s film Good Hair was released there was a lot of noise made about the fact that most of the people profiting from the massive Black hair industry are not actually Black. It seems everyone is benefitting financially from our collective addiction to hair that we don’t actually grow.
A few weeks ago Mintel, the market research firm reported that over the past five years there was a 26% decline in the sale of hair relaxers. Natural hair sites all over the place did the hallelujah dance and many in the natural hair community greeted the news with excitement. The idea that more Black women are beginning to embrace ethnically Black hair (i.e. natural hair) is one that makes many of us happy.
The numbers were truly astounding.
Now, granted I haven’t seen 70% of Black women in my area with naturals (and I suspect part of that decrease is due to the prevalence of hair weaves…), but the numbers are encouraging nonetheless.
But when I read the report, in addition to getting hyped over the increase in naturals, I was instantly reminded of Civil Rights era bus boycotts. Specifically the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott.
Why? Because just like the Montgomery boycott, for the savvy Black owned hair company, the numbers in that report can mean the difference between financial independence—or not.
And our decisions as Black consumers may make all the difference.
History in Context
For those who don’t remember the details of the bus boycotts, here’s the quick version.
After slavery, Black passengers were treated like scum third class citizens under legal segregation. This was especially true when it came to public transportation. After countless incidents where Black passengers were forced to either give up their seats for White passengers, kicked off of buses all together or subjected to racial violence terrorism, the Black community began to boycott the transportation system and demanded equal treatment.
The Montgomery Boycott is one of the more famous protests. It lasted over a year and was a tremendous display of Black people really owning their monetary power. Despite the fact that Whites in Montgomery were completely unwilling to provide non-racist equal service to Black bus patrons, they very much wanted the money that Black patrons spent on bus tickets.
During the boycott, Black taxi drivers stepped up to provide increased services. Black churches across the nation raised money and collected shoes to support the folks who chose to walk to work rather than submit to racist Jim Crow policies. The Black community rallied to keep Black folks mobile—and financially independent—during the boycott.
However…in the pivotal moments after the boycott’s successful end, the Black community returned to riding buses operated by racist bus company owners.
But what if instead of giving racist bus owners their transportation dollars going back to business as usual, Black patrons decided to keep their money circulating in their own community? What if during the boycott, the Black community created and maintained its own bus companies, met its own transportation needs and circulated those dollars within its own borders?
What if instead of celebrating the fact that racists bus owners could no longer openly discriminate, the Black community rejoiced—and then decided it neither needed nor wanted to spend its money with those companies? What if instead, those boycotters chose to take their hard earned money and give it to Black owned bus companies that respected them and their humanity?
Natural Hair Dollars and The Power of Choice
Now, what this have to do with the decrease in relaxers and increase in Black women who are choosing natural hair alternatives?
It all comes down to choices.
Because believe it or not, the natural hair community is also at a pivotal moment. We are literally shifting the commerce of the Black hair economy to one that rejects the idea that one must have straight hair in order to be deemed socially acceptable. And since Black women spend a hell of a lot of money on hair care, that shift is under some intense industry scrutiny.
You see, natural hair websites were not the only ones reviewing that report.
You can bet your lace front wig that large commercial hair product companies are keenly aware that they are losing money in the hair relaxer market. Anyone who has watched 5 minutes of BET lately knows that companies like Pantene and L’Oreal are hitting the airwaves hard to promote their new products for “naturals.” They’ve even adopted similar language, using terms like “co-wash,” “curl defining,” and “clarifying” to describe their products.
It’s not because all of a sudden they changed their mind and decided that nappy/kinky/coily hair is beautiful. It’s because they are losing money to natural hair companies owned and operated by Black women. Companies like Going Natural, Karen’s Body Beautiful, Doris New York and Shea Moisture. And they aren’t going down without a fight.
So now the natural community must choose how to spend our money and whom we will support with our economic power.
Will we reward companies that played on our insecurities for decades? Will we support companies who profited by reinforcing a standard of beauty that was designed to exclude Black women and our hair?
Or will we instead choose to support companies started by Black women for Black women? Will we reward those companies founded by sistas working in their kitchens who took the time to blend safe, natural ingredients in ways designed to promote the beauty and health of Black hair?
Or will we…not?
Just like those involved in the bus boycotts we have demonstrated our monetary potential. We’ve shown that “going natural” isn’t just a trend and it is here to stay. Now we have to decide if we will throw our economic might behind those businesses in our own community who believe in the beauty inherent in who we are—or if we will continue in a (bad) tradition of supporting those outside our community who have shown little loyalty to our needs.
Lurie is an attorney and the author of “Afro State of Mind: Memories of a Nappy Headed Black Girl. You can find her on Twitter,Facebook and YouTube.
116 Responses
Black owned businesses need to update the logo’s on their products, eg, the proud lady, and keep up with the latest hair movement, like the natural hair movement as a lot of non-black owned businesses are already moving in and capitalizing off of this, with mis-leading terms or names/website names like http://www.nubian(fill in the blank). Those who made sacrifices for my freedom and rights are important and in my case I don’t mind spending that extra buck to support a black business. After all with the black unemployment rate always in the double digits, what white or other ethnic business is supporting or making sacrifices for me?
I do want to support black owned companies, but al lot of their products are a lot more expensive then the products from the non-black owned companies.
I use organic root stimulator and just found out that is was black owned, but not any more.
I really like the product and it is affortable, so i dont want to stop using it because it isnt black owned any more.
And i have been reading that a lot of the black owned businesses “sell out” and getting taking over by big non black owned companies.
Is that true?
So what would be a good way for me to support the black owned companies without going over my budget?
And shouldn´t the black owned companies keep their ground more for us costumers to be able to support them?
Exactly
I completely agree and actually but up a list of black owned and non black owned companies and products on my blog in march. And no I am not advertising my blog, I haven’t even posted since may so just check out the list, I have about a 100 brand names there so you know what to buy. I did my research by checking multiple sources, emailing companies, and messaging them on fb. kk, hope you enjoy.
That’s one the main reasons why so many black owned business don’t well. Black people, we need to support our people
That is a MAJOR reason not just black-owned business don’t do well, but all Black people in general. No one is free unless we are all free and does with such a@@inine reasons not to buy from black businesses just because it is a Black business, especially a black person should just be left behind. We can not afford to keep dragging them along anymore.
My husband and I have this conversation often. Matter of fact, he gave a speech a few weeks ago on the topic of integration being the death of the Black business class & touched upon the subject of immigrants coming to this country, pooling their funds & working together to start businesses & reinvesting in their own communities. He opened this business almost 20 yrs ago & 99% of our customer base is Black & we have always been conscientious about dealing with other BOB whenever possible. We do differ on our approach, though. I believe in convenience & value for dollar, he wants to give as much business as possible to Black ppl. I like a good deal & I like to save whenever possible. We have every right to be discerning stewards of how much we spend & how we spend it. Specifically to the issue of hair products, everybody & their mama is jumping on the bandwagon to sell natural, organic hair & beauty products. Of course, we can’t buy from every company we hear about on Youtube or this website. Some of these folks charge ridiculous prices for their products. What I put on my hair gets washed down the drain. I’m not paying $16 for so-called organic, all natural shampoo or $20 for 8ozs of conditioner. That’s not a good use of the $ my husband works so hard to earn. I categorize my spending into necessity and want. Hair products are not a necessity, though I do enjoy ordering & trying new things within reason & when there’s a sale or coupon code. For various & complex reasons there is a schism within Black America & we can’t solve it on this website. Some Black folks will not spend a dime with other Black folks. Ppl tell my husband to his face that they don’t want to do business with him bc he’s Black & he tells them that they have a slave mentality & he moves on to the next customer. We should support our own and do my part in all avenues but I don’t care who’s selling or offering a service, if it’s not a necessity & if the cost is too high & I’m not dying to have it, I will be keeping my $ in my pocket.
Lauryn Hill – Consumerism http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFPhKf_dg7g
I LOVED this article. Thank you for having the courage to speak out on this during this historical time–one being the natural hair renaissance and the other the so-called “post-racial era”. Carol’s Daughter and Jane Carter are also black women with thriving natural hair companies. I think of this every time I run into a beauty supply shop near my house where I run in to get marley hair or bobby pins and always think that the money I give to THEM (in this case not white but Korean, I believe) does not go back into my community although they are profiting off of my community. I also do not get treated with love or appreciation when I am shopping but rather suspicion. Not! Ok! I try to keep my purchases there minimal because I prefer to spend money with companies who appreciate my natural beauty and work within the black community such as Shea Moisture (owned by lovely people!!) To all my sistas who think this is divisive, wake up and realize the power of your dollar as a black consumer.
I will buy from whoever makes a quality product that works for my hair. I’m all for supporting each other and making one another successful. However, I will not stop buying things that work for me because the maker of the product doesn’t share my skin tone.
Interesting article and excellent points raised, but I’d also like to add a factor that hasn’t been mention yet and that these black-owned businesses need to incorporate other markets outside of the US.
I’m South African and live in South Africa and can say with certainity that there is a huge market to tap into yet we don’t see any brand presence of companies like Shea Moisture and Carol’s Daughters,etc. These companies need to be more globally competitive and develop an expansion strategy outside of the US. I’ve seen on many natural blogs in South Africa and Nigeria an interest in sampling these products, but they are inaccessible. Beauty houses like Tressemme, Garnier, Dark n Lovely have strong presence in these markets because they saw a gap and seized the opportunity. African economies are growing at an exception pace, particularly the middle to upper class population.
Importing black owned business products would be a nightmare, these ridiculous shipping costs and as well regulatory issues (ie if a certain ingriedent is not allowed within the borders ofa certain country, the product will be seized by custom officials). Distribution channels in any business is vital.
#food for thought!!!!
Again, black owned hair companies aren’t yet big enough to expand to places like South Africa straight away. Brands like Shea Moisture and Oyin Handmade are now sold in the UK though so trust me they are getting there. They just need the support from those of us here first!
Wouldn’t it make more sense for SOUTH AFRICANS to start their OWN beauty supply businesses and natural hair products? Somehow the Indians can set up shop in East and Southern Africa with no problem. What’s going on? In Africa there is a much larger consumer base potential than anywhere on the planet for this industry. Don’t wait on imports…start your own!
I like this article and it makes some EXCELLENT points but personally, I prefer a happy medium of being a “conscious consumer.”
I will NOT buy the Dark and Lovely line for natural hair nor Dr. Miracles or other relaxer brands because I 1. don’t their business models of hating natural hair until they need natural hair dollars and 2. I don’t like them overcharging for crap products.
But I also WON’T buy Miss Jessies or Mixed Chicks because 1. I don’t like their business models and 2. I don’t like them overcharging for crap products.
Will I buy Aussie Products and Sally Beauty Supply products? Yup because my conscience isn’t bothered. It doesn’t have to be a zero sum game, support the companies you like and don’t support the ones you don’t.
This is by far one of the best articles I’ve read on this blog UNFORTUNATELY it will fall on death ears. Just by reading a few of the comments you can see that:
ONE: Some Black people expect a product produced by black owned companies to be the same price as a company that has been on the shelf for years! This goes to show that the majority don’t have any real “business sense” what so ever! Guess what people Flat Screen TV’s were very expensive years ago and now they are much more affordable. WHY? Because things take time… eventually the tools/equipment needed to make them got cheaper so the prices dropped. But people still purchased them when the prices were high.
TWO: Black people really don’t care about what is going on within our community or to even better our community by keeping our dollars within our community. We don’t manage our money properly and think that buying a $15 dollar product that has all natural ingredients and is black owned is TOO EXPENSIVE.. Seriously?? The last I checked Black women made this a billion dollar industry by buying weaves/perms and purchasing products made by non-black owned companies BUT NOW all of a sudden when they go natural they become cheap when before they were spending over $100 a month on something that will support OTHER communities but now that we have the advantage to help our community we get cheap!!
THIRD: The mindset of having ONE bad customer service experience with a Black owned business and then telling all your friends to never shop there is DISGUSTING!! I can’t count how many bad stories I hear from friends regarding customer service from non-black owned business but they continue to go back. But black people don’t/won’t to give a black owned business another chance and will cut them off completely. Our community is A JOKE!!
Great article but Black people would rather COMPLAIN THEN CHANGE!! We will complain about not having anything within our community but now when we have the chance to change that we turn ours backs. Oh well…
No one is comparing a small start up black community to a tresemme or herbal essence hair company. Yes, black people don’t mind spending $100’s on weaves/wigs etc., But look at what they’re paying for and how long the said products last? I don’t care WHO the company is, I will not $15 for a small product that will last 5 days. ESPECIALLY when I can get it for $4-7 cheaper. When black women are spending $500 for a weave or a wig, it lasts them for weeks or not YEARS. To compare a $15 bottle of shea butter & water to weaves/wigs is incomparable, and that’s what you don’t understand.
What products are you using that last a week??? Sounds like user error…lol.. My products last me a month because I use them correctly. But maybe that’s just me.
To justify why black women are willing to spend hundreds of dollars on weave and NOT on products that will nurture their OWN NATURAL hair and will further benefit black owned businesses is exactly the problem. We see “other people’s hair” as more of an investment versus investing in our own.
But like I stated this was a great article that has and will fall on death ears!
i’m not a product junky so i don’t have much i need to buy.
my i mostly use three products – cleanser/shampoo, conditioner and moisturizer.
my moisturizer is qhemet biologics. it’s the best one i’ve tried and i don’t care to look for another.
i’m prone to changing to two former ones though.
WHAT DO WE DEFINE AS “BLACK OWNED BUSINESS”?
I consider myself to be “Black”. Black meaning a descendant of African enslaved persons brought to North America during the horrific transatlantic slave trade. With that being said, there is a difference between myself and an African or Afro-Latin person (immigrant or otherwise); particularly culturally.
To keep it real, when I patronize African businesses, they generally see me as a Black American, and not one of them. Therefore, when I think of this discussion about supporting Black-owned businesses I’m referring to BLACK people, not African or African-American (latin) businesses.
**And NO, this isn’t an invitation to discuss what we call ourselves. The whos have been defined in the 1st paragraph for the purpose of this comment. I’m making this distinction because many of the negative comments made about Asian/White owned businesses, I’ve received from African-owned businesses. So, my following comments are in regards to BLACK-owned business (per my definition).
When it comes to hair care I stopped buying products and began mixing my own. Primarily because many of the products marketed to Black people have EDCs (estrogen & endocrine-disrupting chemicals) that affect reproductive health and other areas of our body negatively which is a part of greater population control agenda for African descendants worldwide. Also, I found many of the products to be useless (anti-shrinkage, defined curl). All my hair needs is to be clean & moist and natural ingredients do that just fine! So this to me is about a broader topic.
I agree with the article about why we should support Black owned businesses. The parallel to the boycott movement may have been a stretch. But watching other communities (mainly immigrants) flourish by “keeping it the family” reminds me of a time pre-civil rights movement when Black people circulated dollars within their community. It also reminds me of the Great Migration out of the South when people like my family moved to California and setup their own neighborhoods and took pride in themselves and their community and everybody had a relative that owned a business. It made a huge difference.
When it comes to supporting Black-owned businesses as a whole people need to get over the following:
HIGH PRICES: Most black owned businesses are small companies. The cost to produce a product and pay overhead cost them more than a mega-corporation. You are typically purchasing a “boutique” product and boutique costs more than Walmart 🙂 If you pay $100+/month for cable (entertainment) you really shouldn’t complain about paying a little more for products that maintain the wellbeing of your body. Balance please.
BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE: This is not exclusive to Black owned businesses. But if you do have a bad experience TALK TO THE OWNER. You know many Black owned businesses got cousin & auntie workin! LOL. And family sometimes don’t know how to act. Most Black business owners want to do well especially when they choose to do business in Black neighborhoods. And sometimes they are unaware of what’s happening when they aren’t around.
What we are really discussing here is NEPOTISM. And like other commentators have said, all other groups do this; we’re the only suckers duped into thinking it’s a no-no. Besides, I typcially receive a have a warm rapport when I patronize my people; a shared understanding of trying to make it and helping them make it.
I just hope that once we give all our money for support they become rich they don’t sell the company. I don’t think white own hair product company were decimating against our hair ( like the bus problem), I just think they don’t know what was good for our hair. I did not know what was good for my hair, until I start watching young. Smart black women on youtube. Remember we did not like our hair to we hid behind wigs, perms. And many white and black companies gave us the tools to do it. Asians gave us fake hair and for many years we praised them for it and gave our money willingly, until years later we saw the effects of the monster (ourself) we created, bald edges, bald crowns, bald spots.
Bottom line (for me), I created this mess and I’m not going to blame any company black , white, or Asian. I’m going to get on my own bus or the best bus. Make sound decisions. I’m not going to ride a bus for $30 when I can get to the same destination for $7.
I love Shea Moisture and did not know it was black owned until recently. Great product and reasonably priced.
@ Deedeemaha yes they might sell there later on, they might sell it to another black owned company who knows. Some white owned companies are definitely destroying our hair to make a profit. Yes we did not know how to properly care for our hair in the past but that was the past and we are smarter know, now we know better and should do better, same goes for spending our money with black people we know that in the long run it will make us better off economically (every other race seems to know this but us) no one is saying that you should go out and buy expensive hair products just because a black person is selling it we are saying that if all things are equal (quality and price) then why not buy the black owned hair product. At the end of the it’s YOUR money and YOU can choice who you want to support with it, some large company that makes millions (by selling us products with ingredients that they think we like, while still including ingredients that are bad for our hair) OR an all natural reasonably priced product owned by a black person. I agree with this author 100%.
products from black owned companies come smaller in size and more expensive. yes they may use quality ingredients and it may be ideal but it doesn’t mean its convenient. im a student living in canada and dont have access to a lot of these products. if i even considered buying them ill have to ship them from the states. not only is the product expensive but shipping is ridiculous that is if they will even ship here at all. and the shops that do sell natural care products, if you see the price tags on the products you will shed a tear.
and can i just ask, if i can get oils, powders and herbs from indian shops (which they bring in for their own people) under $5, tell me why i should pay $20 for an oil (a small bottle in fact) because its some “proprietary blend” aimed for kinky hair? its the same reason i wasnt phased about the weave aimed for specifically curly/kinky hair. $139-$199? for a pack? because it blends better with my hair? when i can get 4-6 bundles from aliexpress for $200 or an already made wig for $90? all kinky/curly by the way. i mean really come one. am i the only one who cringes at this? i feel that that would hinder the progress of black business especially in the beauty industry because not everyone would have access unless their aim is only people with money to spend. and if thats the case then other races will continue to dominate the market. why shouldnt my friends and i continue going to walmart and the beauty supply store? or even if we buy natural, organic products, buy it from a health food store owned by someone of a different race?
i really want to support black owned business, i would love to see it blossom and grow. but how can i if you are asking for an arm and leg? im not ready to support another if im still working to support myself. maybe i think this way because like i said im a student and im still working towards getting to a point in my life where i can afford these luxuries (yes using a $30 conditioner that lasts 2-3 uses in my hair sounds like a luxury to me).
so i leave the supporting of black owned business to the women who can afford to support it. i have a little ways to go till i get there.
*we are all equal limbo
@GSoldier i soo agree with you…it’s like most black people are scared to make themselves and others who look like them better economically and otherwise. but they are not afraid to lift up and praise other races, I swear some of this stupid way of thinking is as a result of the aftermath of slavery. no one is saying that you have to buy from a black owned business just because it is black owned but if all things are equal product quality, price etc then why would you not buy from the black owned company. Every other race realizes that it is important to own and operate things that pertains to them but not black people they would rather give their money to any other race than their own. when you ask the Chinese if they would buy from you they say “no we only buy from our own” (watch hidden colors), and the same for other races they support each other, and that’s one of the reasons why they are financially better off than black people, that’s also one of the reason why they can come to this country and do better than black people who have been in this country for a long time and other black people that also migrated from another country (diasporian black people, because they keep there money in their community. On the other hand most black people find every lame excuse in the book as to why they don’t support another black person, “there customer service is bad” okay then find another black owned company with good costumer service I’m there are quite a few. On the other hand that’s why black people are poor and will continue to be poor if we don’t change and start valuing ourselves more. Some black people Some black people also sing that were all limbo, NO WERE NOT, WE SHOULD BE BUT FOR RIGHT NOW WE’RE NOT. The only way we are ever going to be be equal is if we have the monetary power to support ourselves fully and demand our equality.
btw long time reader first time commenter… I love this blog 🙂
You summed up everything perfectly. Thank you!!
Anyone remember back in the late 70s or 80s the company Revlon the CEO made a statement about how black hair businesses will never make it, anyone remember that, and the black hair businesses said to boycott their products…this is a good article, but…the support, ummm?
Great report! I’ve been meaning to write a similar post after seeing so many “relaxer” companies come up with their own line of “Natural” hair product lines. I for one won’t purchase such products even if they’re being sold for $1. Any one who knows the history of Black hair companies and the take over by white would not support any white owned black haircare companies.
Small black owned businesses still has a long way to go in order to gain the level of popularity and be as competitive with the Giants.
This isn’t a form of segregation, but just a way to support each other because if Blacks aren’t supporting Blacks, who would. Besides, the whites, Indians, Chinese and other groups support each other!
themanecaptain.blogspot.ca
I totally agree with this concept, but our producers and suppliers must also step up to the plate and provide services and prices that are just as competitive if not better than non-black owned companies. In fact, there is no reason why we can’t take over the rest of the market too! Great article and commendable idea!
http://frauwyler.blogspot.ch/2013/10/good-hair.html
I believe that buying from Black-owned businesses is really important — especially for beauty-related things. Because of this, I try to maximize the amount of purchases I make from Black-owned businesses.
For hair, I use Shea Moisture and I also like Njoi Creations on Etsy. For skin, I buy unrefined shea butter from Black-owned businesses at flea markets. For make-up, I use Valana Minerals Stardust Luxury Mineral Foundation.
In the future, I will try other Black-owned hair care companies. For now, the ones I’ve listed above work best for my grad student budget.
I agree with the points in this article. However, the prices from some Black owned companies are outrageous. I can’t in good conscience spend $15 and over for 8oz of product. I buy 33.8oz of HE Honey I’m Strong conditioner for $7. I use this conditioner as a cowash, DC, and styler. Now that’s reasonable for a multifunctional hair product.
It’s easier for the larger companies to have such cheap prices though because in addition to the sheer size of their business, they use bad (cheap) ingredients. So I don’t think it’s really fair to expect to pay the same price for quality ingredients.
it’s “economies of scale”.
Yeah I don’t know why people cant’ understand that. It’s like they want a product to have the same price as a product that has been out for decades!!!
What seems to not be understood is that the prices are higher because black owned business lack a consumer base! To put it plainly, black people have a knee jerk reaction when dealing with black owners (and I’m sure this goes both ways). It’s such a cultural problem we need to acknowledge and change! Black people complain about service in the typical BSS all the time. This has not changed the growth of non-black owned stores. This has led to other communities locking up the supply chain of products that are primarily for black consumers. Why don’t we get this?!?!
Thank you so much for this article. It has to be one of the more important goals of the natural hair movement! Black women have the power to change this persistent reality of black dollars flowing everywhere else instead of back into the community. 1 Trillions dollars of buying power and nothing to show for it. Why, b/c of many of the comments you see in response to this article. We must wake up and see our own power of choices! Every other community obligates themselves to each other and have zero concern about segregation or getting so called inferior service. You have to start somewhere.
ACT!!!
I’m all for supporting the black community and this article does make sense but it kinda also screams “segregation” I mean this is 2013, aren’t we suppose to be pushing the idea that “why can’t we all live together in peace”. I don’t know, I may sound dumb and young but…hmm. This kinda reinforces the idea of “them and us”. But shouldn’t it be more like support independent-upcoming natural business women over the super chain l’oreal and others. That seems more like “yes girl power! Fight the system!!” Rather than support black owned businesses because they are black…
I don’t know it’s just my opinion and it does come across confused and doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense but hey *shrugs*…
I completely agree. That’s what I was feeling from reading this.
idk. the jews are notorious for spending the bulk of their money in their communities, and you know most people believe there’s no such thing as a poor jew? there’s good reason for that. it’s because they circulate their money amongst themselves, and with collective buying power buy the businesses that are most profitable to them, such as the media. you see this with asians and indians as well, pretty much everyone but black people. so i’m all for it. until the mainstream opens its arms wide in acceptance of peoples of color, i will fully support any initiative to keep the commerce in our hands. it simply works out best in our self-interest.
lol.
i knew this jewish guy who joked that his family was poor. he’d tell me i know your don’t believe me, but we were poor jews.
he no longer is though.
lol i’m sure some do exist but…i’ve never heard of it and certainly the ones i have known personally were a far cry from poor. i’d be interested in finding out if it’s urban legend or not
I totally agree, I was thinking the same thing.
I mean I completely agree with Kade
Only black people seem to have this thing where we think supporting our own is racist. Girl, free your mind. White people are taking care of theirs. We need to take care of ours. There is no “we’re all together”. If that were the case, we’d all have equal opportunity, now wouldn’t we? Black people need to embrace our economic power. That’s not racist, that common sense.
I never said it was rascist I merely stated it was segregating or in layman terms divisive. I also stated I completely understand the point given I just felt as if it put across in a divisive way. I took under my wing both outlooks so my mind is “free” my dear.
I can’t with you. I really can’t. SMH. White folks have your mind on lock, dear. Wake up. Loving and supporting your own is NOT divisive.
Once again…*face palm* I did NOT state I didn’t love my race or didn’t support them….so your wrong t.c. In addition to that “white people” do not have “my mind on lock”…
I don’t get why everyone is putting words into my mouth 🙁 I’m not a self hater *pout* , I can’t help the way I felt when reading the article. It is sad that we don’t circulate our income among our own community or we don’t benefit financially from our own intreset which is hair in this case, I just don’t get why it has a “them and us” mentality. Why could it just be about empowering our own kind rather putting other races into equation…
Kade, help me out here. What you are suggesting doesn’t make sense to me. How does one go about “empowering their own kind” without “bringing race into the equation”?? “Your own kind” implies race, does it not?
Oh Kade…dumb, no. Young, yes. Just keep on living.
There actually is a “Them & Us” and THEY are aware of this. Hence, the completely SEGREGATED sections at your local Walmart, Walgreens, and Sally Beauty supply target to US. THEY also make it point to do completely different advertisements when trying to get OUR money.
You seem to be in favor of a pro-woman “Girl Power” …women supporting women. So why wouldn’t you support black-owned business..Black people supporting Black people??? And even with the pro-woman (feminist) movement, Black women marched in the BACK! So there has always been a Them & Us and they dictated that decision.
As far as “living in peace with one another”, history shows us that there has never been such a thing on earth. This idea was sparked by THEM during 1960’s when they were all high on dope and we revolted. LOL. When it comes to segregation, the old folks will tell you that when we were segregated we as a people we thrived as a community supporting each other, and yes lot’s of Black-owned businesses 🙂
Beautifully said.
“As far as “living in peace with one another”, history shows us that there has never been such a thing on earth.”
OH GOD THANK YOU FOR STATING THIS.
You’re welcome 🙂
“But shouldn’t it be more like support independent-upcoming natural business women over the super chain l’oreal and others.”
“That seems more like “yes girl power! Fight the system!!” Rather than support black owned businesses because they are black…”
this set of quotes is a contradiction. there really is no difference in supporting a business because they are small and whatever than supporting one because it is black-owned. in both instances, you not decided to support a company/product based on its individual merits.
so, i call complete b.s. on your faulty logic. you happen to be more comfortable deemphasizing race. emphasizing supporting a business because of its size is not more valid. i am conscious of where my money is spent and would prefer that it goes to a black woman who is trying to make products for us.
“I don’t know, I may sound dumb and young but…hmm.”
well…your “logic” just doesn’t make sense really.
@merry I did state my opinion was all over the place when writing what I wrote so clearly you didn’t really take time in actually reading the whole thing and just started writing instantly.
And I am not deemphasing my own race I did state that I agreed with a lot of things the author is saying…I just didn’t like they way it came across… And what’s all this “valid” and “faulty logic” business it is my opinion who are you to tell me I am wrong? You can express your opinion but there’s no need to shut another’s down, you simply accept or reject it. I’m not forcing it down your throat.
@cacey you make a good point and I now see the wider picture. Thanks
@shelly thanks for your input. But I am for supporting black owned businesses as long as they product are of use to me but what I don’t want to do is support someone or not support someone just for the sheer fact their skin colour is the same as mine. Sorry if this point sounded contradictory, I am more of a speaker than a writer, this is why I hated English literature lol.
@ kade
the dynamics of this world get lost on you. every damn community on this earth improved by keeping at least a significant amount of money inside. every one. except the black community. money is power when you give money to l’oreal or pantene with wishes of unity and peace (nothing wrong with that) that money stays in their pockets and they invest in what and who they have an interest in and that someone barely looks like you most of the time. black people are the only ones who buy hair products geared at people with different hair. have you ever heard about an asian/white/non-black latino woman buying “black products”? if yes how many? basically they empower themselves and YOU empower them too.
i don’t know why this is so hard to get for some black people. we are talking about economical power d*mn it we are not discussing whether or not you should hate on someone from a different community. what you put on your afro hair is not the condition whether or not the american society will be a more peaceful and unite society or whether segregation will get worse. asians dominate black hair market, are suspected to lock out black sellers and it does not seem to me that being united is an option for them. do i hate them? no.
be demanding on the quality of products and keep every dollar you can inside the community because those are the dollars that will eventually make your voice heard when you need it. it’s not that difficult to understand.
Beautifully said.
To all you ladies who believe that supporting our own is racist in today’s world, you need a history lesson! I grew up in the tail end of segregation in a JimCrow state. Couldn’t eat in restaurants, went to separate schools, theaters& beaches were segregated. As result, WE HAD OUR OWN dentists,doctors, & businesses & our communities thrived because we supported them & our values supported that system because it was part of our survival plan & it worked! However , when integration laws passed, a lot of blacks were so eager to go mainstream they left a lot of those values behind.,that’s why some of the older blacks say integration was, in a way, a bad thing for us. I disagree but do think that a lot of today’s blacks have lost that self confidence & belief that our products are as good as ones made by whites. It’s the old slave mentality. NO OTHER RACE refuses to support its own by calling it racism & talking about the kind of”togetherness” mentioned here.That can come later AFTER WE’VE GOT OURS. All over the country there are little Italys, Jewish areas, Chinatowns , etc owned, supported & maintained by those ethnic groups, yet mainstream folks are free to patronize their shops & restaurants. That’s what we need to do, ’cause if we don’t , we’ll remain at the bottom if the economic food chain. Have any if you ever heard if the Black Wall st that was destroyed by angry whites years ago ? Read about this thriving black community here: http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2011/02/greenwood_oklahoma_from_the_black_wall_street_to_the_tulsa_race_riot.html
Sent from my iPhone
Here’s the whole black wall st article
http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2011/02/greenwood_oklahoma_from_the_black_wall_street_to_the_tulsa_race_riot.html
Sent from my iPhone
I hope Kade reads this and pulls her head out of the clouds.
Because the black community IS segregated from the white, asian, and hispanic community (for the most part anyways). And yet, for blacks to yield the type of spending power that they do, none of that buying power every trickles down to our community. We have a broken school system, after school, daycare, head start programs are being cut etc., our community would benefit if we had more successful black business owners that could invest in US.
Imagine a world where successful business owners in the entertainment industry (Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Beyonce, even Oprah) read this article.
The onus is also on Black owned companies to keep improving and putting out great products. If a black-owned product works great, most of us will not hesitate to support. But I for one will not support an inferior product just because the producers are black. With all things being equal, the majority of us will support black and minority owned businesses.
Great point.
Hair care aside, we should want to support black owned companies. The problem is usually the product itself, which is sometimes inferior, or the cost of the product is too outrageous to consider.
This article makes a lot of good points. Anyone remember the “Proud Lady” logo that black owned hair companies used to put on their products? Can natural hair companies do this, so that we can know to support them?
Apologies guys but the length was necessary. I just don’t see how I a student on a gap yearis studying online in preperation for next year, whilst working a fulltime job from 8-6pm, sometimes 8pm, then a weekend one that currrntly provides me with making £600 a month can without thinking twice create the time to research, set aside the money to afford well researched black products and the local ones in the market. I was so excited about this natural hair change and wanted to got the whole way. For about 95% of you openig your mouth, there is simply no excuse. support your own or shut the hell up!
I don’t know who you are BUT THANK YOU!! Your points are so valid and dead on but unfortunately they will fall on death ears. Black people complain about the high price of natural hair products but tend to forget how much they paid to go to the salon to get a relaxer or to even get that wear sewed in. Now that they are natural all of a sudden they get cheap which is such a surprise.
It’s nice to know that there are still some amazing, supportive black people out there. Again great points!
Black people,
I must say we have a lot of pride, but as a majority, are all talk and no action. No other, let me repeat, NO OTHER racial group in our situation would even think of going back to the race that neglected and racially enforced stereotypes in their hair. so you’ve had a couple or so bad experiences with one or two particular black owned business. NEWSFLASH: There are fools within every industry. The amount of white and Indian girls I know that tell how shit a customer service was in different places they’ve been to… it’s not about all black people treating everybody special and what not, it’s about a key factor called RACIAL-PRIDE! Wearing your hair naturally is not enough, making a statement to the world that we are the best people to feed, nurture and look after our own hair. Are Indian people treated fairly in all sports, no, so they make sure to dominate in one: cricket, where their shareholders are Indian, their managers and their players are all Indian. Same with chinese people and cricket. In the chinese/indian restaurant isn’t it all down from the owners, majority shareholders, manager, waiters/waitresses down to even the cleaner!!! You think it’s all love up in there – NO! I’m sure they may have a friend of another race but wouldn’t recommend them working therr cause they know this is our stamp as a race. They don’t even thonk of it they just don”t consider it. They class it as common sense! Get a frickin’ hint! okay you stopped damaging your hair with relaxers and paying that percentage of non-black owners, only to trade and switch to another non-black owners products?! o.O A lot of you have mentioned not knowing to much of your history, newsflash again, YOU’RE IN IT! if you’re going to take a new turn in your lifestyle, make the full 360° turn. you might’ve had one or two bad tasting, overpriced or “I can make this myself” pizza, don’t you just not buy that particular pizza ever again and next time order from somewhere else? We have to many high expectations of our people that stops us from making serious changes as a nation. Yes, as a race of people that has suffered we have this expectation that we should be nicer to each other. Hello! were human. of course you’re going to meet another black person that’ll p*ss you off. same with a business. I was watching a video on youtube where a blonde lady working for wholefoods was teaching a transitioning lady with like 3a – who was supposed to represent ALL Black American woman lol – on how to “create curls without heat”. Yeah I know. other than the procedure not being truly effwctive and the woman of choice wasn’t an ideal representative, as she had curls she just had to enhance them, I was shocked to see women aggrivated by the fact that wholefoods couldn’t get a black woman to do or hec even create curls for another black womans hair, when in reality that’s exactly what’s happening. funny thing some women felt ‘betrayed’ cause they are frequent buyers from walmart and also purchase giovanni this and aussie that. HELLLOOO! That’s why they got an Italian woman smh. And I swear with no disrespect A.A’s NEED to travel more cause if you even knew how racist Australian’s are towards you… Oh blavk people. the secomd, third, 20th and 50th chances you keep giving to white, Asian people and we can barely spare three for our own…
I think you’ve made some very valid points!
Very valid points.I’ve never had problems with black companies’ customer service because I learned so much about different black companies from message boards & you tube videos that I didn’t have to bother calling them. Customer service is a MESS no matter who it is. I’ve gotten put on hold for a half hour & more,dealt with voicemail roundaboutation that put me back to the first menu, reps that know nothing about their products,never heard of my problem, had nasty attitudes,etc. And those were ALL so called “white companies”.Oh yes,they had black & foreign reps answering phones, too, so the blame goes everywhere. Anyhow, we NEED to support our own people & really push our kids to do well in school.I’m sick of seeing foreign folks come here,set up their businesses in our neighborhoods, get our money & then LEAVE. I retired from a very multicultural elementary school with kids from over 30 countries. Those folks had their acts together,setting up businesses & forming supportive services for themselves & their kids,while too many black folks are shooting each other in the streets over stupid stuff instead of forming & supporting services for our own folks. I watched as loads of foreign kids came here speaking NO ENGLISH & wound up graduating with honors. Almost all of my hair products come from black owned businesses: SheaMoisture, KinkyCurly, Qhemet Biologics, Tropic Isle, Africa ( tubs of shea butter),& Luster’s.I’ve also used Carol’sDaughter and Mixed Chicks. My nonblack ones are Tresseme Naturals condish, Ayurvedic oils,etc from Indian stores, Trader Joe’s condish.
’roundaboutation’. love this! lol if you don’t mind, i think i wanna start using this word. it’s ingenious!!! (i’m an aspiring linguist always on the lookout for new words to describe phenomena, particularly if no words exist for them already)
Just to clarify…we are NOT THE ONLY RACIAL GROUP in our situation with this issue. There are descendants of India that were colonialized, enslaved, and/or transported to other areas (to Fiji for example) with the same hair qualms including straightening. People of African descent are usually the poster child for all issues regarding the effects of racism because our experiences have been the extremes. I think we as African descendants are too hard on ourselves without taking into perspective where we have been and the great impacts we’ve had on the entire world.
With that being said, fa’ sho! As a whole we do not support one another business wise, and the reasonings being voiced on this shameful.
I think this is a brilliant idea and I want to get behind it. Let me put this out here:
I am a veteran natural who’s been using Hello Hydration conditioner for, I’m guessing, about 12 years. I have gone through MANY MANY other conditioners in that time and it’s the only one that has never failed me. Now that I’m wearing my hair in a curly ‘fro again (think WNG with a few extra steps), it’s doing what it needs to do for my hair: softens, detangles, moisturizes, and defines. It’s probably the closest thing I have to a true Holy Grail product.
If anyone can suggest something made by a wholly-black-owned company that works as well for my thick, fine-stranded, coily, mostly-4b hair as Hello Hydration, I’ll be thrilled to buy it. Because I’m a not-quite-starving artist I can throw a few more dollars towards buying it but not a lot. And obviously I don’t need it to be all natural because HE HH is far from all natural. Also, if anyone knows of a blogger who’s done any comparisons with HE HH and other conditioners, please provide the link.
I loved this article and agree with what was said. We need to start pushing ourselves more as a finiancial power. Globally we are seen as inferior because we do not have the capital/finances and we generally support anyone and everyone before our own.
(Me included – I used to return to the shops that followed me around as if I was stealling for years. Not any more. Need to put in way more then that for my money!)
We need to start looking at things logically rather then emotionally. Once we do that we can see the game thats being played and has been played for centries.
Some people are supporting BSS because they are only willing to spend BSS prices on hair care. I generally think most naturals support black owned companies unless they buy weave or the odd old school product. Non naturals probably spend more at the BSS so aren’t people here preaching to the choir?
good point! i hadn’t even thought of that. the rare times i go in the BSS (it’s on the other side of town from me and plus, it takes me forever to run thru product and even when i do walmart or dollar general’s closer lol) i NEVER see other naturals, or if i do, it’s a natural that’s about to slap on a wig or weave. the vast majority of consumers at BSS’s are relaxed women, at least in my area. the naturals tend to go to walmart or just order online.
I totally agree with you…..well said.
So many of you are on here talking about the poor customer service given by Black business owners…have you ever received anything other than poor customer service from the Asian BS owners? Yet, no one is on here complaining about that! I put my money where my mouth is and know that where my dollars get spent makes all the difference. http://atlantablackstar.com/2013/10/10/14-popular-brands-you-may-have-thought-were-black-owned/
If you read the 2nd paragraph of this article you will see that our Black dollars get recycled typically once at most within our community, while Hispanics, Asians, and Whites recycle their money many more times. You can easily see the effects of this when you look at the economic vibrancy of these communities…It makes a difference,but some people love to be exploited, i guess.
I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve asked particular questions about hair or products only to be met with ‘I don’t know.’ This was years ago, I don’t bother asking now; the internet & word of mouth pretty much help. I also remember phoning up and asking one retailer if they sold Shea moisture before I travelled up there; ‘yes’ was the answer, ‘no’ was the reality -__-
Admittedly, knowledge is much better now due to their learned experience, but many of them still do not have invested interest or knowledge in what they’re selling and they don’t care, because we go back again and again anyway.
I have found the same thing in L.A. and now in more recent times I’ve noticed that the Asian BBS owners are hiring Hispanic men and women to work at their stores to add insult to injury. And they really have no clue about any of the products they are selling…maybe they are just meant to watch you. It is a strange world we live in…I can’t imagine moving to China; being barely able to communicate in Chinese;opening a Chinese restaurant; and expecting Chinese people to eat there upon seeing me behind the register. I have a feeling my restaurant wouldn’t be open for long no matter how courteous, accommodating and polite I was. But this same model works very well in the Black community. Has anyone in the LA area seen the packed Louisiana Fried Chicken shop on the corner of Crenshaw and MLK? I doubt the Asians I see in the kitchen and behind the counter are workers and not owners. What a shame!
…actually, yes. When I went to college, before I went natural, I went to this BSS where the Asian store owner bent over backwards to make sure I left happy and even helped me carry some of bags to the door, even if I had only one. And because I was a regular, he actually started to not charge some of the items I bought. To make the assumption that all Asian store owners treat blacks poorly is a stereotype and one of the reasons why I was worried about this article.
Conversely, I went to the black owned Miss Jessie’s salon and didn’t get nearly the kind service that the Asian BSS owner gave me. Even though I went with my friend and I wasn’t getting my hair styled, they treated both me and my friend like crap. From the miserable desk attendant that, instead of greeting us when we came in, said “You can only be here if you have an appointment” to the Jr. Hair Stylist that told me “If I wasn’t going to invest in their products, I can expect to have raggedy hair.” Heck they even hurried us out the door when they finished my friend’s hair and didn’t even respond with “have a good evening” or “come again.”
Trust, I invest in black owned business – black restaurants, clothing and jewelry boutiques, authors, even a black seamstress – and I have been plenty happy. But I have found that when it comes to the hair industry, black owned tends to have an attitude and I am not willing to invest in poor customer service.
I don’t think it makes sense to invest where I am not treated kindly either. And as someone who has actually lived in Asia, and has many Asian relatives that I visit annually, I could never say that all Asians treat Blacks poorly. Albeit our relations are very different in the US versus in Asia. Regardless I think it is clear to most people what is systematically happening in Black neighborhoods all over this country…this doesn’t impact me directly because I’m a global citizen but most AAs as most Americans aren’t.
@TravelQueen:
For Real though! I stopped frequenting BSS because of the poor service given by the Asian owners. They were usually rude and didn’t appreciate my business. Unfortunately, they assumed that no matter what type of service I received, I would buy their items because I was in need, they’re convenient, and I wouldn’t do anything about it.
With regard to Black-owned businesses in general, if I receive poor service I contact the owner; inform them of my experience & make suggestions. I also remind them that I was initially elated to support my people, and encourage them to make improvements. The owners are typically receptive. Note, I contacted the OWNERS because a lot of the time, they have cousin & auntie manning the front lines. And when family works for you….
But yes, we must SUPPORT BLACK OWNED BUSINESSES!
@TravelQueen you are so right!!! But most Black people don’t care about how they are treated by non-black business owners because it is something they are used too and it’s okay. But let them have ONE bad encounter with a Black owned business OH LORD will the earth stop rotating because now all of a sudden they will demand respect. But either way it’s sad that most black people don’t care about where their dollars go and what happens within our community.
TravelQueen, Why do you assume that all Black people will take bad customer service from white establishments, but complain when it’s a Black vendor? I complain about poor customer regardless what color the person is or what company. We are free to choose who we wish to purchased products from. If you want my business, you need to respect me and my money; otherwise I’ll take it elsewhere.
Lol, Awanda I know there are some Black people who are zero tolerance and let everyone know it. I will be more careful in my wording next time I post on here, so people don’t assume I mean 100% of a population or that I am stereotyping.
I buy what works my hair hates almost everything so that is few products. I do like Everyday Shea which is a black African owned company that is fair trade which is important to me. I try to support but My hair hates so much I just stick to the same few products. I am also on a budget. Everyday Shea in natural and cheap you get 32 oz for like $10. I use the conditioner as a moisturizer and it works great that way. As a conditioner not so much but I really wanted to find a way to work with it. My hair is not a fan of Shea moisture( like most thing -__-) but It acts like a hard core protein treatment in my hair but i do use the deep conditioner as protein treatment and i will probably keep using it for that but i can not use any of there products for anything else. I use kinky curl once in a while. Some of my products are from black owned companies some are white owned companies. I use Aubrey Organics and African Royal braid spray and eco styler gel because they work I do not have and easy time and can not use alot like other people my hair is really sensitive I try to use as much chemical free things as possible and try to use fair trade products. It too me 5 years to find stuff that worked for me my hair reacted terribly to alot black and white products alike.
I know people have their staple products and are maybe done experimenting. But I think it’s so important to support where possible. If the product isn’t too expensive, why not just buy to support (as long costumer service etc is on point). I’m not business savy, but maybe smaller businesses have to charge that little extra – we forget they’re not walmart or Duane Reid; they’re not at shea moisture status yet. If we don’t support at all – that’s it. Once again, another group will be profiting of of us. If enough of us don’t support, how will these businesses grow? Develop?
I get the point about price, I really do. I think that’s the major drawback to be honest. As well as the sizing. *sigh* It’s a tricky one…
My heart is with you on this one. I really want to support black-owned businesses. But, they would first have to take a course in proper customer service skills. I’m tired of leaving this arena with a bad/sour taste in my mouth. Smal business owners have a better opportunity to add a very personal touch to their service and should capitalize on this by making sure every single customer leaves with a small. Treat customers like family and they will keep coming back.
I’ve had tons of experience where *black* business owners treat me with an intense level of distrust which just puts me off. These business owners need to be resocialized.
You have a good point there.
I want to agree with you, but I have huge reservations. For one, many of these black owned natural hair companies are oddly expensive. I used to make my products, so I have to wonder why ingredients that aren’t expensive when bought from the grocery store, are $30-$40 for an 8oz bottle when purchased as a hair care product. Even with the cost of bottles, labor, and packaging, and profit there is no reason, it should ever come out to be that much.
Another issue is that some of these smaller/newer companies have huge egos. My friend tried to start buying from black owned hair businesses, but found that many of the products were going bad when they were delivered to her. Many of these owners don’t know what it takes to preserve their all natural ingredients, and when someone has an issue with it, they get a holier than though attitude. I was even privy to one phone call when the owner told my friend “Your hair would be nothing without my products.”
Many businesses also use base products, which are sold by companies that sell beauty products in bulk. I was about to purchase a aloe vera based hair gel from one company, did some research before purchasing it, and found some natural hair forums that revealed that the product can be bought for about half as much and twice as more product. It put me off to that company and I won’t ever consider buying from them again.
And also for more seasoned naturals, they already have their staples and most likely, many won’t deviate just to see if something works or not. For me, Shea Moisture is my shampoo while Giovanni is my conditioner and leave-in. Everything else is carrier oils or essentials oils that I purchase online or pick up at the grocery store.
Even though I really want to try to buy solely black (since Giovanni is really the only one that isn’t), I just feel a lot of business aren’t really bringing anything to the table.
There is some sense in what you are saying sis. That is why research is very important. It doesn’t always have to expensive.
let’s define expensive, though lol i have yet to see a natural hair product that sells for under, say, 10-12 dollars for an 8 ounce bottle. is that considered reasonable? idk but to me that’s a shiny penny. it all depends on what the product can do for you.
Taliah Waajid products never go to $10. Her bodifying mist cost about $7 for 8oz. Online I can find it for about $6/ $5. And if we are talking about natural products in the sense that they have natural ingredients and are not just for natural hair, I can find Giovanni online for about $3 for 8oz (it’s bought in bulk but that’s a lower cost still).
So, in short, yes. It takes some searching, but there natural hair companies that sell their products for cheaper.
Try Hairveda. Good products for a fair price. I use their protein conditioners. About 8-12 dollar, 16 oz a bottle.
not bad, i might look into that line, then!
Where did you purchase the bulk aloe vera base??
I buy what I know works for my hair and won’t break my bank. If it’s from a black owned business then fine, if it’s not, then so be it. I’m not going to go out of my way to buy from a black owed business just because they’re black. Just because a product is from a black owned business does it mean that it’s superior to products that are not? No, not necessarily. Also, a lot of times these companies are only online, so that means extra money spent on shipping and then waiting for the product in the mail. And if you don’t like it, the hassle of trying to return a product that was purchased online. I would rather walk into a store and pick up a product that my hair knows and loves. Keep it simple.
I buy shea moisture, but I still wonder who’s benefiting? How much do Shea Moisture get when I pay £13 ($21) for their product all the way from a random beauty supply store in London? Do they even know their products are being sold here, because there’s been no ‘official launch’ of their products for the UK.
I’m sceptical. Something tells me the Asian owned supply store is getting part of the benefits and whoever else ships it over to them. I’m now in the process of choosing a Black British owned brand so I’m more sure where my money is going. Only problem is they make smaller sizes of their products for the same price! Catch 22.
Is your issue that a mom & pop business is making a profit from the products they in turn had to pay for and have shipped to them? I understand wanting to support black owned businesses, but I think people need to understand the difference between the manufacturer of the product and the middle-men who resell the products. Are you asking that the “asian-owned BSS” should sell the products at the same price they purchased it? Newsflash!! They are in the business of making money. You as an end user can decide to cut out the middle-man and buy directly from the manufacturer and pay for international shipping if it is not offered free of charge. Just like the commenter who said she would rather buy from Walmart than her local BSS, I feel that the decision to not support your local BSS would be the same whether it was owned by an Asian or Black person. It comes down to pricing, brick & mortar stores like Walmart and online giants like Amazon are able to sell goods at a much cheaper price than your mom & pop shop because they can afford to lower their profit margin. A store owned by an individual, cannot afford to sell things at crazy discounted prices or marginally close to their cost price (and remember their cost price is more than likely much higher than a conglomerate since they buy in far smaller quantities.) This is a long rant, but I just don’t think it would be right to shut out local business owners who may have been operating in neighborhoods for decades, providing what the MARKET demanded.
My comment about Asian owned BSS (and any other BSS) isn’t in regard to how much they charge. I was wondering whether Shea Moisture see any of that money or how much they get in comparison to the BSS & the sellers providing them with Shea Moisture products. Of course the BSS have to make a profit, but my point is am I really ‘supporting’ Shea moisture it they’re not seeing any (or very little) of the profits?
I’m all for supporting local businesses! My main point is I’d like to support black owned businesses where possible. My issue is that Asian owned BSS have been dominating in and profiting of a market we should really be leading in.
Hairveda is a very cheap natural quality product as well, especially for those budget .
This is one of the best articles i have read so far. I don’t know much about American history but today, i have learn a thing or two. I absolutely love supporting our small owned hair care companies, our own sisters and brothers who truly appreciate us and what we are.
One thing i have realize is, all this large companies who try to bring some so called natural products ‘ALL NATURAL’ to meet our needs are always far from natural or natural crab. When you start checking your ingredients list, you will find a lot of crab that are damaging and not helping your hairs health. Money is their true motivation, ‘NOT’ our well being. You will find salts (sodium chloride) among a lot other damaging ingredients. Yes salt, this will dry and crack your hair somewhere in the middle and trimming will not even help, believe me i am talking from experience.
Some believe our small black owed natural hair care companies are expensive and they cant afford it, but this is not always the case. There are a lot of very affordable good quality hair products out there from our own brothers and sisters who are passionate and very dedicated to bringing us only the best and not crab. There are Love naturals, Soultanicals, Curls retail line, curly kinks, Darcy’s Botanicals, Bel nouvu and a whole lot more.
Lets unite, love and educate our selves for our own well being. We are beautiful and unique in every way that is why we deserve nothing but only the finest and the best of life…..GOD BLESS
As long as they ‘deliver the goods’ ( in terms of quality ) I will keep on buying the products of Hairveda and Qhemet Biologics. Am so in love with the alma & olive heavy cream and the acai berry phyto!
I used to be a diehard PJ and tried just about every natural hair gel, pudding, and cream I could get my hands on. Literally. As long as it had a nice fragrance and didn’t hit my wallet too hard, I was all in. But after googling the ingredients of my total stash, I had to pitch it all, except for just two — Shea Moisture and Kinky-Curly Custard. I recently added two new ones to my stash, Naturally Silk Elements’ pudding and curling cream gel, and said good-bye to Kinky-Curly, but only because of the cost.
That said, as long as a black-owned hair company uses all *safe* ingredients, and offers products that smell good and are economically priced, it will have my business.
I too can’t bring myself to buy any of the “natural” products made by what I call the relaxer companies. I just don’t believe their story. They don’t actually care about hair health (you can tell this by the like quality ingredients), their only goal is the bottom line & I would rather not contribute to it. Motions? No thanks. Dark n Lovely? I’ll pass. Elasta QP? Yeah right. I don’t want any of that junk near my head now that I understand ingredients & have made health my focus. I know everybody won’t feel the same, but to each her own. I’ll stick with Reve Essentials, Camille Rose, Shea Moisture, Wondercurl, Curly Kinks, Oyin Handmade, etc.
Good read. I love the comparison to the Montgomery bus boycott. It makes you wonder, that’s for sure.
Low quality, I meant. 🙂
My all time favorite black-owned companies are Qhemet Biologics and Shea Moisture. Their products absolutely deliver the goods! Thanks for reminding us the power of choice. We can choose who we patronize with our hard earned money.
Not one of the points here included quality of the product, which people go for, people buy products because they work well for their hair.
Shea Moisture products are too heavy for my hair, Carol’s Daughter- expensive, so I’ll stick to what is cheap, and works best for my hair..plus I bet these black owned companies hire non-black employees, and non black owned companies Loreal etc hire black employees.
I am all for supporting Black owned hair companies, IF their customer service is up to par. If not, I will not support them simply because they are Black. I recently dealt with a Black vendor whose products were rated on this site. When I eventually received their product, I refused to order from them again, due to the very poor customer. I emailed them at least 3 times regarding my product which I had not received even though I had the tracking number. I didn’t received 1 reply to my emails. There is simply no excuse for this type of service. I will tell my friends not to order from this vendor, due to their poor customer service.
This is cool, but I hope your practice is the same when it comes to other companies owned by other races. I say this because I see a lot of us just cutting off black companies for one incident of poor customer service, but they take it (and go back for more) from companies that are not black owned.
I am not saying accept poor customer service – no. I am saying be as hard on everyone else as you are Black people and yes that may mean you stop shopping at Forever 21 0_o
THANK YOU CEE CEE!!! It’s sooo funny how we are quick to cut down a black owned business for whatever we don’t like and get on the bull horn and try to turn everyone against them but I never see them doing that with non-black owned business! It’s like we look for a reason to put down black owned businesses
CeeCee, why would you assume I would only be this way with Black vendors? I will let any vendor or store I deal with if I’m not happy with their service. I don’t make excuses for any type of bad/poor customer service!
I agree with you Awanda and I hate when people diminish bad experiences with black owned companies as if to say you should care less about your money when the vendor shares your skin colour and be equally hard or harder on non black owned companies because they don’t share your skin colour. This mindset that some black women have has led to more than a few being ripped off due to wearing blinkers that say black vendor=must support. Anyone care to recall Moptop Maven or the woman who was selling some hair growth thing? Both disappeared into thin air with people’s money in their pockets because black vendor= must support.
Not being US based, I have only ever ordered from Qhemet Biologics in the US and their customer service, packaging etc was impeccable. I love their product and I buy them on import. Oyin have great, attentive customer service. Some of us demand good customer service whether the vendor is black, white, blue or purple and I personally will complain regardless of the size of the company of hues of its owner/owners.
Support black businesses like the above that show that the customer comes first but if you are being given the runaround, being given attitude (yes Anita Grant’s company did this to me) and generally don’t feel satisfied with how a company is handling their business, don’t support them just because they are black and don’t listen to other black people who would bully you into supporting for such a singular reason.
Thank you. I’m gonna try the Shea Moisture. I buy my hair products from Wal-Mart. I will not give my business to beauty supply stores owned by non-blacks. I use Loreal sulfate free shampoo and Aussie moist conditioner and I have been bothered by the fact that Aussie moist doesn’t advertise in black publications because I’m sure they are aware that they are popular in the natural community. I also use IC hair polisher styling gel. I hadn’t given much thought to who owns the companies.
Ummm….no offense, but the owners of WalMart are worse than the owners of the beauty supply stores. WalMart systematically makes business choices that increase their profits while restricting the benefits & salaries of their employees. You may not like that the BSS is owned by a non-black person, but in many cases they are operating in strip malls and plazas that provide local access to the products that stylists and local consumers need. Not all are reputable of course, but neither is WalMart. If you won’t give your money to a BSS owned by non-blacks why give it to a larger store owned by a corporation that cuts the profits of small and independent manufacturers to increase corporate profits?
Not to mention that Wal-Mart, like McDonalds (two of the biggest employers in America I might add), regularly depend on tax-payer supported SNAP benefits (food stamps) and other social safety net living assistance programs to factor in how much they should pay their employees. It’s absurd and maddening, especially considering the billions of dollars of profit and the millions of dollars of tax subsidies companies like Wal-Mart get PER YEAR.
That being said, if Wal-Mart is the only option (as it is in a lot of America) do what you need to do. But if you have an option to shop at a beauty supply store (whether it be black owned or not) or buy online, keep this knowledge in mind.
I’m really going to have to educate myself about this and make some decisions on the hair products I use and where to purchase them. I just feel better buying from a place that sells hair products for every race and not a straight haired person making money from my hair type.