Newspaper Page Text
BILACK HAIR CARE
By
Marie
Winchester
frican-American women have become a viable
Apmsence in the workplace. They have gained
access, and experienced success, at every rung of the
career ladder. At the same time, they are finding that
trying to balance the demands of career and home is
extremely stressful. Because of this, there is less time
for maintaining a beauty regime.
Recognizing that their busy lives pull them in direc
tions that compromise their beauty time, Black
women are now gravitating toward styles that require
less maintenance and products that contain ingredients
that allow them to have beautiful, healthy hair.
Marla Jones, vice president for special markets at
Revlon, has accurately pinpointed that trend. She
notes that this new lifestyle has ignited a big interest
in low-maintenance hair care items that also create
high styles. Ms. Jones says that “African-American
women, like all women, are busier and don’t have
much time to spend with their hair. However, they still
want their hair very stylized.”
The Color Choice
Black women are resisting the aging process with a
vengeance. The most visible example of this is the
increased use of color applications in their hair to
achieve a youthful look.
Soft Sheen’s Optimum Care Moisture Rich
Conditioning Permanent Color is another hair color
alternative. This new easy-to-apply hair coloring kit
not only has an array of colors but contains ingredients
and elements that address the unique desires and hair
care needs of African-American women.
L’Oreal’s Excellence Creme Permanent Creme
Colorant is another hair color item that appeals to
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African-American women. Excellence Creme is
described as a “wonderful colorful alternative” for a
variety of women. In addition to the existing
Excellence customer, it is also a new option for the
individual who is ready to try an at-home product, as
well as color dropouts who have been dissatisfied with
the gray coverage in the past.
A Return To The Motherland
The most dramatic hair trend among African-
American women is the natural and Afrocentric style.
Amazon Payton-Smiley, owner of Amazon Braids and
Natural Care Salon in Chicago, is one of the pioneers
of the natural hair movement and she has observed
and benefitted from the trend. She says, “The natural
hair care phenomenon has evolved into a fashion
statement. It is indicative of a lifestyle and it tran
scends culture.” She says it has opened the market
from just artistic/cultural style to one for business and
in just about any area, people are wearing them.
A self-described braid artist and natural hair care spe
cialist, Amazon began doing braids “on the side” 15
years ago while holding down a full-time job as a
social worker. Today, the natural hair phenomenon has
grown along with Amazon’s business. No longer a
social worker, she is now a respected entrepreneur
who operates a salon near Downtown Chicago that
employs 12 braiders, certainly testimony to its accep
tance and popularity.
In addition to it being in vogue, she attributes the con
venience of the natural/Afrocentric style as another
reason it has become a fashion favorite. “The natural
hair style is more convenient because you spend one
day getting the style, but you don’t have to do any
thing to it for two to three months. It allows a busy
person to spend less time dealing with the hair.”
Mrs. Payton-Smiley notes that Soft Sheen has created
a product line, Roots of Nature, tailored exclusively
for the natural Afrocentric trend. She has endorsed the
line because it is formulated from products that are
derived from the earth. Denise Gardner, vice president
of marketing at Soft Sheen says this product comes in
an “era of the fashion individualist and the multicul
tural aspects of beauty. Soft Sheen recognizes the
many faces of beauty and the many ways we wear our
hair with our new Roots of Nature line. This is a
nature-inspired, nature-based line of hair care prod
ucts created especially for braids, locks, twists, and
natural, and the specific needs associated with these
styles.”
Developed with a nationally recognized braid expert
and through a unique process called Botany Therapy,
Roots of Nature draws from seven hair care essentials
and utilizes the riches of the earth to enrich and revi
talize natural hair styles. For example, the Roots of
Nature line consists of seven hair care essentials that
include the Yucca & Yarrow Mild, Non-Stripping
Shampoo, Botanical Conditioning Moisturizing
Treatment, Botanical Hair and Scalp Oil, Eucalyptus
& Sage Scalp Soother, Eucalyptus & Collagen Styling
_Gel, Keratin & Kiwi Leave-In Conditioning Spray,
and Aloe Vera & Henna Shining Spray.
African-American women’s styles cross the fashion
landscape from upsweeps to bobs, new waves to
twists, braids to layers, sassy dos to high drama.
Whether it’s relaxed, natural or one that is on the edge
of the next fashion trend, it is clear that the common
denominator that drives African-American women is
their shared desire to be beautiful. l