The Black hair industry imports products from China. Here’s what tariffs mean for braids and wigs

ATLANTA AP Before the oppressive summer heat descends on Atlanta therapist Brittanee Sims usually gets her thick curly hair braided at a salon to preserve her healthy mane But it s more expensive this year So she ll only pay for her teenage daughter and son to get their summer hairdos Not having braided hair creates more of a hassle for everything reported Sims who counts herself among the tens of millions of women that regularly spend on the Black hair care industry Now she declared she has to go home and figure out what I m gonna do to my hair in the morning after I went to the gym and it s messed up with sweating and frizz President Donald Trump s tariffs are driving up prices for products a large number of Black women consider essential squeezing shoppers and stylists even more as they grapple with inflation and higher rents Much of the synthetic braiding hair human hair for extensions wigs and weaves styling tools braiding gel and other products is imported from or has packaging from China which was subject to a combined tariff in April India also is a major global source of human hair A great number of Black women have hair types and workplace-favored styles that require careful attention and they can spend hundreds of dollars at salons each month on extensions weaves wigs and braids The Associated Press spoke with several Black hair industry experts beauty supply store owners and wholesale companies as well as nearly two dozen Black stylists and braiders selected of whom may have to raise prices even as business has slowed On Thursday a federal appeals court reinstated the majority of Trump s tariffs on imported goods after they were blocked the day before by a three-judge panel of the U S Court of International Exchange Earlier this month the United States agreed to drop the tax on goods imported from China to while the two economic superpowers negotiate new commerce agreements Imports from preponderance other countries face baseline tariff rates at Regardless the next scarce months are already shot for multiple items stated Marty Parker a University of Georgia business professor and supply chain expert who worked in the hair care industry The costs companies have been facing at ports are making their way down to consumers supply shortages are getting worse and it s unclear what will happen if negotiations break down Prices go up very fast and come down very slow Parker explained Costs go up for Atlanta stylists Specific stylists announced they re seeing fewer clients because prices are going up for virtually everything Atlanta stylists are paying more for hair from China Atlanta stylist Yana Ellis who also sells products like wigs paid an extra in shipping for bundles of hair in March compared to bundles in December AaNiyah Butler reported her shipping costs for human hair more than doubled from February to May And Dajiah Blackshear uncovered in early May that a beauty supply store raised the cost of the kind of hair she s used for years by The store owner stated he may have to stop selling that brand of hair because it went up so much Similarly selected wholesale hair stores have seen higher costs or are expecting them in the coming weeks Even the typical to cost of a pack of synthetic hair has crept up Blackshear doesn t want clients to bring hair because she likes to vet the quality But if expenses continue to mount she may have to raise her prices It s going to be extremely challenging she declared especially for clients who are having to make those hard decisions between do I get my hair done or do I pay my bills Janice Lowe who runs Starr Salon in a lower-income neighborhood southeast of Atlanta has started asking clients to bring hair and is unable to purchase certain products I m falling behind on my obligations she declared The industry braces for uncertainty Consultants vary on how much prices will rise when they ll go up and for how long and the full harm to stylists and consumers could be months away The global Black hair care industry was worth about billion in according to industry us and Black women spend six times more on hair care than other ethnicities Stylists often purchase specific harder-to-get professional products from door-to-door distributors that buy from wholesale companies or larger distributors that purchase directly from other countries Lowe has seen specific of her distributors vanish altogether making it harder to get professional lines such as Black-owned leading professional hair care brand Design Essentials manufactured in Atlanta at McBride Research Laboratories Design Essentials is trying to delay big price increases until or and may turn to layoffs or pause promotions to save money reported president Cornell McBride Jr Greater part packaging plastics come from China but ingredients can come from a multitude of places Nobody wants to put it to the consumer but the person who pays is the consumer in the end McBride Jr stated Hawa Keita and her mother usually charge customers between and for braiding at their shop Eve s African Hair Braiding in College Park southwest of Atlanta Keita is determined to take losses because their customers can t afford the Atlanta prices Keita commented The cost of a box of packs of braiding hair from China went up for the first time in two years from to Keita announced They order weekly often multiple boxes Chosen companies say they ll soon raise prices or run out of stock Making customers happy is ultimately what will keep the business afloat Keita announced She smiled as she recounted braiding a young woman s hair for her birthday with a style she suggested When we finished she gave me the biggest hug and she was in here screaming and just yelling because she just really loved her hair Keita noted Priced-out consumers face unfair beauty standards For a great number of Black Americans especially women affording their hair care also means confronting unfavorable beauty standards Georgia State University law professor Tanya Washington disclosed new discoveries about dangerous chemicals in synthetic hair and hair straightening products have sparked conversations among Black women looking for hairstyles that don t require as much imported products But embracing natural hairdos can be daunting for women like the soon-to-be lawyers and clerks Washington advises who face pressure to straighten their hair That puts everyone who does not have organically naturally derived straight hair at a disadvantage in these spaces she reported I think that a definition of professionalism that favors one phenotype European phenotype over all others is inappropriate Longstanding income disparities between Black and white American women can also make higher hair care prices untenable According to the U S Census as of the median household income in Atlanta is for white households and for Black households It s an inequality issue that professional hairstylists are aware of nationwide Stylist Mitzi Mitchell owner of PIC ONE Beauty Services in Pennsylvania mentioned she has stocked up on certain products and tools for another year in anticipation of price increases She wants to avoid bootleg products which are made illegally and often aren t as safe but became much more prevalent in the marketplace during economic downturns I m really conscientious about my Black minority clients because we make a heck of a lot less than other nationalities reported Mitchell who is Black I try to keep prices low so we can continue to have the same services but I know I will have to raise it Kramon is a corps member for The Associated Press Assessment for America Statehouse News Initiative Document for America is a nonprofit national operation undertaking that places journalists in local newsrooms to record on undercovered issues Follow Kramon on X charlottekramon Source