“As a Black woman I couldn’t find and book a good hair and beauty service provider so made a place where you can.” – Naomi, co-founder of BEAUTYNOIR
Finding a good hair and beauty service provider as a Black woman in the UK is a pain. It is not just an inconvenience for me and other Black women, but it goes much deeper. It can limit our options; affect where we choose to study, what parts of the world we have access to, and even ruin our wedding day. This article not only highlights the problems Black women encounter but also presents a solution that BEAUTYNOIR can tackle.
In recent years, we have seen brands step up to make beauty more inclusive by creating better products for Black women and increasing the visibility of Black models. Although this is far from enough, the beauty service industry hasn’t made much headway.
In 2019 I got married in Bristol and it was then that I realised just how much of annoyance it is to find a good beauty service provider, as a woman of colour, particularly in areas where you have no personal connection. As a Londoner, I realised that the majority of the time I had used word of mouth to find and book hairdressers who could tame my coils and makeup artists who could work with my skin tone.
But in Bristol, and with no connections, this was not an option for me. I didn’t even have the privilege of rocking up to a high street to have an aunty ask if I wanted my hair done, as I would in Peckham or Brixton.
I turned my attention to Instagram where there was a wealth of beauticians catering to my demographic.
I, of course, first tried Google but with Black people not topping the algorithm or just simply not having websites, they didn’t show up in my search. I then turned my attention to Instagram where there was a wealth of beauticians catering to my demographic.
After hours of searching, I messaged close to 50, asking if they were available for my wedding. It took a long time to get prices and to figure out where they were all located but half of them didn’t get back to me and of those that did, the distance wasn’t feasible. Some were even as far away as the USA.
Eventually, though, I found someone – yay! However, they were based in London so I resigned myself to the idea of getting my wig laid and then styling it myself. With a complex booking system, I managed to make three bookings whilst only paying one deposit… so it was a rather awkward encounter.
Since my makeup needed to be done on the day, I decided I would get a makeup artist from London to travel to my destination. This, of course, meant I had to pay for their transport, accommodation and the makeup itself. Even after all of this, the person I hired was still late. I am not the only one to be burnt this way.
I also booked my bridesmaids a white hairdresser. Before booking her I asked if she had worked with Black hair, wigs and weaves before, and she replied yes. To be fair, she did a great job but she scared us at first when she didn’t know how our wigs were attached!
My experience was a nightmare!
Overall, it was all a nightmare. Instagram is so hard to navigate as a customer searching for a beautician. It’s not designed to book them so you can’t easily search by price, reviews or location.
And even before Instagram, it’s not like the hair and beauty service industry for Black women was much better. Although I had the privilege of being able to find a stylist who could cater to my demographic on the high street, a hair appointment would last ALL DAY. You would somehow get to the salon at 10 am and not leave till 6 pm, and that’s if you were lucky.
At first, I thought I was the only one going through this, but I wasn’t. I asked a few people if “uncertainty about where to go for your hair or beauty treatments has affected your choice to relocate or travel?” 55% of the people I surveyed answered yes.
“Definitely – it affected where I chose to apply for uni! I had to be somewhere that meant if there was no hair salon suitable for me in the area, I was still a maximum of two hours away from home.”
“I’m hesitant to move to parts of the country which may not have products/ people that can work with my hair – generally depends on the demographic.”
That’s why we’ve created BEAUTYNOIR
At BEAUTYNOIR, we believe this shouldn’t be the case. There are many great independent and established hair and beauty service providers but they can be hard to find, book and review. This is why we created BEAUTYNOIR – the online beauty marketplace dedicated to Black women.
At BEAUTYNOIR, beauty service providers can list their products and services for free. There are no up-front costs or subscription fees, just a simple, small commission when you make a sale. Customer can make secure payments online and providers get paid instantly, whilst also gaining exposure to thousands of potential new clients and kick-starting their recovery from the pandemic.
We believe that it should be easy to find hair and beauty services for Black people, and it’s our mission to make that happen.
The services industry has some catching up to do to ensure they can provide a luxurious and easy experience for Black customers. This deficiency isn’t just seen in day-today lives but also on the big screen with Black Hollywood calling for better representation in the hair and makeup department.
Overall, booking beauty for Black women is a pain but not for much longer, if BEAUTYNOIR has anything to say about it.
Find out more about BEAUTYNOIR by visiting their Instagram or visiting www.beautynoir.co.uk
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Written by Naomi Cave
Illustrated by Francesca Mariama
