Non-Black-owned beauty supply stores have a documented history of discriminating against and harassing Black business owners and customers, often restricting access to essential products. This dynamic has led to an ethnically segmented beauty supply market – where non-Black stores dominate distribution channels and Black-owned stores struggle to survive. In many cases, non-Black businesses profit heavily from the Black beauty industry while shutting Black entrepreneurs out of ownership opportunities and supply chains.
According to Tequila Fletcher, owner of Tressa Holic Beauty Supply, a cosmetologist who honed her craft in several Tampa salons before taking the leap to open her own, many non-Black distributors and retailers of other ethnicities refuse to do direct business with Black entrepreneurs, often citing vague or false reasons such as “incomplete applications” or “out-of-stock products.” These tactics are part of a larger pattern of gatekeeping, where Black beauty supply owners are routinely denied accounts, withheld catalogs and excluded from competitive pricing. This makes it difficult for them to secure inventory and turn a profit. In some instances, Black customers have even reported being harassed, falsely accused, physically assaulted, or locked out of non-Black-owned stores – creating not just a financial barrier, but an environment of intimidation and exclusion.
This has fostered an uneven playing field, where Black-owned beauty supply stores operate at a significant disadvantage – facing higher wholesale costs, limited inventory access, and fewer distribution partnerships. Meanwhile, non-Black-owned businesses continue to monopolize the Black cultural beauty market, controlling the flow of products while reaping the profits generated by Black consumers.
Ethnographic Segmentation: Race as a Market Divider
The phenomenon unfolding in the beauty supply industry is a textbook example of ethnographic segmentation – a market practice where race, ethnicity and cultural identity are used to divide consumers and producers into separate economic categories. In this framework, Black consumers are targeted for their spending power, yet Black entrepreneurs are blocked from ownership, distribution and upstream control.
Ethnographic segmentation goes beyond simple demographic marketing. It reflects systemic exclusion by creating racialized boundaries around who gets to participate in various parts of the economy. In the case of the beauty industry, this means Black women are the primary consumers in a $6 billion wig and hair extension market, yet are systematically denied access to the supply chains that drive it. This segmentation ensures wealth generated from Black cultural aesthetics flows outward – often to communities with no direct investment in or cultural connection to the products they sell.
Just as racially restrictive covenants once kept Black families out of certain neighborhoods to protect property values, ethnographic segmentation in commerce restricts Black participation to the consumer role, never the owner. It is a business model rooted in exploitation: Rely on Black spending, deny Black equity.
A Call to Rebuild
To break this cycle, we must reduce dependency on non-Black suppliers and redirect investments into our own communities. This includes building manufacturing and supply relationships with African nations and Caribbean partners, expanding the reach and control of Black-owned distribution networks. The responsibility also lies with us – as consumers – to be intentional with our spending. Supporting Black-owned beauty supply stores not only helps them grow but also challenges the monopolies built on our economic power.
The reality is the popularity of Black hair and beauty products – and even industries like nail salons – would not exist at their current scale without the ongoing support of Black women. If we want to shift the tide, we must go beyond critique and take decisive steps to reclaim our market share. Strategic cooperation, mutual purchasing and shared resource networks among Black entrepreneurs can turn exclusion into empowerment.
In short, non-Black-owned beauty stores have long benefited from the Black beauty market while restricting access to ownership and high-quality products for Black entrepreneurs and customers. This racial segmentation continues to disadvantage Black owners. Addressing this inequity will require strategy and collective commitment to investing in Black-owned beauty businesses – and exposing the practice of disenfranchisement that still prevails.
The Black Lens staff contributed to this report.