Salons Are Still Closed in L.A., But These Black-Owned Beauty Supply Stores Can Help You Not Destroy Your Hair
We have all seen the memes about the declining phases of our hair during quarantine. Don’t let that be you, sis. Though beauty salons in Los Angeles are still under mandated closures (unless they move all operations outside, but who do you know that’s doing that?!), experts and professionals are still available at your local Black-Owned beauty supply stores.
Mr. Chun and Ms. Kim are nice folks, I’m sure, but they don’t know these kinky roots like LeKeisha. All jokes aside, shopping at Black-owned beauty supply stores are beneficial in more ways than one. On an individual level, you can get better guidance from a person that actually knows Black hair. On a grander scale, it’s an easy way to circulate dollars within the Black community (y’all know y’all gon’ spend it somewhere on beauty anyway).
Here are some Black-owned beauty supply stores that have been very helpful to me in Los Angeles.
For The Culture Beauty Supply
6281 Bristol Pkwy
Culver City, CA 90230
Across the way from Fox Hills Mall, a banner taller than me sits not too far away from the parking lot sidewalk, making this business easy to locate within the plaza. You walk into a spacious and spotless shop. A lady walks up from the back area and offers assistance. I told her I didn’t come with any particular need in mind; I’d seen celebrity hair expert, Angela Christine, post about an event she was having at a Black-owned beauty supply store, and though I wasn’t available to attend, I still wanted to check this spot out at some point.
Shantika, who I found out happens to be the owner, let me browse, then some kind of way, conversation got started and I mentioned how two seconds after I wash, condition and moisturize my hair, it’s back dry and rough again. She looked at my unruly tresses puffing out of the opening of my cap and talked to me about hair porosity. Being a licensed cosmetologist, who deals with all sorts of heads of hair, she walked me thru methods to retain moisture and led me to some products that could work well for my hair type. Baby, you can’t get that type of assistance at any ol’ hair store! They’re here For The Culture, and I’m here for it!
outside of For The Culture Beauty Supply in Culver City
Hair Food Junkie Beauty Supply
9251 Alondra Blvd | Suite C
Bellflower, CA 90706
If you haven’t had at least two cabinets overflow with hair supplies, did you even really go natural?! From texture, to curl pattern, to strand thickness, to density, and so forth, there are a gazillion variations of Black hair. One product may work wonders on the next girl, but have me looking like a raggedy Anne doll. It takes a lot of trial and error to figure out what works for our hair, so it makes sense that us naturals tend to be product junkies.
I stopped at this store in Bellflower, on my bike ride from Los Angeles to Long Beach, to pick up some braiding hair. Already running late for my appointment with Beauty by Breezy, I didn’t linger. From what I did see, if you’re a Hair Food Junkie, they’re here to give you your regular fix.
Girl Cave L.A.
1855 W. Manchester Ave | Suite 103
Los Angeles, CA 90047
Out spinning my wheels one day, I decided to dip down to South Central and check out one of the three locations of this Black-owned beauty supply chain. The two young associates were nice and helped me pick out a new edge control that they’re convinced can leave your baby hairs laid for days. They said they knew for a fact that brand is Black-owned too, because the owner had stopped by earlier that week asking how it was doing.
The founder, Lia, is committed to “changing the scope of beauty”. Market-research shows that while Blacks do almost 90% of overall spending in the beauty supply business, Koreans make up 70% of the ownership. By offering private consultation to those interested in entering this lucrative industry, Lia is working towards making the ownership sector a little more reflective of the whopping client base.
Blessed Beauty Supply
413 S. Central Ave. | Suite F
Glendale, CA 91204
This store is so stinking cute and feminine, I… * gasp *. I rode up to the valley solely to visit and I’m glad I did.
The owner, a cute young girl named Lexus, introduced me to a Black-owned product line that had just hit her shelves. I used them recently and they surely did make my hair smell and feel good. Being the lazy natural I am, instead of washing my hair when it started looking frizzy and dry, I sprayed some Caribbean Coils Moisture Mist on it, then followed with the Seal & Twist Souffle. I met one of my old co-workers for dinner, and she said, “I can’t get over how good your hair smells. Omg!” A product that can make my dirty hair seem fresh?! I’m sold! (I wash my hair regularly, guys… okay, no.. I don’t. This is a judgment free zone, right?)
Lexus even took the time to send me a follow-up email, thanking me for patronizing her small business and inviting me to come to her with any questions. Where are you getting that level of customer service at some old beauty supply store? You’re not.
I’m tellin’ ya, go be Blessed, honey!
inside Blessed Beauty Supply of Glendale
If You’re a Black Girl Not Shopping at Black-Owned Beauty Supply Stores, Whatchu Doin’, Sis?!
All four of these beauty supply stores are in completely different parts of the greater Los Angeles area. There are more that I haven’t touched on here. No matter where you are located, there’s most likely a Black-owned beauty supply not too far away. Even if it means driving past the Korean-owned beauty supply store around the corner from your house, GO! You “like” the hashtag #supportBlackbusiness and the captions with a brown fist emoji saying to #buyBlack, but how dedicated are you offline if you can’t go 2 minutes out of your way to really do it?
Okay, I’m done preaching… but seriously, this is such a simple way to circulate dollars within the Black community, I don’t understand how we’re not putting other folks out of business yet.
Go buy Black. …and comb your hair.
Bye.
