Note # 3

Author

Tyesha Friday
August 22, 2023

Hello,

There’s a lot going on this week. We’re over halfway through National Black Business Month in the United States. Meanwhile in the UK this week, the price of digital creator Patricia Bright’s braid appointment restarted the social debate around hairstylist prices for Black haircare.

[National Black Business Month]

This awareness month is an annual celebration recognising Black entrepreneurs and their contributions to America’s economy ✊ : . I was excited to see ABC give a few Black hair care pioneers the spotlight in this segment.

[Would you spend £1,000.00 on braids?]

That’s a loaded question. Let me give you some context. This week Patricia Bright, a digital creator and entrepreneur based in the UK, shared a sweet video of her and her daughter getting braids on Instagram (see below). This sparked online debate in the comments and elsewhere about 1) did this hairstylist charge too much? 2) generally why do hairstylists prices going up, up, and up?

What someone is willing to pay for their hair services is subjective and includes the size of their bag. To answer questions one, let’s not watch what Patricia Bright is spent on this service. Many of have seen her work for her successes and it’s not anyone’s business.

Let’s look at how pricing works. Keeping things simple usually the price of any good of service is informed by the cost of production, market rate, and the ideal profit margin a business owner wants to make. The ideal profit margin can be shaped by their own financial goals and influenced by a few customer variables:

  • The buyer’s perceived value: We know hair matters to most Black women.

  • How many buyers: We know there’s a shortage of consistent and easy accessible hair services for Black women. This usually gets worse the further you are from a major city.

  • How sensitive they are to changes in price: The influence of social media in helping hairstylist reach customers and showcase their work, the macro economic factors affecting us all.

As someone who has recently moved to New York and I emphasise with this. For example, I’ve found prices for sew-ins range from $300-$900 for the the same exact thing with no clear indication that the stylist doing the higher priced service is going to offer a differentiated level of skill or service. I have opted for what is in my budget and assessed the location, and experience of the service provider to make a choice.

I actually think it’s a wait and see game because this spike is still relatively new (a couple of years). With wages stagnating in the UK and black women statistically experiencing larger wage gaps, have reached the peak of price hikes in Black hair? I don’t think so. Yet something interesting might be unfolding. This could be introduction of what could eventually be more styling providers positioning their service as ‘premium’. Something Black women have for so long not been afforded in haircare. We are so used to sitting in someone’s living room or a student’s dorm (yes I had to do that in 2022 at 31 years old in Cambridge (hair was 🔥).

On the flip side, it also creates an gap for stylists with accessible pricing to fill and build their customer base. I know I will flex for my favourite hairstylists as their price increases were expected, communicated, and their services top-tier.

For hairstylists thinking about their pricing, founder of Boombastic Braids Rashida talks about approaching pricing in episode 3.

What I’ve been reading and watching.

Something to watch

You’ll likely be familiar with music artist Brent Faiyaz’s viral song Jackie Brown. He finally released the music video and it there’s lots of hair visuals. Enjoy.

Protect your mind.

Tyesha

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