Top Natural Hair Salon Owners Discuss Industry’s Explosive Growth

Uncle Funky’s Daughter
2428 Times Blvd, Houston, TX
Tel: 713.528.0888

Citing a steady decline in the number of clients who come in for extensions, Tonya Reed, CEO and co-founder of Uncle Funky’s Daughter Salon in Houston, has recently taken them off the salon’s menu of services. She sees a bright future for the natural hair industry, telling us: “So many more women now are natural than when we first started ten years ago. I see more stylists in traditional salons that offer relaxed hair services becoming more interested in learning how to service their clients who are now transitioning to natural styles.” Capitalizing on this growing industry could be the future of black hair care overall in the coming years.

Tonya’s Product Recommendations:
Uncle Funky’s Daughter Natural Hair Products

Senkay Natural Hair Studio, LLC
6324 Fairview Rd, Charlotte, NC
Tel: 704.608.6775

Yesenia Hernandez, of Senkay Natural Hair Studio in Charlotte, NC, has been doing natural hair for her two decades as a licensed cosmetologist. “I’ve been doing natural hair for 20 years and had a steady clientele for the past 18,” she explained to us, “but many individuals I’ve trained in my classes over the years have seen their business triple [in the last five years].” Hernandez credits her success in part to getting black women to expand their concepts of what natural hair is capable of. “The biggest obstacle for me was getting people to understand you could do more than locks and braids. You could do blow outs, flat twists, two strand twists, rod sets, whatever your mind could think of — and yes you could work in corporate America with natural hair.” An interesting natural hair care trend she has observed? “I see some of my European friends doing more and more African-Americans AND they are going strong. Some black salons are pricing themselves out of a job and their work ethic is not up to par. Let’s face it, do you want to sit in a salon for 8 hours getting your hair done and not getting what you want? Color is not an issue when you want to look good.” Truer words could not have been spoken.

Yesenia’s Product Recommendations:
Onesta, Bee Mine

Locks4Life Natural Hair Salon
Mesa, AZ, Southfield, MI & Atlanta, GA
Tel: 313-477-2430

To ensure a high quality experience for every client, Paulette Brown, founder of Locks4Life Natural Hair Salon, coaches all of her consultants.  With locations in Mesa, Arizona, Southfield, Michigan and Atlanta,  Brown is on a mission to spread the word on natural hair care. She explained to The Atlanta that “natural hair care speaks to what we accept as our image of beauty.  I think it’s something we should experience as our own.” While her businesses are successful now, it wasn’t always easy.  When Paulette first started out, “Nobody was teaching natural hair care. Most felt that no one wanted to wear their hair natural so why even bother.” But times have really changed.  For Brown, “In the last five years the business has increased tremendously. New clients on average have a two-to-four week wait after a consultation. Today, people come from all over the United States, Canada and even one from the UK.” Her best business advice? “As a project manager,  I come from a business background and run my business really as a project.” Paulette was also one of the first salon owners to employ innovations like free Internet access enabling her professional clients to work on their laptops and maximize their time. Now that is corporate thinking.

Paulette’s Product Recommentdations:
Sisterlocks Starter Shampoo

Malobe Natural Hair Salon
915 W. Lake St. Minneapolis, MN
Tel: 614.823.8626

Bessie, at Malobe Natural Hair Salon in Minneapolis, has been doing natural hair for over ten years, and has also noticed the shift in the tide of clients’ desires towards natural styles. On the importance of the maintenance of natural hair, she recommends: “It’s a matter of keeping it nice and conditioned. It’s the same as if you were wearing a chemical on your hair; you still need to keep it strong in its natural state. A lot of us abuse our hair by using the wrong shampoo for our hair texture. A lot of people are coming out of relaxers but still using the same products they used when they were wearing a relaxer, and that’s not good.” The explosion of natural hair care products described by Anu of Khamit Kinks can be explored to ensure that your natural style is always workplace-ready.

Bessie’s Product Recommendations:
Taliah Waajid, Malobe Natural Hair Salon Products

Cornrows & Co
5401 14th Street, NW, Washington, DC
Tel: 202.723.1827

Pamela Ferrell, co-founder of natural hair care institution Cornrows & Co in Washington, DC, treats the client’s entire body as opposed to just the hair. In caring for natural hair, she has noticed a recent increase of hair loss in clients of all ages. Here is how she approaches such serious hair care problems: “Thirty years ago, we would see a lot of breakage and hair loss because of chemical processing.  Now we see a lot of hair loss that is nutritional, systemic.  We’re seeing young girls, as young as 16 years old, coming in with hair that is stunted. There may be about ¼ inch of growth from the scalp, or just no growth in areas. Once we put them on a good nutritional regimen, the hair grows back.” Thus, this particular natural hair care business includes diet consulting in its business model, an innovation that traditional black hair care entities would likely never contemplate.

Pamela’s Product Recommendations:
Cornrows & Co.’s Full Line of Products

S. D. Grandison Hairstyles
322 South Rock Street, Little Rock, AR
Tel: 501.375.2724

Sherrill Grandison has been caring for natural hair for 14 years. She welcomes the increase she has noticed in clients searching for natural hair care help, and laughs as she remembers a time when: “They thought you had to press your hair to put a formal on… I think natural hair care is important because that’s our hair, our hairstyles, that’s the way our hair is, and I think it’s important that we get to wear our hair without putting chemicals on it.” Grandison cites the president’s daughters as favorites public figures with natural hairstyles she admires. Could Sasha and Malia increase the acceptance of natural hair as an aspect of professional attire?

Sherrill’s Product Recommendations:
Shea Butter, Taliah Waajid

Mahogany Hair Revolution
490 S. San Vicente, Suite 10, Los Angeles, CA
Tel: 323.782.9909

Dr. Kari Williams, Trichologist, Chief Creator and Designer at  Mahogany Hair Revolution in Los Angeles, sees a bright future for the natural hair care industry. She told The Atlanta Post, “My business has increased significantly from the time I started. It is a testament to how many more women are embracing their natural curl patterns. They are seeking out places and professionals to make that transition and celebrate their hair.” A pioneer in the field, Dr. Williams overcame many obstacles before reaching her current success. She explains: “When I first opened my natural hair studio it was difficult finding stylists who were trained in the techniques of styling and caring for natural hair. Other salon owners I knew were pushing me to employ cosmetologists to fill my booths, but I refused. I worked in my salon by myself for a year until I met my first stylist. From there, more talented natural hairstylists and master loc-ticians were introduced. This symbolized the effect that high demand for natural hairstyling was having on our industry. Now more professionals are paying attention and taking interest in this new consumer.” What will the future bring? Williams believes that “we’re going to see more women — public figures, women in advertising, in television — with curlier, coarser textures, wearing their hair in its natural state.” May a universal acceptance of natural black hair as beautiful soon trickle through to the mainstream work world, in response to this industry’s exponential expansion.

Kari’s Product Recommendations:
Shea Moisture, Carol’s Daughter, The Roots (a small L.A. based company)