According to a 2009 survey conducted by Design Essentials, 36 percent of African-American women have significantly reduced their regular visits to the hair salon, drastically effecting salon owners and their business.
“The salons are not as busy as they used to be,” one hairstylist told the Grio. “Now with the economy everyone is grabbing for a dollar, so it’s that the business that we’re used to experiencing has now spread to other vendors.”
These other vendors being beauty supply stores. Yes, during these rough economic times, more and more women are opting to do their own hair, or have friends do it for them. They are learning that with the right products it can be done to their satisfaction.
Sure, many black women are still using chemicals, but all of this sheds light as to why we are seeing such a big rise in the number of them who are going natural. It’s not only because black women are tired of damaged hair from using chemicals (which is a major factor), but it’s also because natural hair is much easier to maintain when we can’t afford the services of a professional.
In the following video, the Grio takes us on a journey with several black women on a budget who have chosen to cut back on hair care costs. We also learn that despite the economy, some women will always place their hair as a top priority and cut back on other things instead.
In an unofficial transcript found on CNN, Michael Woods of Ashtae Products said that “most people don’t know the ethnic hair care industry is as large as it is. But you find that most other (non-black) manufacturing companies are trying to tap into our industry. They know it exists and we need to take part in those revenues….”
Many black hair care manufacturers have realized this, and with the increase of black women going natural, it’s also another reason we’re seeing more and more natural hair care products pop up on the market; three lines of which have been launched and introduced here on soulfulbeauty.com within the last 3 weeks: Design Essentials Natural , Entwine, and Creme of Nature Argan Oil
What are your thoughts? Do you think more black women are going natural because of bad economic times? Also, do you believe that with the right products, it’s much easier to just do your own hair and save money, or do you feel it’s necessary to visit a salon for proper care?
