PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- A Portland woman decided to take matters into her own hands after having trouble finding the hair care products she needed.
Nycole Mason says it's a problem Black women often deal with -- so during the pandemic, she launched a mobile beauty supply store of her own.
"I came up with mobile delivery, being like the DoorDash for hair care," Mason explained.
Mason says she pursued her idea after she was laid off during the pandemic. It was sparked by issues she had, both with a lack of products and bad experiences in stores.
"I remember sometimes I would go into a hair store and get weird looks from owners, like, 'Okay, is she going to steal... what is she in here doing?' and it really made me uncomfortable," Mason said.
After some research and testing of products -- she set up her website and spread the word on social media.
That's how one customer, Sia Miller, first heard about the Elegant Beauty Supply.
"I ended up in an emergency situation where I was getting my hair done, but I'd worked overtime the night before and didn't have time to get to the beauty supply store and my hair appt was first [thing] in the morning the next day and I didn't have time to go," Miller explained.
Miller needed braiding hair to bring to her appointment -- and Mason had just what she was looking for.
"I didn't expect it to be that easy. It was literally as easy as 1, 2, 3," Miller stated. "I went online, selected what I wanted -- the price was unbelievable comparable to supply store. I don't know how she does it."
Miller got her hair within an hour of her order.
Mason delivers seven days a week in the Portland metro area and even has a special line of hair that isn't carried at any local stores.
She's hoping to work with salons so they can have the hair in-house already. In the meantime, she feels good about making hair care more accessible to a large portion of the community.
If you'd like to check out Miller's website or order something, click here.
