Once upon a time, Black women wearing natural hair wasn’t mainstream. It was almost unfamiliar territory. Outside of braids, not much was explored for many of us who grew up getting relaxers. But one day, a Black woman, Taliah Waajid, decided to come from behind the chair, caring for the natural manes of women, and formulated products to preserve what the good Lord blessed us with.
From Master Stylist and Cosmetologist, Waajid gave Black women a gift, “the first complete line of natural, chemical-free hair care products because there were no products available on the market to care for her client’s natural, chemical-free hair,” according to her website. What a blessing it is!
As the woman responsible for creating a space for natural hair products prepares for the 22nd Annual Natural Hair, Health and Beauty Show, Exclusive Deets had a chance to speak with the trailblazer about the evolution of the industry, today’s hairstylists practices and more.
The joys of seeing this sector grow:
My greatest joy in the growth of the beauty industry is the growth of Black women not using chemicals and embracing their natural hair.
It’s beautiful to look around and now see almost 5 out of 5 Black women in a group wearing their hair naturally and chemical-free.
Greatest hurdles in getting in-store placement?
My greatest hurdle was trying to convince the stores that there was a growing percentage of Black women who wore natural hair and were looking for my products to care of them.
I was also trying to convince the stores that there should be a category of products on the shelves that catered only to the care of natural hair, braids and locs, just like the category sections they had in their stores for relaxers and color.
Looking back 22 years ago, did you intend for the Natural Hair Show to grow to 30,000+ attendees?
Yes. I intended for it to grow larger and become a national event and a global event.
The industry has changed a lot since the 90s and even early 2000s. What’s one thing you miss about it?
I miss a lot of the professionalism and pride stylists had back then–especially in the ’90s and early 2000s. It seemed that there were more of us who were serious about our profession as stylists, salon owners, booth renters, etc. We provided FULL service for our clients. We did not settle because we were making money. We wanted more and wanted to be better professionals. It was also about our clients and providing quality service as well as quality customer service. A lot of that has been lost. The client was the star and professional stylists treated them as such.
These new hairstylists have a lot of rules including, washing your hair before you sit in their chair. Do you think this is jeopardizing sisterhood in our community since the salon used to be the place where women would bond?
Yes. It’s wrong on so many levels. These stylists will not last. Their days are numbered. It does not matter how good your techniques and styling are; people want service and want to be served when going to a professional. Covid is over! Clients have better choices and they are finding them and staying where they are treated with respect.
On your website, you mention that working with family and staff has helped you achieve success. Tell us about the time you learned how to delegate so people could help you.
I am still learning to do that. I am also a creative, and it is sometimes very difficult to hand over some tasks. My business is my passion and I still love it and am very attached to it. I want things to be done right but I am still to this day, reminding myself to “let others do it.” If it is not 100% the way I want it, it’s okay. It is an opportunity to explain what I want and try again. It’s hard.
When creating your products, where do you get your ideas and how are they tested?
Sometimes I come up with the complete idea, sometimes my team helps and sometimes we all come up with the idea. We test the Taliah Waajid products in several ways. It can depend on the type of collection it is. Of course, we do manufacturing texting, we also test with my stylist network. I do testing from smell, feel and how it works on the hair in different conditions and we do focus groups.
What is your mission for this year’s Natural Hair Show?
To have the largest, most engaging and most inspiring show. I want my attendees to leave feeling full and inspired to improve their lives in some way. It can be from finding the perfect hair regimen, getting life-changing gems from the panels, adding exercise and healthy eating, doing more networking for their business, starting a business, saving more money and spending more time with family. Most of all, fall in love with themselves, their families and the community even more.
One word to describe the Taliah Waajid brand?
Proven
For more information about Taliah Waajid’s Natural Hair Show, click here.
Exclusive Deets 
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