As popular and even trendy as natural hair has become, there’s a dearth of beauty supply stores that cater to it. I like buying products from Target because they can easily be returned if they ?don’t work out, but sometimes I also need bss-specific things and don’t want to make multiple trips. ?With all the choices and chemistry involved, it’s a great help to have knowledgable salespeople who can really speak to the products, but that’s not the norm in your typical beauty supply, especially for the natural hair products. My entrepreneurial dream is a bath and body bar/boutique/cafe/bookstore/event space… thus, KNKY Deli. Someday, it’ll be a real delicatessen.
So I was slightly crestfallen last weekend when I happened upon a Durham store that encompasses 3/5ths of my life dream: Hairizon Beauty. ?Opened in 2011 by mother-daughter pair Valerie?Jackson and Joi Stepney in Five Points, Hairizon carries several natural hair product lines as well as local handmade jewelry and accessories.
Brands include popular, nationally distributed ones like Kinky-Curly and CurlKit as well as smaller lines like?KuSHEaMa?and?Dezign Yuan Naturals, all free of sulfates, parabens and general bad-for-your-hair chemicals. The store also houses?The Beauty Bar, where customers can have hair and body butters, soaks, scrubs and other elixers made to order while they wait.?
The second thing I noticed upon walking inside was the awesome customer service (first was the smell — the?ZOE Candles cotton candy soy candle that was simmering was rather inviting.) I started testing some products while Valerie was occupied with customers toward the back of the store and she fluidly chatted about the ingredients and best ways to use them. ?It took me a second to realize she was speaking to me, because I hadn’t assumed that she’d noticed me at all, much less noted which products I was looking at. ? Both she and Kiara were very helpful and friendly throughout. It was obvious from the steady stream of customers, most of whom were greeted by name, that it’s a warm, inviting place to be.
Hairizon also hosts hair, skin and wellness events. Later that evening, the store hosted a “Mommy and Me” natural hair workshop. Earlier in the month, the creator of Purgasm?visited for a discussion on skin and hair hydration. I also saw flyers for weekly Zumba classes.
If I lived closer, Hairizon would definitely be a regular, if not constant stop. I left with 4 of those soy candles and a 33oz. jug of Oyin Handmade Juices & Berries (which is probably my favorite hair product ever.) I’ll definitely stop by again on future visits because I’d love to try some of the products I’ve never seen before, like the Purgasm Curl Poppin’ Gel. But most of all, I’d love to support this great store as much as I can!
Hairizon Beauty
341 W Main Street, Ste 104
Durham NC, 27701
(800) 557-9828
http://www.hairizonbeauty.com