Discount retailers keep multicultural curls in their line of sight.

Textured hair seems to be all the rage and the formulation of products to meet the needs of coily hair consumers has seen an increase in recent years. One look at retail shelves and you’ll notice that every hair care manufacture in the market has worked to create a line that specifically cares for the different textures and types of hair beyond the simple fine, normal and coarse. Garnier Fructis has introduced its Wonder Waves collection and Herbal Essences has its very own Totally Twisted collection, each promising to give curls much needed TLC.  But even as the curly boom demand being met with a generous cosmetic company supply, for ethnic hair a lot of the products that are offered just aren’t cutting the mustard when it comes to proper care. In order to meet the need, company’s like Miss Jessie’s and Carol’s Daughter have been created to help women of color tame and nourish their tresses using products specifically tailored to care for ethnic hair. Unfortunately for many however, the cost and limited availability of these products oftentimes made it difficult for beauties on a budget to get their hands on them. Well discount retailers like Target, Wal-Mart and even Walgreens are bringing these hair care solutions to their commerce concerned customers and adding a little diversity to their health and beauty departments.

First the curly community was rocked by the news that Miss Jessie’s product line was being available at Target, with the introduction of The Jane Carter Solution and CURLS brands following closely on MJ’s heels. Target has even gone the extra mile of creating its own line of shea butter infused products in order to “catch the wave”, offering shampoos, conditioners and other hair care elements under its recently launched SheaMoisture brand. These contemporary garnishes to Target’s inventory are the retail chain’s way to make good on its trademark promise that its customer base can “Expect More. Pay Less” on a wider variety of beauty products. As Senior Vice President of Merchandising Keri Jones states in Target’s press release on the matter:

“By offering an accessible assortment of salon-quality brands and everyday essentials, Target is the destination for guests’ beauty needs. With the introduction of Miss Jessie’s and other new launches, our guests will now find more of the products they want, need and trust.”

Although many within the natural hair community expressed disappointment that the addition of some of the products was not accompanied by a reduction in their price – specifically, the Miss Jessie’s brand – more than enough were satisfied with the fact that they now had a more convenient way to get their hands on quality products that worked wonders with their hair types.

For textured tress divas who love the Carol’s Daughters brand of hair care products but can’t seem to justify the Sephora or Macy's cost with their budgets, select Wal-mart and Walgreens stores are reported to offer a less pricy alternative with the ceXpress product line. Claiming to contain a similar formula to Lisa Price’s beloved Carol’s Daughter brand, ceXpress, or Carol’s Express as it’s also referred to, offers its own version of hair milk, hair butter and hair smoothie products at significantly lower prices than Carol’s Daughter. While there has been quite a lot of confusing media hype concerning whether or not ceXpress is guilty of copyright infringement, quite a few naturals have expressed a liking for the line, saying it works just as well on their hair as its more expensive contemporary.

“I have used both CD and ceXpress. I honestly like them both, though I think the scent of the ceXpress products last a lot longer than CD,” says an anonymous commenter to The Coarse Hair Diary’s post about the product. “At half the price, ceXpress has my money every time!”

Admittedly, it takes a bit of finagling to find an exact location where these products can be found, and Google searches result in more than a little backlash from Carol’s Daughter’s loyalists as well as what seems to be informercial type testimonials for the product.  But the addition of this product into the discout industry is further proof that chains like Target, Walmart and Walgreens are working hard to cater to its curly customer’s needs and economic limitations.

If you are in the Columbus area and would like to try the products on for size, you can find them at the Wal-Mart location on Morse Road as well as the Wal-Mart location on East Main in Whitehall, per the ceXpress store locator on its Website.

Not to be outdone, the drug store chain CVS has thrown its hat in the ethnic hair care ring by offering Black Earth Products -- which claims to be the first all-natural hair care product line -- as a part of its health and beauty arsenal. Formulated by Taliah Waajid, founder of the Taliah Waajid Natural Hair Care Center in Atlanta and creator of the World Natural Hair Health & Beauty Show, Black Earth products offers a vast assortment of cleansers, conditioners and styling elements that are specifically designed to care for natural ethnic hair. All Black Earth products are alcohol free and were created using Taliah’s 20+ years of experience working with tightly coiled hair, and are formulated using S.T.E.P.S. (System To Enhance, Protect and Strengthen), which is a Waajjid’s natural antibacterial formula that uses bay laurel.

Natural hair wears nationwide have trusted Black Earth to care for their kinks for years, but unless you ran in certain circles the products may have flown under your radar since the brand is not as commercially known as some of its competition. But with its inclusion in CVS’s inventory, and much to the surprise of many, Target’s as well, the Black Earth line is being made available to a wider audience and offering natural hair wearers yet another alternative to sate its hair care needs. And much to the delight of parents of natural hair children, Taliah has also created the Curly, Kinky Natural line especially for children

According to the company's Website store locator, the following CVS locations currently offer Black Earth products:

109 South High Columbus, OH 43215

3307 E. Broad Street Whitehall, OH 43213

3100 Cleveland Ave. Columbus, OH 43224

4400 Cleveland Ave. Columbus, OH 43224

564 E. Livingston Ave. Columbus, OH43215

3355 East Livingston Ave. Columbus, OH 43227

1515 West Broad Street Columbus, OH 43222

Unfortunately the Black Earth line is only available at the Target store located at 3955 East Broad Street, but hopefully as the word goes out and its popularity spreads, many more locations will be added to the roster.

While many will question the quality of products that don't come from high end stores or big tag names, it's good to know there are now opportunities for the cost conscientious among us to have access to hair care options.

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