Good Hair Boutique, a hair supply store catering to natural hair products and protective styles, has a glamorous feel with products galore.
The West Tarentum beauty supply store is a mecca for all things self-care — it’s a hair supply store, an impromptu salon, a makeup artist studio and a community kitchen table.
Sometimes owner Misty Woody comes in with tissues.
“We come in here and we talk about problems. We talk about solutions, about the school system and juvenile justice,” she said.
“You can leave the beauty supply store with an entire outfit,” Woody said. “You’re going to find a lip gloss that you’ll never find again.”
Woody started the business in 2020 during the pandemic. She has three biracial children, all with different types of hair. Her husband is Black and “has totally different hair,” she said.
“I have naturally curly hair. During covid, it was really hard to get anything. The pandemic made me aware of how hard it is to get Black hair care in our area. A store in East Liberty put a drive-thru window in their building, and that is how we were able to get products,” she said.
Launching the hair store was not free of challenges — some that were internal for Woody, who is of Polish and German descent.
“It is nerve-wracking to be a white person and open this up. I don’t want to take someone else’s space. I want to open up a space for others to step into,” Woody said.
Woody had no experience running a store, but she began online where customers could order the products that she delivered.
Before opening the store online and the storefront in December, Woody’s family had to scavenger hunt around the city, from McKeesport to East Liberty, to get beauty products.
“But if you lived around here and you go to CVS and you only have one shelf of products … filled with alcohol and bad ingredients, then it is really hard to have good hair,” Woody said.
The products in the store go through a strong vetting process: When they get samples, different people in the family use the products. If a product doesn’t live up to its promise of promoting growth, they don’t use it.
Woody said her children love it because they are really into their curls and excited to try the products. Woody still delivers products to customers in Vandergrift and Leechburg and the surrounding areas if transportation for the customer is an issue.
At first, getting the inventory was difficult.
“Learning about hair products was probably the most difficult thing. I had to learn to use WhatsApp for business and getting past language barriers,” Woody said. “You do not just put a wig on. We are looking at density — if it is double drawn or single drawn, what color it actually is, if it can be dyed, how it performs under heat.”
During and after covid, Woody became well-versed in the hair care industry to make sure she sourced quality products. She also takes product referrals and recommendations from the community.
Woody and her family live in Natrona Heights. She is a native of California. When her parents relocated to Pittsburgh, her family owned a restaurant on the same street in West Tarentum, which is now home to her hair supply store.
The name of the store came during a conversation with her oldest daughter. They were taking a long drive to a beauty supply store and questioning if the drive was worthwhile because they didn’t know whether the store carries “good hair,” as in quality hair extensions.
The name also is meant to uplift, reinforcing that everyone has good hair, all textures and styles.
“One of the things that I admire about natural hair is the versatility and opportunities for expression,” Woody said. “I really wanted to make sure we make things affordable and accessible and that we are really giving people the opportunity to grow here.”
The Black Owned Beauty Supply Association estimates that only 5% of the 9,000 beauty supply stores across the country are Black-owned. The beauty industry is worth about $9 billion, and Black brands comprise less than 3% of overall beauty revenues, according to a McKinsey & Co. report. While Black women contribute to this industry, they often are not the ones profiting. Woody wants to help change that.
The store hosts many Black-owned and women-owned businesses, such as Taylor Shealey’s Boss Girl Collection based in Penn Hills. Inside Good Hair Boutique, they also promote hairstylists, locticians, hair braiders and makeup artists. They also carry commercial brands such as Mielle and hope to later become an incubator space. Woody welcomes other businesses to feature.
“We are able to be part of their growth plan,” Woody said.
Woody is a graduate of Catapult Greater Pittsburgh’s Startup to Storefront program, a 12-month retail business incubation program for minority entrepreneurs, which she said encouraged her greatly. Woody and Shealey were in the same cohort.
“Our mission is to empower women to feel like a boss and look like one, so it was the perfect collaboration,” said Shealey, 19. “It was a partnership that was aligned. Our people need to see products for them in their community, and it is needed in Tarentum.”
There’s a lot on the horizon for Good Hair Boutique.
“Group startups — where we can teach each other to do the things we do really well,” Woody said. “We have people that really know how to slay a freakin’ wig and people that can do feed-in braids really well, it’s a peer learning and cultural sharing opportunity.”
In 2020, Woody also started an online support group called “Meaningful Discussions on Race,” where people are given the opportunity to discuss things that are impacting Black families and other minorities. She is planning to bring it back in person.
“Misty is providing people with things they don’t have as far as giving other beauty industry people a chance,” Shealey said.
Shaylah Brown is a TribLive reporter covering art, culture and communities of color. A New Jersey native, she joined the Trib in 2023. When she's not working, Shaylah dives into the worlds of art, wellness and the latest romance novels. She can be reached at sbrown@triblive.com.
