A Missing Site of Black Beauty History: The Black Beauty Supply Store

Abstract

With(in) retail spaces, Black Americans operate in a space with historical ties to inequality, dehumanization, and exclusion. This qualitative study situates the Black beauty supply store within these political and culturally relevant histories. Millennial perceptions of beauty, relationship to their hair, and the history of Black beauty supply stores are briefly covered in the literature review. Black feminist thought and Black feminist geographies informed the data analysis of interview transcripts from 20 millennial Black women. The findings reveal that millennial Black women shop at the Black beauty supply store due to convenience and the variety in product assortment. Yet, the in-store surveillance and assumptions of criminality affect their psyche, resulting in disengagement from the store. Participants realized that fully satisfying beauty retail experiences do not exist for Black women. Despite this, millennial Black women continue to return to the store where they embrace and cultivate Black stylistic and beauty innovations.