My name is Teona Smith and I created Hair’s The Scoop podcast in 2019 as a passion project! Growing up, I had always worn my hair in a relaxed state, never paying attention to the products I was using in my hair and not realizing that I didn’t actually need harsh chemicals on my hair, in order to conform to societies standard of beauty. It wasn’t until 2014 (almost 18 years of religiously relaxing my hair), that my hair dresser started noticing large patches of hair being loss from my scalp at one of my relaxer “touch-up” sessions.
It was at that moment that I realized I had two options: continue to lose my hair and eventually go completely bald or stop using toxic chemicals that were starting to wreak havoc on my body. I decided to ditch the relaxers and any products that weren’t labeled free of toxins and 6 months later, I chopped off all of my relaxed hair and went completely natural!
Funny thing is, using relaxers in the black community when I was growing up was more of a way of life. In fact, you were considered the odd one out if your hair wasn’t relaxed back then! Dreads and the occasional afro were not too common and where I was from, it wasn’t a look you aspired to either. It never dawned on me prior to my hair loss experience that the chemicals we used daily, weekly or monthly on our hair were in fact HIGHLY Toxic.
Upon the realization that not just myself, my family, my friends and the black community as a whole were still blatantly being effected by a mentality of Eurocentric beauty that dates back to slavery, I decided to look only towards buying safe, non-toxic, chemical free products that were made with my hair and health in mind. I am happy to announce that my hair grew back entirely (and with a vengeance lol). My natural hair is the longest my hair has EVER been in general and I can safely say that by going natural and using quality products, I was able to turn things around for myself.
The work did not stop there though as I wondered why there weren’t more black owned natural hair companies to choose from when walking down the aisle in major retailors. As I continued my research, I felt the need to bring this information to the black community’s attention to help evoke change not only for our health’s sake, but for our financial buying power too…
Here’s Why:
The black hair care industry is a 1.5 trillion dollar industry that continues to grow from the profits of black women, without black women having much ownership in the industry. The same hair industry that was built off of black women, continues to be saturated with big companies that have been exposed for using increased chemicals that are known to be harmful, synthetic and highly toxic. These products are in fact specifically targeted and marketed to the black community despite these findings and without any recourse. Studies show that there are direct correlations between the harmful chemicals being used by black women in hair products marketed to them and the increase in health issues/diseases that we disproportionally face as black women when compared to any other group i.e. Fibroids, Cancer, Endometriosis, etc.
Have you thought about creating your own product/business but feel stuck in the process? – Here’s why YOU should tune in:
With the natural hair movement changing the way black women think about what goes into our hair/body, we are seeing a rise in entrepreneurship within the black community with a real sentiment for organic, non-toxic, safe and synthetic free products. Our community is excited about supporting these endeavors as we realize the power of buying black and how important it is to use safe products that were made with our health in mind. There is a huge need for more Female Black Entrepreneurs and my podcast Hair’s The Scoop is a guide for those that are interested in creating the next black owned business in the hair/beauty industry, but might not know how to navigate or get started in the business.
Hair’s The Scoop is a business savvy podcast that helps to educate black women on the journey through entrepreneurship, by listening to the stories of well known and successful Founders/CEO’s in the business. Each month I highlight bold, black women who have successfully scaled to full-time entrepreneurs within the hair, health and beauty industry. My special guests get candid on what it takes to run a successful company, how they got started, mistakes to avoid in the business and so much more!
I hope my podcast helps to guide you on your entrepreneurial journey!
Thank you for getting to know me & my story and don’t forget to RATE & REVIEW!
Sincerely,
Teona Smith
Hair’s The Scoop Founder
