For most female students at UW-Madison, it takes them less than 10 minutes to do their hair or costs around $60 to get a haircut. But for Faven Dagne and many other Black female students, it takes nearly an hour and double the price to get their hair done.
Dagne, an Ethiopian-American freshman at UW-Madison, found it easy to maintain her kinky 4a hair in her hometown of Chicago, Illinois, thanks to the hundreds of Black hairstylists and beauty supply stores across the city. Since moving to Madison, she’s noticed a lack of those resources, making it difficult to maintain her hair.
“Nowhere near here has a place where you can buy the hair or buy the gel or buy other things that you need to do your braids,” Dagne said. “Some people know how [to do their hair] but they genuinely have nowhere else to go.”
Dagne is among many Black students at UW-Madison who face similar issues of maintaining their hair on campus. The nearest salon that specializes in Black hair is a 37 minute bus ride from Madison to Middleton, making it inconvenient for Black students. Some Black students have taken matters into their own hands by starting their own hairstyling business on campus, like sophomore Lillian Asiamah.
Asimah’s business, “Lilistyles”, is a part of the niche world of Black hairstyling student businesses of UW-Madison. Most students would pay their friends or roommates who know how to do hair to do theirs. But there’s not a lot of students who take their business as seriously as Asmiah. Asmiah is satisfied with her business because she enjoys it and reflects on Black culture.
“It’s part of our culture, we’ve been doing this for a long time,” Asimah said. “It’s a tradition.”
Asiamah first learned how to do her own hair in 8th grade when Covid-19 pandemic restrictions made it difficult to go to a hairstylist. She learned how to do various Black hairstyles such as cornrows, wig installs and braids through both Youtube tutorials and working at a nearby salon. After practicing on her friends and feeling confident, she started taking in clients when she was in high school.
During her freshman year of college, she was able to do her own hair unlike others. Once she started hearing how students were desperately trying to find places to get their hair done, Asiamah decided to bring her business to campus.
Asiamah says that the nearest beauty supply store in Madison has a lack of options. So instead, she orders her supplies on Amazon or professional hair websites. She also tries to lower the prices of her service to reasonable prices, as most of her clients are students.
According to the American Academy of Dermatology, Black hair is brittle and damages easily, so it requires specific routines, such as only washing one’s hair once or every other week and using a special conditioner. Braids are also a way for Black people to protect their hair as it can reduce breakage and promote hair growth.
Asiamah had first found her business difficult to be advertised when she moved to Madison because of the small Black student population at UW-Madison. The UW-Madison center beauty service app, Vero, could help Asiamah and her business find customers faster and to spread her business. Vero has multiple features such as a public portfolio and direct messaging for easy booking. In addition, Vero has a discussion forum where Black students can find community and Black hairstyling businesses like Asiamah.
Sources
Faven Dagne, student,
fdagne@wisc.edu
Lilian Asiamah, owner of Lilistyles and student,