Meet the CEOs who are leveraging technology to make hair care more accessible

Ebony Karim uses over 20 years of experience in technology to revolutionize hair care distribution. After providing professional services primarily to the federal government in 2013, Ebony began her entrepreneurial journey. Reminiscing about the struggle to find accessible hair care products during her college days, Ebony, along with her two co-founders, hairstylist and salon owner Quintella Rogers and identical twin Swanzetta Lewis, genie of beauty.

NielsenIQ Omnishopper According to , hair care is the top category for Black consumers, with annual sales of approximately $2.29 billion. Twenty-one percent of black women spend more than 25 percent of their monthly budget on hair care products, compared to just 5 percent of white women. Ebony not only focuses on the beauty industry’s most lucrative market, but also makes Black-centric hair products more accessible and customized. Thirty-seven percent of women with curly hair say they have difficulty finding products that suit their hair. On the other hand, she feels that only 13% of women have her hair straight and she finds it difficult to find styling tips. Beauty Genie addresses many of these obstacles that Black women encounter every day.

Ebony sat down with us to talk about The Beauty Genie, how she’s using technology to revolutionize hair care, and more. This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Stephanie Tharp: From our extensive product market research, why do you need The Beauty Genie?

ebony: There is no solution more unique and innovative than Beauty Genie. We have seen machines that accommodate eyelashes, nails, hair components, and more. Still, no company offers only hair care products or caters to the natural hair care movement. With the Clown Act sponsored by Dove, we are slowly starting to see a shift towards the natural hair movement. Black women are used to our natural hair texture and don’t feel any outside societal pressure to permanently straighten our hair.

Stephanie Tharp: How do you curate the selection of products offered in The Beauty Genie machine?

ebony: One of my partners, Quintella, has been in the hair care industry for over 20 years. She is the salon owner, my personal stylist, and our subject matter expert. As such, she has a vast amount of product knowledge and we rely on her when handpicking our baseline products. Within the Black community, there are some tried-and-true products and brands that we utilize. Therefore, we will focus on this and customize it to suit the needs of our customers, based on their requests. Depending on whether your Beauty Genie is located at a PWI or an HBCU, your needs can be very different.

Stephanie Tharp: Why did you choose a vending machine instead of a physical store?

ebony: The vending industry has always focused on accessibility and convenience. This allows brick-and-mortar stores to enter the optional space. This leaves us facing a very diverse customer base. This machine takes up very little retail space and has almost no overhead. You don’t have to worry about hiring a large number of staff. The integration of technology and AI makes it possible to create a total customer experience. It’s great to walk up to the machine and grab your favorite edge control or hair products. But what’s even better is that you get a holistic experience where you can check out digital marketing, hair care tips, tutorials, and even scan QR codes that are customized based on your hair type and texture. Therefore, vending machines are a solution to such experiences.

Stephanie Tharp: What was the reaction from customers?

ebony: It’s always been an easy sell, especially for Black women. I remember when I was a college student going to school in the city, there weren’t any beauty supply stores that I could easily go to. By making hair care products available to us, we can easily sell them. I get inquiries every day about where they can put it and if other people can buy it too. So it was a great success.

Stephanie Tharp: Do you plan to further integrate AI and other technologies to improve the user experience?

ebony: The machine is already equipped with an integrated software interface system that allows you to upload digital marketing tools such as a very short infomercial for 10/22 or simple hair care tips for that week’s style. You can also highlight the beauty products of the month. Attending the Fearless Fund VS Summit reinforced my desire to focus on AI to create more customized experiences. I’m currently looking to partner with a few companies with similar capabilities. We would like to integrate some of these features into Beauty Genie.

Stephanie Tharp: How does The Beauty Genie combat product waste within the natural hair community?

ebony: I’ve spent a lot of money experimenting with products, wondering if they would work or not. When that happens, you end up with a surplus of product and don’t know what to do with it. Natural hair products are expensive. I consider the environment and create ways to reuse or reuse unused hair care products.

Stephanie Tharp: What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs?

ebony: First of all, it is important to find what you are good at and hone it. Having a background in technology was a big part of coming up with this idea. We try to do so much and offer so much that our customer base often doesn’t really know what you’re doing. So focus on what you are inherently good at and build around that. Having a strong support system is also important.

Stephanie Tharp: What do you want your legacy to be?

ebony: For me, it’s all about being a disruptor. I want to sit at the same table as big beauty brands like L’Oreal and Revlon. Beauty Genie fits right in there.

Beauty Genie is now available in multiple stores place. If you want to know how to bring The Beauty Genie to your campus or business, here’s what you can do. inquiry On the website.