For Rahya Kelley, life at Olivet College, Michigan, means not only attending classes and participating in her cheerleading squad but also offering hairstyling services to fellow Black students. However, the scarcity of access to Black hair care products remains a challenge in this remote location.
Olivet, nestled away in a less bustling area, makes finding appropriate Black hair care items a struggle. While a Walmart exists 12 miles away, Kelley notes that its selection isn’t consistently reliable for these specialized products.
The prospect changed when Kelley discovered Beauty Genie, a novel enterprise introducing vending machines that dispense essentials like edge control and deep conditioner. The catalyst for this development came from none other than Ebony Karim, the CEO of Beauty Genie and a close friend of Kelley’s mother. Collaborating with peers in the Hiram Archer Student Success Academy, a mentorship program for students of color, Kelley, a rising senior majoring in business administration, spearheaded the arrival of the Beauty Genie vending machine on Olivet College’s campus, where 18.1% of students identify as Black.
Starting from August 1st, Olivet will stand as the pioneer in hosting a Beauty Genie vending machine on a college campus. These machines will house bonnets, combs, and other crucial Black hair care essentials.
Though Beauty Genie recently inaugurated its first machine in a Chicago train station, the founders saw the opportunity to serve Black students in remote colleges, where sourcing personal care products catering to Black needs poses a challenge.
Quintella Rodgers, co-founder of Beauty Genie and proprietor of Thee Hair Bar in Blue Island, Illinois, highlights that although retail giants like Walmart may have a presence in college towns, they often lack hair care products suitable for Black hair, potentially leading to damage or breakage.
For students on campus, the Beauty Genie machines will offer products from Black-owned companies such as Luster Products, established since 1957, and Mielle Organics, which has gained immense popularity and recently partnered with P&G Beauty. These machines will also feature paired product kits, such as shampoo and conditioner, or a detangling brush and comb.
Ebony Karim, CEO and co-founder of Beauty Genie, underlines the significance of this initiative in centering the needs of women of color and empowering them to embrace their natural hair texture. Karim stresses the importance of providing accessible options for hair care products that cater to the diverse needs of women of color, promoting natural hair and the convenience of obtaining the necessary products.
Additionally, the vending machines will offer informative videos from professional hairstylists, discussing hair maintenance and product recommendations for various hair types. The Beauty Genie team intends to equip students with practical knowledge that they can apply to their hair care routines.
To enhance their impact, Beauty Genie is also launching a collegiate ambassador program. This initiative not only ensures the machines are well-stocked but also imparts entrepreneurial skills to students, enabling them to participate in marketing the brand on their campuses.
Olivet College’s embrace of Beauty Genie marks an exciting milestone for the company, with plans to expand to colleges on the East Coast and in the South. The endeavor not only addresses the hair care gap but also exemplifies the potential for collaboration between beauty and education, fostering empowerment and convenience for students of color.
