• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
BlackDoctor.org
Where Wellness & Culture Connect

Where Wellness & Culture Connect

  • Health Conditions
  • Wellness
  • Lifestyle
  • Longevity
  • Resource Centers
    • Cancer Resource Center
    • Covid Resource Center
  • Find A Doctor
  • BDO TV
Home / / Is Black Haircare Black? [VIDEO]

Is Black Haircare Black? [VIDEO]

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=is0oYMk5ULA&w=560&h=315]

In 1910, Madame C.J. Walker – a Black woman – was featured in the Guinness Book of Records as the first American woman self-made millionaire. In the early 1900s, Walker became a Black haircare pioneer with her development of hair products for Black hair. Not only did she profit from her innovations, but The Walker System, which included cosmetics, the Walker Schools and licensed Walker agents to sell her hair products, employed thousands of Black women and fueled their own entrepreneurial legacies.

READ: 10 Things Professional Hairstylists Want You To Stop Doing To Your Hair

Today, step into most beauty supply stores and you’ll find that although they are in flagships of Black neighborhoods and filled with products marketed toward Black consumers, the owners don’t typically look like us. According to a study from Market research firm Mintel, the Black haircare industry in 2012 was estimated at $684 million – likely heavily underestimated. A more accurate number is closer to $500 billion (a half trillion dollars). Mintel is quoted in a Huffington Post article stating:

What’s missing from these figures are general market brands, weaves, extensions, wigs, independent beauty supply stores, distributors, e-commerce, styling tools and appliances. If all of those things were to be taken into consideration, the $684 million in expenditures could reach a whopping half trillion dollars.

African Americans are the greatest consumers, but are we still the major power players behind this multi-billion dollar industry?

“I think it’s increasingly becoming less Black as the marketplace starts to understand the spending power and the opportunity,” said Ken Burkeen, Founder and CEO of Huetiful and Huetiful Salon based in Chicago.

Burkeen, along with a panel of Black haircare experts, discussed all things hair in this first installment of  “Minds Over Matters,” a new video series that let’s experts talk about a subject in a raw, honest and real way. The series is executive produced by Junction Group Films and HeiPer Content.

READ: Madame C.J. Walker: The Recipe For Healthy Hair

For celebrity hairstylist, Chris Curse, a conversation about the lack of Black ownership in the Black haircare industry can’t be had without addressing the “Korean force” and their monopolization and privatization of products.

“They’ve dominated the beauty supply market on the consumer side. They’re now branching here in the Chicago area on the professional side and they’re attaching to those stores salons, and they’re requiring anyone working in those salons to get their products through them,” Curse said in the video.

Burkeen believes that distribution has always been king – whether it’s the film industry, music or haircare. Putting the “Black” back in Black haircare for Burkeen starts with shifting economic power and redirecting Black dollars to Black businesses, at all levels.

He explained, “I think it’s very important that the dollars that we spend in this industry get circulated back into other – whether it’s a makeup artist doing a shoot or a film crew – I think it’s important that we have ownership so that our dollars can go back to our businesses.”

What do you think? Is Black haircare still Black? Are Koreans trying at all to keep it Black, even a little bit? Check out the video and join/follow the conversation using #mindsovermatter. 

Additional links:

Facebook : @therealmindsovermatters

Instagram: @therealmindsovermatters

Twitter: @therealminds_

April 26, 2016 by Sandria M. Washington

Read Next Article

The Latest In

normal heart rate

Is Your Heart Beating Too Fast? Here’s How To Tell

Many of us probably don't know what our resting heart rate is, however, it is a key component of our heart health that is often overlooked. Knowing your heart rate is important because the higher your resting heart rate, the read more about Is Your Heart Beating Too Fast? Here’s How To Tell
nutrients

11 Nutrients You’re Probably Not Getting Enough Of

Your body needs the right kinds of fuel to keep going every day. Here’s how to get more of the nutrients you need into your diet, recommended amounts based on the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans. 1. Vitamin C read more about 11 Nutrients You’re Probably Not Getting Enough Of
monkeypox vaccine

FDA Stretches Monkeypox Vaccine Supply by Authorizing Smaller Doses

As at-risk Americans stand in long lines across the country, trying to get the Jynneos monkeypox vaccine, U.S. officials on Tuesday announced they will modify dosing instructions for the shot to help stretch the supply. What do the new instructions entail? The read more about FDA Stretches Monkeypox Vaccine Supply by Authorizing Smaller Doses
vaccine hesitancy

Did COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Create Hesitancy For Other Vaccines?

Unsettling vaccination practices are evolving beyond outbreaks and anti-vaccine rhetoric in the U.S. Many states are working to eliminate long-standing public school vaccination restrictions that have kept fatal and crippling infections under control for decades. Colorado Republicans opposed vaccinations in read more about Did COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Create Hesitancy For Other Vaccines?
chronic stress

3 Ways Stress Is Affecting Your Skin

Everyone encounters stressful situations, whether that be working with difficult managers, relationship problems, child rearing, a family death, bills and taking our pets to the vet. Life is full of everyday problems. While some people have access to ways that read more about 3 Ways Stress Is Affecting Your Skin
fruits for anxiety

4 Delicious Fruits That Can Help Ease Your Anxiety

The COVID-19 pandemic was rough on everybody, and it left many people with anxiety about things to come. But I'm here to help you by telling you about some fruit that can relieve anxiety symptoms. fruits for anxiety I'm talking read more about 4 Delicious Fruits That Can Help Ease Your Anxiety

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to our newsletter

Poll

Popular Posts

  • Like Father, Like Son: ‘Miami Vice’ Star’s Son Handsome Like his DaddyLike Father, Like Son: 'Miami Vice' Star's Son Handsome Like his Daddy
  • LL Cool J & Wife Simone Smith Celebrate 25 Years Married: “We Celebrate Life”LL Cool J & Wife Simone Smith Celebrate 25 Years Married: "We Celebrate Life"
  • Football Legend & Coach Deion Sanders Has Toes AmputatedFootball Legend & Coach Deion Sanders Has Toes Amputated
  • Halle Berry: Over 50 ‘Just Keeps Getting Better With Time’Halle Berry: Over 50 'Just Keeps Getting Better With Time'
  • Marjorie Harvey: Fit, Fine & 57!Marjorie Harvey: Fit, Fine & 57!

Podcast

Footer

Where Wellness & Culture Connect

BDO is the world’s largest and most comprehensive online health resource specifically targeted to African Americans. BDO understands that the uniqueness of Black culture - our heritage and our traditions - plays a role in our health. BDO gives you access to innovative new approaches to the health information you need in everyday language so you can break through the disparities, gain control and live your life to its fullest.

Connect With Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Learn More About

  • Hepatitis C
  • Diabetes
  • Sickle Cell
  • Mental Health
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Advertise With Us
  • BlackDoctor.org Advertising and Sponsorship Policy
  • Daily Vitamina
  • TBH

Copyright © 2022, BlackDoctor, Inc. All rights reserved.