Contents:
- The Dollars and Cents of Haircare
- The Why Behind it All
- Is It Even Worth It?
- Watch The Documentary
- Final Thoughts
Watch The Documentary
Before we continue, give the documentary a quick watch. I will wait…
I agree with Aliche that it is not so much the fact that we are spending money on beauty, but that we spend so much outside of our community.
Those billions do not come back to build the economic base of black businesses, so you really have to wonder if it is worth it. The fact that with our dollars we go to bat for companies that only a decade ago did not consider us worthy enough to market to, makes me question how prudent we are when it comes to flexing our economic muscle.
Consider this, to this day blacks do not have a substantial share in the market when it comes to the hair industry. We are locked out of the industry by the gatekeepers to the extent that if we want to get in we would have to partner with an Asian or Caucasian to serve as the face of the company so that we can own factories that manufacture bundles* for distribution to our own.
No doubt others are siphoning our dollars out of our communities and building their empires. We need to secure the bag.
The documentary highlighted more than just the monetary cost such as the investment of time, scheduling your life around the availability of a hairstylist, and missing birthdays and other celebratory events for friends and family on account of having to do hair.
While the monetary cost is startling, these other issues brought to the fore are unsettling since they imply that we have created a sort of bondage for ourselves; a bondage that touches our relationships and has the capacity to impact on the quality of life.
Come to think of it I recall preparing marketing copy for a service provider who offers payment plans for buying hair. People are actually willingly going into debt to maintain their hair. What’s up with that?