A daughter’s transition inspires her mom to start natural hair care company, Natural Hair Box
MADAME NOIRE - Natural Hair Box is an exclusive monthly subscription service that delivers natural hair and beauty products. The service is offered by Jael’s company, Natural Hair Company, and focuses on providing products that contain gentle natural ingredients...
From Madame Noire Business:
When a child is going through a hard time, it is a mother’s instinct to comfort them. To protect them. To find a way to make their life easier. Akira “Jael” Byrd of Birmingham, Alabama turned her maternal instinct into a business plan. After helping her young daughter navigate the difficult terrain of transitioning from relaxed to natural hair, Jael realized many grown women needed that same support. And Natural Hair Box was born.
Natural Hair Box is an exclusive monthly subscription service that delivers natural hair and beauty products. The service is offered by Jael’s company, Natural Hair Company, and focuses on providing products that contain gentle natural ingredients.
The company released their first subscription in April 2013. Getting her venture off the ground required more than a little multi-tasking. Jael still works full-time as an auditor, and is a mother and wife. We caught up with the entrepreneur to find out what inspires her hustle and how she manages to do it all.
Madame Noire: Describe Natural Hair Box for those unfamiliar with the product.
Akira “Jael” Byrd: Natural Hair Box is a new service offered by Natural Hair Community. Each month members receive a sturdy craft box with our logo cloaked over the top. Inside you find a minimum of five products that are all natural hair goodies from brands that mirror our mission in providing amazing products that contain amazing ingredients. Our featured products do not contain parabans, sulfates, silicones, mineral oil or petroleum. We are a huge supporter of small businesses so our features are often local finds.
Our goal is to deliver an incomparable experience each month and we understand that it starts with providing beyond expected customer service and quality products.
MN: Your professional background is in auditing. How did that prepare you to run this business?
AB: Being an auditor is about the details, organization, processes, timeliness, open communication, accountability, balancing and resolution. These are all huge aspects of the basic make-up that shapes how I manage Natural Hair Box. MN: What inspired you to get involved in the natural hair industry?
AB: My oldest daughter was relaxed for about four years, and her once thick coily hair, became lifeless and limp. After months of transitioning with braids, she began wearing her natural hair out at school and that is when it all went downhill. She’d come home upset and crying. The kids teased her because she didn’t have a relaxer anymore.
As a mother, I comforted her as much as I possibly could. As time went on, the more she became comfortable with her hair, the less she paid attention to her classmates. After months of reassuring her, helping her mentally transition, I found that there were grown women going through the exact same thing. Only, they were transitioning at work, dealing with natural hair issues alone or didn’t have the support from family. This is why Natural Hair Community was founded. We began filling in the gaps and providing the information and support virtually through articles and my personal natural hair experience.
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