Beauty or Battlefield? Navigating the Modern Hair Industry as a Black Woman

There I was, riding passenger side with my cute matching set on and blown-out hair pulled back into a loose bun. I awaited the inevitable clear skin effect that’d be delivered after my fresh braids were stitched neatly to my scalp. 

I pull up, let my stylist know I’ve arrived, and wait for her to let me know I can come up for my appointment. 

The intimate experience of hair styling of the late 2010s and early 2020s was a nice change of pace from my childhood.

Hot dryers that burned my neck and intermissions when my childhood stylist had to tend to another client. Although I miss the salon gossip. Being there with my mom and her peers made me feel a little more mature. 

What came next was about to make me wish I was sitting under one of those scalding dryers flipping through a style book with plenty of options. 

5 minutes passed, then 10, then 20, then 30. By this point I’d called, texted, instant messaged, and returned to the door to knock and ring the bell. No answer. 

I shouldn’t have been surprised. This hadn’t been the first time I’d been stood up. My jaw remained open as my mom headed back home and I had to contemplate what to do with my strands before jetting off to our tropical destination. 

Thankfully, my stylist awoke from her slumber. She offered her apologies and invited me to come back for a discounted style. Considering my lack of options and time, I sat in her chair about 2 hours after my originally scheduled program. 

This seems like a crisis that was properly managed to assist a customer, but this was only her first offense. 

T’was the night before my 21st birthday hair appointment and I was searching for my routine confirmation message. As I typed “Hey girl, just wondering if we’re still good for tomorrow?”, butterflies fluttered. When the blue bubble with her response appeared, my heart dropped. 

She’d claimed that she wasn’t aware that I had wanted small knotless braids because I didn’t include it in my text, despite my specification in my original DM that predated the text by  5 minutes. 

I was left angry, disappointed, and confused.

Angry, because I deemed it almost impossible to find an alternate with the same reasonable pricing. Reasonable meaning around $400, as I’d seen prices nearing $600 in my original search. 

Disappointed, because a stylist with whom I’d formed a relationship had no sympathy for my situation. 

Confusion was the emotion that lingered though. I contemplated the missed steps that led to my distress. 

Small, medium, and large braids vary in install time. Why was there no clarification on her end? As an individual who markets themselvels as an entrepreneur and their services as a business, why hadn’t she clarified the service for her own scheduling needs?

On another note, why was I being made to feel like I was completely at fault? I began to wonder why the expectations of professionalism fall through when the service provider is in the wrong. 

What the Media’s Got to Say:

If you’ve ever headed to the Instagram search bar to find a braider or stylist in your area, you’ve also come across the policies section of their booking site. 

It usually includes their preferences on any extra guest, the allotted time for a grace period, their deposit fee, and the necessary prep you need to do before your appointment. In extreme cases, it also banishes those with certain hair textures from booking. 

Stylists lay out all their expectations and procedures to protect their time, but where’s the protection for the client? 

I let my defeat go, knowing that some of my peers had had a similar negative experience. Maybe we’d just gotten the short end of the stick. 

It wasn’t till the fall of 2023 that I saw an uprise in the number of TikToks with black women sharing their hairstylist horror stories. 

They warned others in their area of stylist who scammed them out of deposits, grand totals, and even bundles themself. 

Some shared how they tried to reason with stylists about rescheduling, especially during instances of illness. Only the cough and fever had disappeared once it was time to go to the club, hours after their scheduled appointment.

Others added comic relief by matching popular social media audios to the aggravating experience of getting Hey Boo’d. 

For further context, getting Hey Boo’s is when your stylist tries to soothe the cancelation notification by starting with “Hey boo” or “Hey love”.

Fortunately, some stylists entered the comments reassuring that entrepreneurs who accommodate their clientele still exist. A few ladies even offered to style the video creators at a discounted rate. 

Since fairy hairstylists can’t swoop into every situation, how do young women feel about the current state of the industry? Are they hoping there’s an end in sight or are they okay with the ebbs and flows of the new dynamic? 

What Other Women Are Saying: 

Jumping through the hoops that often come with booking a stylist is inconvenient for most. College students have the added stress of scheduling conflicts and managing tight budgets. 

Kebria Washington, a sophomore from Kansas City, Missouri, shared that her frustrations stem from her lack of trust in hair stylists. 

Washington has dealt with stylists in various capacities. From family members sharing their services to young girls beginning their hair entrepreneurship to licensed cosmetologists. 

Through it all, communication has acted as the main culprit for disappointment. She’s tired of last-minute cancellations that leave her scrambling to find a new stylist or testing her abilities with a do-it-yourself style. 

The busy college student emphasized that the lack of communication is unprofessional, but troubling as she’s forced to fit various appointments into weekend trips back home to Kansas City. 

Despite the inconveniences, Washington, like many other black women, is eager to support black entrepreneurs but only to a certain extent. 

“I see a lot of people saying support black businesses. And I’m going to 100 percent support my people, but sometimes my people don’t come through for me.” 

Washington’s complaints about honoring each other’s time highlight a key issue plaguing the industry. Stylist have expectations to abide by their rules but offer no remedy when they’re at fault. 

Hair has always been a hallmark of the black female community. Hair salons were a hotspot as they offered space for sharing and connections. Unfortunately, the community can’t flourish without care and consideration from all acting parties. 

For University of Missouri student, Auyannah Bingham Cole, this salon was a staple of her childhood as she shadowed her mother, a licensed cosmetologist. 

Cole spent her childhood with her tresses in locs. The current hair industry, characterized by salon suites and booking sites, is new to her. 

She’s had the opportunity to sit in a few stylist’s chairs, throughout her recent experiences. She notes that the lack of consideration for the client is a pain point. 

Surely late start times and lengthy policies are aggravating, but Bingham-Cole hits on the lack of consideration stemming from an absence of passion. 

Bingham-Cole explains, “They’re not loving the craft, they’re loving the money.”

Finding an activity that you love enough to pursue professionally is fulfilling, but it isn’t a signal to ignore the proper processes. 

When those who transform a hobby or skill into a business, sometimes the knowledge of business practices gets overlooked. 

Bingham-Cole offers that new stylists focus more on outlining new client fees and prerequisites, which lightens the load for themselves. She wishes more marketing efforts went toward showcasing hair growth, one of the main concerns of maintaining curls and coils. 

The Bottom Line

Stylist who have found their footing in the 2010s have found ways to personalize the experience. Girls can look forward to one-on-one styling and maybe even mimosas to sip on. 

On the other hand, the foundational elements that we expected in the early 2000s have disappeared. Gone are the days when a squeeze-in wasn’t impossible and you were assured that your stylist could produce a (satisfying look) without costing the health of your strands. 

The decision to swap the proper cosmetology training leaves many clients upset and unsatisfied, even if the finished product is exceptional. Ultimately, it serves as a reminder that talent and ability aren’t enough to create a brand. 

Women may not want to revert to days of spending all day in the salon but they’re still looking for that old-fashioned genuine care and respect. 

As the hair industry continues to evolve, there’s hope that black women will lose their armor on the battlefield of the current hair industry.

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