Lennie Chism asked: Do you know who manufactures your hair care products?
Where did you buy your last hair care product?
African-American men and women spend billions of dollars every year on their hair, consuming more than three-quarters of the hair care products sold in the U.S. How many of those dollars are paid to Black hair care businesses?
For the past twenty years or more, the majority of the wigs, extensions, relaxers, moisturizers, curling irons, hot combs, sheens, gels, conditioners, oils, shampoos, and lotions are brought to you by Korean entrepreneurs. The 2006 investigative documentary film, Black Hair, by Aron Ranen, tracks the successful efforts by Koreans who, recognizing the potential of such a lucrative market, petitioned the U.S. and Korean governments to gain economic incentives for assistance in tapping this gold mine. These shrewd business people have gained control of both the retail market as well as the manufacturing and wholesale distribution.
Applause! Applauding! Thunderous applause! I mean, standing ovation for seeing an opportunity to earn money in America. Encore. Encore. Monopoly – pass go; collect billions of Black consumer dollars. America is open for business!
For all yawls out there who are expecting this to be a Korean bashing article…not! Stop reading immediately. But, for all yawls out there who’d like to be enlightened about how immigrants from a distant place came to America, stopped, dropped and opened shop in our Black community, do keep reading!
Let’s reflect back for a moment upon a brilliant business tycoon: Madame C.J. Walker. Born in 1867, Madame Walker is the undisputed mother of beauty and hair care products for Black women. The Guinness Book of Records cites her as the first female (Black or white) to become a millionaire from her own achievements.
“Press it out” has been a phrase long used in the Black woman’s vocabulary to describe the process of removing the ***** curls from her beautiful hair. Madam C.J. Walker saw an economic opportunity in the desire by Black women to straighten their tight curls. Through a unique process of combining raw ingredients, Madame C.J. Walker created superior hair care products to meet the demand within the Black community for “good” hair.
This early black entrepreneur was neither a biochemist nor an experienced businessperson. Madame Walker lacked the credentials offered by Spellman, Howard, Fisk, Tuskegee, or the host of other Black colleges of her day. She was far too poor to afford college. What Madame Walker did possess was the unique skill of reading what the Black Community wanted enough to pay for again and again. She went about filling that need with goods and services—all the way the bank. She went right past go, collecting cash from the pockets of Black Haves and Black Have Not consumers alike, to become the wealthiest businesswoman of her era.
Madame C.J. Walker will be forever known as the creator of the “straightening comb.” She invented the “press and curl” look for Black woman of her era. With the application of heat to a metal comb, nappy hair became straight hair. The straightening comb was a revolution in Black women’s hair care. Tight curls were released—freed from the slavery of being matted to sides of her beautiful Black head. Yeah, this writer is from the country, matted (smile). The Black woman was now able to see her beautiful hair flowing and straight as a white woman’s for the first time. The wheels of brother necessity were in motion—blacksmiths were forming the straightening comb, Madame C.J. Walker’s sales teams were demonstrating and setting up distributorships throughout the Deep South, up north, from the east coast to the west coast. The Black Haves and Black Have Notes were equally desirous of the straightening comb. Word of the comb’s magic spread like wildfire; the demand out-paced the supply. Thus the battle for the Black hair care market was born. Or, more to the point, the battle for the Black consumer dollar was focused.
Madame Walker saw opportunity there too. She not only sought innovation in the creation of new types of hair care products, but she did so in a way that also created economic opportunities for others in the Black community. Madame Walker provided thousands of Black women with the potential to earn a livable wage and go on to continue to influence the coming generation of Black American entrepreneurs.
The “good” hair look created by the magic of the hot comb application to black hair turned out to be short-lived. Human sweat and the humidity caused the straightened Black hair to revert and matt back to the sides of the sisters’ heads. Plus, the look was a lot of work. There was a new need, for something humidity-proof. A better process to straighten the Black woman’s hair was needed with a longer-lasting effect. The creative Madame Walker had an idea, a chemical with a lye base—now known as the modern-day permanent relaxer. The Black male version, conk, was the hot seller of the day—the more modern version was known as the juicy jerry curl. Oh my, when I look back at my graduation pictures.
Fast forward to 2008–the Black community’s hair care preferences and market demand have made possible a multi-billion dollar industry, but the current profits from this industry have been almost entirely pulled out from under the Black community. The seeds of innovation planted by Madame C. J. Walker have somehow been co-opted by Korean entrepreneurs. How has this complete market reversal occurred?
The targeted customer is the same—Black men and women. The business of supplying goods and services to this customer base has evolved with new products, makeup, hair weaves, and wigs. The entire shooting match, including Black hair care magazines, trade shows, and a host of other events, is now dominated by Korean business owners. Ninety percent of the Black hair care business is controlled by Korean entrepreneurs.
Here is how it happened.
As more Koreans immigrated to America, they needed income. For them to stop, drop, and setup shop in white neighborhoods was not permitted. They soon recognized the opportunity that the black consumer presented, particularly within the black hair care market. Just like Madame C. J. Walker, Korean entrepreneurs seized the moment. Now, mind you, they seized it differently. Have I peaked your curiosity? Oh, do read farther.
Madame Walkers seized the moment by aggressively traveling from town to town with product demonstrations in the local churches, ladies clubs, and benevolent societies, recruiting new reps much as Avon does today. The Korean businessperson enlisted the services of the Korean Government, along with the U.S. government. What do I mean by that? Oh, yes, they used new words, strategies, and techniques not available to the late Madame C.J. Walker. Lobbyists, tax incentives, our Small Business Administration, and a host of other skillful tactics were employed—all with the purpose and intent to take control of the billion-dollar Black hair care market.
The Black community proved a gold mine for Korean businesses. The Black consumer shopper, often without preference except for lower prices, was their target. We plotted down our hard-earned dollars in stores where the only shared language was the dollar bill at the register. A cryptic sign language was used until the time came to pay—“I’ll take this and that” as we pointed to weaves, wigs, and other hair care products. How often do we make mockery of their inability to communicate (the Korean storeowners), as we walk out the door leaving our dollars in their pockets.
Now, please do not misunderstand my intentions. I remind you that this is not about bashing Korean business owners for taking control of our Black hair care market in order to create jobs for their communities, both here and overseas. But, as we seek reparations from past slavery from our government, the Korean-American community prospers—with our help. We are a fractional consumer market, with little, if any, loyalty to the concept of buying from Black businesses.
The Korean businessperson has stopped, dropped, and setup shop in our communities with our great assistance—the assistance of our hard-earned Black dollars. The Korean cashiers, the store janitor, the factory workers in Korea, the lobbyist in Washington – are all paid for by our communities. Each time you stroll into their store, point to a product on the shelf and hand over your money, you have just handed over your power. The same power could be used to build businesses that employ brothers and sisters.
America is open for business. Korean business owners found our gold mine, a never-ending supply of cash. The Black hair care industry is as lucrative to Korean Americans much as the casino business is for Native Americans. Step right up; drop your coins in the Korean Business slot machine. Oh, but there is no jackpot waiting to come back to you – no cash prize for three cherries in row. Oh, this one is always snake eyes, short end of the stick, or any other cliché that suggests “loser.”
Are our dollars not sponsoring activities in their communities? Are we not putting their children into the finest of schools, providing their families with jobs, and building wealth for their community? Do you see any of these dollars put back into the Black community? Have you seen the Korean businessperson in the pews of the Black churches on Sunday–perhaps depositing some of those once-Black dollars into the church building fund? Have you ever seen a Korean businessperson acknowledge or sponsor of Juneteenth? Well, let’s see – some large companies such as Coke and Pepsi have joined the local Black businesses in acknowledging this and other significant dates for Black Americans.
I do not condemn any group for taking advantage of an opportunity for economic success. But maybe it is time for Black Americans to take a closer look at the way we spend our dollars. Is our hair a potential key to opportunities for jobs and growth in the Black community? Koreans stopped, dropped, and setup shop in the Black community all across America – America Open for Business. Why don’t we stop, drop and set up shop for ourselves?
Note: There are many Black hair care companies such as, Bonner Brothers, Miss Jessies, Dudley Products, and a host of others. A list of Black and non-Black manufacturers of hair care products can be found on the web site for Black Owned Beauty Supply Association (BOBSA) website www.bobsaone.org
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