‘Black gold’

For the past decade, Mikayla Lowe Davis has been braiding and styling hair for her customers.

“The first thing people see a lot of times is our hair,” she says. “We have to represent our crown and be confident with wearing it.”

The 29-year-old stylist, who owns Mikki Styles Salon, is braiding in synthetic hair to the head of a customer in Arlington, Texas, a process which takes several hours and costs upwards of $115.

“It helps them to become more empowered,” Lowe Davis says of her customers. “It gives them confidence when they can see how beautiful they are, how beautiful their hair is.”

Lowe Davis has a degree in biology, but the creative side of the hair industry drew her in. She sources products at beauty supply stores — a fixture of many African American communities.

“Black women spend so much money on hair care products,” says Frankesha Watkins, an MBA-educated entrepreneur who owns the BPolished Beauty Supply store in Arlington. “I learned that from this pandemic, no matter what’s going on, people want their hair to be nice.”

To read the full story by Rebecca Wright, Ivan Watson and Isaac Yee on CNN: Click Here

Category: Around the World, Investigative Reporting