Ontario-based entrepreneur is bridging the gap between Black women and skilled stylists

A Kitchener-based entrepreneur has developed an app that helps connect skilled stylists with their target clientele. CTV’s Karis Mapp explains.

The struggle to find a stylist with the proper know-how to address the needs of Black hair has led to a technological solution.

A Kitchener-based entrepreneur was looking for a better way to search for a qualified hairdresser in 2018, after she was turned away from 15 different salons who said they weren’t comfortable working on her type of hair.

“It makes us feel neglected, in a sense,” Aileen Agada, CEO of BeBlended, told CTV News. “Thinking about walking into hair salons, or not really being part of the narrative, is really jarring at times.”

In her desperation to find a proper stylist, she began walking up to other Black women on the street to find out where they got their hair done.

“That’s when I realized, okay, that’s a crazy industry that no one knows too much about,” Agada said.

“I thought, ‘If it’s just an Aileen problem, let’s not focus on it.’ But if this a problem a lot of Black women are facing, and the data speaks for itself, then I’ll do something.”

She then spent years creating the website BeBlended, which she calls the Airbnb of hair styling.

“Put your location in, your style and then scroll through the profiles,” Agada explained. “If you’re a stylist, you do something similar: you create an account, you join our platform and then you start updating your services.”

“Our team actually works with you to be better and improve because we know you’re siloed, working by yourself. Our software helps you run your business, but then our community helps you thrive as an owner,” she said.

It starts in the classroom

Industry experts said the disconnect begins in the classroom. Some people graduate from trade programs without ever working on different hair textures.

“A lot of people with silky or straight hair, you actually have to wash the moisture out of it and the oils. You have to wash it out. With Black hair, because it’s so curly, it needs moisture, it needs conditioner, it needs water,” Precious Udofe, a registered braider on BeBlended, said.

While curriculum changes are on the horizon, Udofe believes genuine curiosity is crucial.

“If you have someone you’re close with who has kinky hair, just genuinely inquire about what it’s like having their type of hair and ways to take care of it. What types of product to use? How does it differ from mine?”

“People shouldn’t be afraid of working with different types of hair,” said Deanna Douglas, the secretary of the Ontario Professional Hairstyling Association. “I think that learning those styles and how to cut it is really important knowledge to learn. And that’s something that we should be responsible for and that hopefully we have a lot more people wanting to share their knowledge.”

Agada, meanwhile, wants to see BeBlended continue to grow and create a welcoming community.

“That’s the goal, to be global, to be impacting hundreds of thousands of Black women, hundreds of thousands of stylists, growing their economy as well.”