I've always found myself a bit out of place, anywhere and everywhere. This is probably a result of a complex set a variables which I won't bemoan here, except to say that the most statistically significant of them is the rate a which I have found myself the lone black face in a sea of white ones. Ok, I did grow up in Minnesota in the late 20th century, so I don't expect much in the way of space for women of color. There is one area, however, where I am uncompromising -- my skin, and by extension, my hair. I have dark skin and kinky hair. I need products created for folks who look like me. Living in the suburban MN limits access to usable products to anyone for whom the preceding sentence describe a daily reality.
I was on my very last nerve on a cold day in January 2012 when I made the trip to the local box superstore to hunt down a newly advertised foundation for women with sensitive skin, one of my many issues. They had it, this store has everything; just not in my color. Not in any color darker than a light olive, it turned out. I spoke to a manager about when they might carry it. "Not anytime soon, I don't think," she said sympathetically. "We don't have a big demand for it, so they don't send it.
The trick to being invisible it seems, is to demonstrate need. People of color need health and beauty products, just like everyone else. In the last ten years small businesses have spring up around the world in an attempt to meet these needs, but good luck finding these products in your local store. I, of course, want to try everything. In the process, I became a total product junkie; half empty bottles and jars overflowing my bathroom drawers. It was a lot of work to find products that worked. It was also very expensive.
This is the HuesBox creation myth. My mother, sister, and me wanted to sample products designed specifically for people of color, without having to invest in full-size products we might not like. More importantly, we knew there were folks out there like us. So, welcome to HuesBox. We hope you find our services useful to upgrading your current health and beauty regime to one full of products specifically for people of color. It is our pleasure to facilitate connections between you and the brands you need. Jenae and I will drop in occasionally with updates on our own journeys and guest bloggers will take you on theirs. Until next time...
Always in love and health,
Jasmine