When Allen Baker moved to the United States from Rwanda two years ago, she couldn’t find anyone to do her hair.
That’s why she decided to open a hair salon in Saginaw
“I fell in love with doing my hair. I started braiding my own hair,” Baker said. “Because I fell in love with doing my own hair ... I turned my passion into a profession.”
Baker opened her business on June 2 in her own home. Some of the services she offers are box braids, knotless braids, natural hair braids and undoing braids. An appointment can be booked through the Braids N Beyond Empire website or by calling 989-372-1827.
“It’s a unique and ... brand-new business, but I have long term goals,” Baker said. “I want to help people look beautiful.”
Baker also ran a business in Rwanda before emigrating to Chicago for work. Then, she met her husband and moved to Caro and later to Saginaw. When, after constant searching, Baker found a place that might have been able to do her hair, it turned out to be closed.
“That happened last year, and I was like, I am probably going to do everything (for myself) now,” she said. “I can trim my hair. I braid my hair. ... And I ended up thinking, probably there are other people who are like me having a hard time, so maybe I can help them also.”
Baker’s hair salon is also her way of educating people about Rwanda. She said when people come to her business, they can learn about Baker’s home.
“Rwanda is a beautiful country,” she said. “We usually call it a country of 1,000 hills.”
However, Baker said in Rwanda, she had never done her hair herself because it was very easy to get hair services there.
Camille Toney, a member of the Tri-City Chapter of The Links, Incorporated, said she has lived in Midland for five years but usually goes to Detroit to get her hair done. She was able to get braids one time here, but she didn’t find anyone she could trust to wash, blow-dry or color her hair.
“When it comes to people of color's hair, I think there’s a lot of ignorance,” Toney said. “It definitely affects how you feel in the community that you can’t just get a regular everyday maintenance on yourself, and you have to try so hard.”
Toney said she believes the reason for the lack of Black hair care in the region is because Midland is a small city. To be able to offer such hair care, the city needs to attract more people of color to come and live there and it needs to raise awareness of the issue, Toney said.
But the bias against African-American hair goes beyond Michigan. According to Dove’s CROWN 2023 project, Black women’s hair is seen as unprofessional by employers who are interviewing candidates, more than twice as much as any other hair.
According to Dove’s 2021 study, around 50% of Black mothers said their daughters experienced discrimination in schools because of their hair.
The bias appears in hair product pricing as well. According to a National Library Medicine study, African-American women spend nine times more on hair products than any other race.
Toney said she doesn’t buy hair products in the Tri-City area, but said the reason why women of color spend more on hair products is because they need to find a product that will work with their hair texture, curl and color range.
It is important to have access to hair care for African Americans, Baker said, because it is what makes people feel beautiful and confident, like wearing clothes or accessories.
“I would like to tell people that African-American hair is beautiful,” Baker said. “We can do as many styles as we want. It’s just magical hair. ... My look can change any minute. I go to the bathroom, take a shower, and my hair looks different as I come out. ... It’s beautiful. It’s magic. It’s amazing.”
