Nat-u-ral-ist-a (noun) \nach-ruh-lee-stah: one who embraces their hair devoid of chemical and/or mechanical alterations.
Naturalistas around the world are grabbing the public’s attention for their eye-catching hairstyles as well as their significant economical impact on the hair care industry. Natural hair celebs such as Nikki Walton, creator of the popular curlynikki.com website and author of the bestselling how-to guide Better than Good Hair, have used their voices and platform to impact the way marketers, corporations, and the media view women who have decided to go au naturale.
Bloggers and big business answered by capitalizing off of the craze. About five years ago, drugstore and beauty supply shop shelves were limited in the amount of options for women seeking a chemical-free experience for their treasured tresses. The lack of readily available products soon turned the average natural girl into a kitchen chemist, capable of blending her own shampoo, conditioner, and styling products.
Fast-forward to today and the shelves are constantly stocked. It seems that every week there is some new cream, lotion, or potion to try.
Currently, beauty supply stores like Brian’s Beauty located in Devington Plaza on the city’s Northeast side are embracing the changing landscape of the industry by catering to customer’s needs. Employee Sean Puls, who has worked in the beauty field since he was a teenager, said due to the uptick in natural hair the store has seen a slight decrease in sales. To account for the changing tastes of their clientele, Puls said he orders a variety of different products in small quantities to insure he always has a fresh supply of things available.
“With natural hair products, a lot of people make their own. You go on YouTube and look it up,” said Puls. “It kind of hurts us in a way but on the other hand a lot of natural products are so expensive, so, do people want to try something for a week or two and spend $8-10 on one product versus spending $8-10 on making their own and it’ll last for a month?”
According to international marketing firm Mintel, the sale of relaxers, which represent 21 percent of the Black hair-care market with expenditures at $152 million, were down 15 percent since 2011 due to the natural hair trend. To maintain a spot in consumer’s medicine cabinets and bathroom shelves, mainstream brands such as Pantene and Suave have released products specifically targeted toward this growing demographic.
The ‘do-it-yourself’ trend also translated to hair styling and maintenance. YouTube is an ever-growing hub for sharing tips and providing tutorials on a variety of styling options. A search there for braiding tutorials yielded over 100,000 results.
Braids and twists are often the style of choice for natural hair-wearers looking to protect their tresses from weather, breakage, and everyday wear and tear.
The growing demand for synthetic braiding hair like “Yaky” and “Kanekalon” have sent overseas manufacturers scrambling to keep up with the demand.
“That’s why here at Brian’s, you see so many different packs of braiding hair. Because the companies can’t keep up. The demand is going up so high because a lot of people are going to braids as an alternative to relaxers and weaves. The weave industry is going down in a sense with braiding hair going up.
“I’ve noticed that when I first started, people would buy anywhere from 5 to 8 packs depending on what type of braids they were doing and now they’re buying anywhere from 12-15 packs because the packs are a little bit skinnier,” said Puls whose store carries over 25 different types of braid extension hair.
In addition to a decrease in quantity, consumers can expect to pay more per pack at the register.
“You can expect to see an increase of anywhere from 30 to 70 cents per pack, or the packs will become even smaller than what they are now,” said Puls.
When asked if he has any fear for what the economic future holds, Puls said he is very optimistic. He added that Brian’s will continue to engage customers by acknowledging and addressing their growing needs and changing tastes. No matter the trend, Puls said that, “Healthy hair is really what it’s all about.”
