By: d-mars.com
News Provider
Rahya Kelley, a student at Olivet College, not only attends classes and participates in her cheerleading squad, but she also offers her hair styling services to Black students on campus.
However, Kelley faces difficulties in obtaining the necessary hair care products for Black hair, as Olivet, Michigan, is located in a relatively remote area. While there is a Walmart 12 miles away, it often lacks a reliable selection of products for Black hair.
“The only time I was able to go to the beauty supply store was when I went home or if one of my friends were going to the beauty supply store and I would tag along with them,” said Kelley, who is a senior studying business administration.
Kelley typically had to wait until she went home or tag along with friends who were visiting a beauty supply store. However, she recently discovered Thee Beauty Genie, a company that offers vending machines stocked with Black hair care items, such as edge control and deep conditioner.
Kelley, along with other students in the Hiram Archer Student Success Academy, worked to bring a Beauty Genie vending machine to Olivet College, making it the first college campus to host one. This initiative aims to address the difficulty Black students face in finding suitable hair care products in remote college towns. The H A S S A serves as a mentorship program for students of color at Olivet College where 18.1% of students are Black.
Beginning on August 1st, Olivet College will become the first college campus to feature a Beauty Genie vending machine.
This vending machine will be stocked with a variety of Black hair care items, including bonnets and combs. While the initial Beauty Genie machine was recently placed in a train station in Chicago, the founders of the company recognized the need to serve Black students at remote colleges.
These students often struggle to find personal care products specifically tailored to their hair needs. Although retailers like Walmart, which are commonly found in small towns and college towns, do carry some hair care products, Quintella Rodgers, co-founder of Beauty Genie, explained that many of these products are not suitable for Black hair.
In fact, they can even cause damage or breakage. Rodgers, who also owns Thee Hair Bar in Blue Island, Illinois, mentioned that many of her college student clients wait until school breaks to style their hair.
“I think oftentimes, we don’t have many options,” Karim said. That’s why “being comfortable wearing our hair naturally, not having to always straighten it, being able to purchase products that we don’t have to either travel a long distance for or we don’t have to order them online and wait for them to be shipped” is at the core of the company’s mission, she added.
In addition to the beauty products, the vending machines showcase brief videos featuring experienced hair stylists discussing various aspects of hair care and recommending the most suitable products for different hair types.
Swanzetta Lewis, a managing partner and braider at Rodgers’ salon for the past four years, stated that the Beauty Genie team aims to provide students with valuable information that they can easily apply to their own hair care routines.
“Some students may have not even experienced or even know certain things like possibly how often to get their ends clipped,” Lewis said. “And so, if we can provide tutorials for those kids to take back and know that, it’s also educational for them as well.” “We’ve been receiving amazing feedback,” Karim said. “I think it’s only just a matter of time before more colleges jump on board.”
