New Black-Owned Beauty Store Accepts People For 'Who They Are'

BOLINGBROOK, IL — To fill a void in the beauty supply industry, a Romeoville resident started her own business that had its grand opening in Bolingbrook on Tuesday. Owner of Hair Empire Beauty Supply, Abena Owusu-Ansah, said a "love for the community" was the inspiration behind this store.

"As stated in our motto, 'Feel Beautiful Inside and Out.', we are here to provide beauty and empowerment to the residents of this wonderful community," Owusu-Ansah said. "Most of the beauty supply stores that we shop at lack personalized service, product knowledge, online-to-offline conversion (in store pickup) and most of all, the stores have an uninspiring atmosphere. Hair Empire Beauty Supply was created to address these so-called deficits in the beauty industry. Our vision is to create a sacred space for all things hair related to thrive."

Hair Empire has been selling products online since January. The online option helped serve the community while the store-front location was being prepared.

"We were able to infiltrate the community and spread the mission of the store this way," she said.

The store had a soft opening on July 10, and the owner used this period to listen to the customers' opinions, suggestions, and concerns. With long-established businesses in the area faltering due to the coronavirus pandemic, the thought of failing "has crossed my mind," Owusu-Ansah said, but "our resiliency will help us thrive despite the pandemic."

"The pandemic slowed down the build out process of the store and also affected several other phases of the store opening," she said. "Our store opening date was pushed back due to this pandemic, but I am extremely glad about the team that I have, and we never gave up or let our doubts take over. We are here to serve the community."

Every section of Hair Empire was specifically made to be unique. The store was built with the vision to avoid the clutter usually seen in regular beauty supply stores, Owusu-Ansah said. As a person that has shopped at beauty supply stores most of "my adult life," she said she knows there are "too many unnecessary products that are present and it confuses a customer entering the store as to which product is actually needed."

"Our employees are also specifically trained to have the product knowledge of the items in the store. This can be helpful in terms of educating each customer as to which product works best for their hair.," she said.

Hair Empire also aims to provide a different in-store experience where their products will consistently engage the five basic senses. Customers can touch the hair wall extension and products, see the color scheme carefully placed around the store, hear music that they can dance to, and smell the essential oils used in the store. There will also be a tasting component in the future when the pandemic is under control.

According to Owusu-Ansah, the most unique section of the store is the organic oil bar. Their brand is called Imperioils, which have an essential oil infused with organic oils mixed with shea butter from Ghana. There are over 20 oils to choose from, and they greatly benefit hair and skin.

She said the store has taken all the safety measures to keep guests safe. Hand sanitizers have been placed all over the space and stickers on the floor will help with social distancing. Masks are required to enter and curbside service for the customers are also being offered.

Despite not residing in Bolingbrook, Owusu-Ansah said she chose this community because of its diversity. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 19 percent of the residents are Black and almost 12 percent are Asian.

"Each person represented in this population will have been interested in hair items such as hair products, hair extensions, braiding hair, crochet hair, hair accessories and oils for hair at some point in time," she said. "We all have the individual choice of embracing our hair, but Hair Empire’s goal is to educate customers about their hair, while also providing other opportunities to be unique such as getting a wig."

This is one of the few Black-owned beauty stores in the village, and she said people have to understand that Black-owned just means the owner is Black, but the products are all-inclusive towards any race.

"I feel blessed by God for providing me the opportunity to achieve and exceed my dream. I love getting to know the residents of this community and the amazement that each customer feels when they enter the store," she said. "I love that our customers appreciate and are excited by the in-store experience. I feel joy entering the store each day because we have worked so hard to get to this point."

Owusu-Ansah said she is also glad that the store opened during a time when the Black Lives Matter movement has started to grow following George Floyd's death.

"It’s a great season for Black-owned businesses," she said. "Hair Empire is highly appreciated because people are recognizing that they should support small businesses, specifically black -owned ones."

As a new establishment, the store will take a while to find its footing in the community.

"It will take time for the brand to take roots and for the community to appreciate the quality of our store. This is the barrier we have to cross now," Owusu-Ansah said. "This is a place where we encourage feeling beautiful inside and out. We accept all people for who they are."

Hair Empire Beauty Supply is located at 1236 W. Boughton Road. For more information, visit the website.