Korean Beauty Supply Purchase Confessions

Ladies, please forgive me for I have hair sinned. I made a purchase from a Korean beauty supply store. Let me start at the beginning.

I have been working on a big project at work over the past week so I didn't have much down time to visit the board as often as I typically do. Even after work I am just so beat that I have barely visited the site. So my mind wasn't really on our boycott, and I've been dying to get box braids because I've been sick of my wig/protective transitioning style. So Friday evening I stop by the Fulton Hair Factory in Brooklyn to purchase hair for braiding. I've been going to this place for years to buy hair for braiding and most recently wigs. I never really thought of it as a KOREAN BEAUTY SUPPLY STORE because it's a small space, I know the 1 Korean guy who works there (the owner) and all of the black ladies who assist. They primarily sell hair and not many hair products. So I go in and say hello, I'm a familiar face there, make my hair purchase and leave. I take my hair to Harlem today to get my braids done and since I'm never in Harlem, I walk around and browse the stores. I walk into one shop, a Korean Beauty Supply store and see the Jane Carter Solution scalp nourishing serum for a great price. It's pretty much the only thing I use when I have braids so just as I am about to make the purchase, I come to my senses. I realize what I am about to do. This is when I realize the purchase I made yesterday was from a Korean Beauty Supply store. I put the item down and exit the store.

I never really thought of myself as someone who shops at KBSS's because there are absolutely NONE in my Brooklyn neighborhood and NONE in the neighborhood I work in. I make all of my hair product purchases from Whole Foods and Duane Reade, because those are the stores near my job. But I went out of my way to go to a KBSS in Brooklyn because it's a place that is familiar to me and I almost spent my money again at a KBSS in Harlem because of their low-low prices.

I am realizing that I too have to be more careful and thoughtful before I make a purchase involving my hair. I had the best of intentions, but didn't think about how my hair purchase would be supporting the KBSA.

I will say 2 HAIR-Mary's and be absolved of my hair supply store sins. It will not happen again.

Well as long as you are repentant and have changed the error of your ways!

Now go forth and don't buy at those stores anymore!

OMG...tell me why i been debatin lately on if i should just break a law and go to the hair store and get me a 5lb tub of EcoStyler....they are the ONLY ones who sell it locally!!! But i've been waiting til one of our cars got fixed so i could drive a little further to Sally's to get the regular 32oz jar.

I even tried to reason that that would be the ONLY thing i would ever buy from them was the 5lb tub

Also...i don't know of any Black owned stores near me ...the ones i THOUGHT were...are not.

If i knew where they were i would go in a heartbeat! Anybody know of any here in Orlando? Lurkers....can any of y'all reveal yourselves and help meh..help meh plz?

LMBO @ 2 HAIR Mary's! Well, in the future plan out your hair purchases in advance. Once you start doing it, and making it a habit, you won't even have this issue in the future and will be well stocked.

Lawd....i haven't bought anything from them....i just been seriously debating. I've been googling and everything trying to find a BOBSS and i can't find ANYTHING!

Years ago i could find em...but since i've moved back they're all Asian!

Goddessmaker walks into the confessional dressed in all black with 6 inch pumps..I have sinned today..I had beloved angel wing earrings that I bought from a Asian BSS months ago however I lost one last week and was heat broken..I truly grappled with the choice of going as I know they would be the only ones who would have them for 1.00..I slipped and bought 8 other pair..I didn't buy any hair or products..*ask for prayer that I never do it again..

GoddessMaker said:

Goddessmaker walks into the confessional dressed in all black with 6 inch pumps..I have sinned today..I had beloved angel wing earrings that I bought from a Asian BSS months ago however I lost one last week and was heat broken..I truly grappled with the choice of going as I know they would be the only ones who would have them for 1.00..I slipped and bought 8 other pair..I didn't buy any hair or products..*ask for prayer that I never do it again..

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...dang we just comin all OUT the woodwork..huh?!

Come on ladies...we can do this! It feels like a diet tho right? I cain't e'en much lie...this is kinda tough

You ladies are great.

Question-- Why would buying from Sally's be better than a Korean spot? Just wondering.

liberationtheory said:

You ladies are great.

Question-- Why would buying from Sally's be better than a Korean spot? Just wondering.

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Because its the Asians who have the black hair market cornered....Sally beauty supply is not Asian owned and they cater to all ppl...not just aimed at Black ppl...so they are not exploiting us like the Asian BSS.

You're not alone. I bought a set of flexi rods from the bss last sunday. There's a black owned one really close to my house but they weren't open on sunday and I neeeeeded those rods to do my hair for the next day. But, if its any consolation, the bss I went to wasn't Korean owned. I'm not sure what race the guy was....maybe middle eastern?

SmilingElephant said:

Because its the Asians who have the black hair market cornered....Sally beauty supply is not Asian owned and they cater to all ppl...not just aimed at Black ppl...so they are not exploiting us like the Asian BSS.

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The only issue with that argument is that black women by far outspend women of any other race on the types of things that Sally's sells. You can easily google the statistics to find the break down on black spending on beauty products. So if this is a plan to divert some of the large sums of money black people spend in hair and nails, etc., back to black businesses kool. But I fail to see what's accomplished by skipping Korean owned stores, to benefit another non-black owned business.

Also, passing on a jar of Jane Carter Solution - a product by a black owned company because it's sold by a KBSS hurts Jane Carter more than the KBSS. The Korean owned shop makes a small profit per bottle/jar on an indie product line which adds up if they sell a reasonable amount of product. But if the Korean shop doesn't sell enough product, their loss is relatively small, and they simply don't reorder so JC's lost a distributor. jmho

SmilingElephant said:

Because its the Asians who have the black hair market cornered....Sally beauty supply is not Asian owned and they cater to all ppl...not just aimed at Black ppl...so they are not exploiting us like the Asian BSS.

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aah i see. thanks for explaining. i was confused b/c i thought a part of the movement was about supporting black-owned businesses, but i see that's a part of the motivation, not the sole one.

thanks again!!

Tiye said:

The only issue with that argument is that black women by far outspend women of any other race on the types of things that Sally's sells. You can easily google the statistics to find the break down on black spending on beauty products. So if this is a plan to divert some of the large sums of money black people spend in hair and nails, etc., back to black businesses kool. But I fail to see what's accomplished by skipping Korean owned stores, to benefit another non-black owned business.

Also, passing on a jar of Jane Carter Solution - a product by a black owned company because it's sold by a KBSS hurts Jane Carter more than the KBSS. The Korean owned shop makes a small profit per bottle/jar on an indie product line which adds up if they sell a reasonable amount of product. But if the Korean shop doesn't sell enough product, their loss is relatively small, and they simply don't reorder so JC's lost a distributor. jmho

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I understand what you are saying....but im saying because I cannot find a Black owned BSS in my city....at all...i would go to Sally's instead of the ABSS bc of the way they control the industry.

If i could find a BOBSS i would go there instead of Sally's...but i can't find one

Tiye said:

Also, passing on a jar of Jane Carter Solution - a product by a black owned company because it's sold by a KBSS hurts Jane Carter more than the KBSS. The Korean owned shop makes a small profit per bottle/jar on an indie product line which adds up if they sell a reasonable amount of product. But if the Korean shop doesn't sell enough product, their loss is relatively small, and they simply don't reorder so JC's lost a distributor. jmho

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I see your point, but I'd rather purchase it from Whole Foods either way, or even The Vitamin Shoppe. Two places I regularly shop and regularly purchase this item.

What I'd like to know more about are the counterfeit hair products. I doubt I'd ever recognize a fake, so for my own peace of mind, I'd rather make these purchases from a reputable store. Eliminates the KBSA guilt plus I know I'm buying the real thing.

Bought two packs of flexi rods from the Asian store. Didn't think twice about it. there are no black owned bss near me. Never have been.

I think some BSS go through a lot of trouble to make sure you cannot tell they are Korean owned.

I was in Hair Town last week (aka BeautyofnewYork.com) and the guys in the back where they take orders looked Korean but the guy at the register was Black and the sales ladies in the wig area were also Black. Usually when I go to that BSS I see a Hispanic looking woman on the register or a Korean looking man. I am almost positive they are Korean owned.

Tiye said:

The only issue with that argument is that black women by far outspend women of any other race on the types of things that Sally's sells. You can easily google the statistics to find the break down on black spending on beauty products. So if this is a plan to divert some of the large sums of money black people spend in hair and nails, etc., back to black businesses kool. But I fail to see what's accomplished by skipping Korean owned stores, to benefit another non-black owned business.

Also, passing on a jar of Jane Carter Solution - a product by a black owned company because it's sold by a KBSS hurts Jane Carter more than the KBSS. The Korean owned shop makes a small profit per bottle/jar on an indie product line which adds up if they sell a reasonable amount of product. But if the Korean shop doesn't sell enough product, their loss is relatively small, and they simply don't reorder so JC's lost a distributor. jmho

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ITA and this is where the money really is, making and distributing products. The more serious issue is these larger companies that end up buying the product lines that were once black owned. I think we can make more impact by being equally or even more selective about what products we buy. But for me honestly I buy what works best for my hair & I try to support smaller product makers like Hairveda and Taliah Waajid. If they start carrying Hairveda at the KBSS I'll be right in line

Counterfeit products in the beauty supply store????

For those who are not sure if the store near them is Asian owned, if you feel bold enough go to the store and ask the name of the person who owns it. Ask to see their business license.

Just a thought.

So i went to Sally's ya'll...and got my 32oz EcoStyler....however...i DID see they had the 5lbs clear one...i may get that next time.

I do wish i could find a BOBSS tho

Janet' said:

Counterfeit products in the beauty supply store????

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Janet' said:

Counterfeit products in the beauty supply store????

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In some cases they are just products that shouldn't be sold at these stores, but in other cases, it's actually a product made to look like the real thing. I don't know how common it is, but I do know it exists.

Here is an article about it.

http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/dec2004/nf20041217_2945_db049.htm