Who Are The Stakeholders In This Movement?
The start of the New Natural Hair Movement began around 2007. There is debate about how it started: Some people believe it started because more celebrities, such as Solange Knowles, began wearing and speaking out about Black women wearing their natural hair. Some people believe that Black women have just become more educated on the dangers of relaxers and have coincidently stopped using them as a collective. Whether one of these reasons sparked the New Natural Hair Movement or not, the people associated with these ideas, and other people as well, are stakeholders in the movement.
Participants:
People who participate in the movement by wearing their hair in it's natural state or "go natural" are stakeholders because they are the image of the movement. When people want to know about natural hair and/or the Natural Hair Movement(s) they seek out naturalistas, viewing them as passive spokespeople. This role is given to civilians as well as celebrity naturalistas.
Active Spokespeople:
Within the movement, there are participants who actively act as spokespeople for natural hair care and/or the Natural Hair Movement. This is commonly seen on natural hair blogs, such as "Black Girl Long Hair," or other forms of social media such as natural hair pages on Instagram. Per Mintel, 42 percent of naturalistas are somewhat or very influenced by hair blogs/social media/internet.
Hair Care Industry:
Since the rise of participants in the New Natural Hair Movement, hair care product companies have been affected. Black hair care has been a highly lucrative industry for a long time now because of the emphasis placed in Black hair. For a long time, this was a good thing for producers of chemical relaxers, but that has changed as the Natural Hair Movement continues to grow. According to data from market research firm Mintel, chemical relaxer sales dropped by 12.4 percent between 2009 and 2011 and between 2011 and 2014 the sales dropped by 15 percent. In addition to this between 2010 and 2011, the number of Black women who said they no longer used chemical relaxers on their hair rose by 10 percent. Makers of chemical relaxers and other similar harsh chemical products are losing money as a result of the current Natural Hair Movement. Contrarily, there has been an increase of products for natural hair on the market. Companies such as Obia Natural Hair Care Line, Curl Box, and Shea Moisture, have provided Black women with products that are actually healthy for their hair. According to Tonya Roberts, a multicultural analyst at Mintel, there has been a 22 percent increase in purchase of these types of products. In addition to this, salon revenues have fluctuated depending on the services done at individual salons. Salons that offer natural hair services have had increased revenue for these services, with an increase of clients requesting non-chemical services and a decrease in clients seeking relaxers. It should also be noted that some participants of the Natural Hair Movement stop going to hair salons completely once they "go natural."
Participants:
People who participate in the movement by wearing their hair in it's natural state or "go natural" are stakeholders because they are the image of the movement. When people want to know about natural hair and/or the Natural Hair Movement(s) they seek out naturalistas, viewing them as passive spokespeople. This role is given to civilians as well as celebrity naturalistas.
Active Spokespeople:
Within the movement, there are participants who actively act as spokespeople for natural hair care and/or the Natural Hair Movement. This is commonly seen on natural hair blogs, such as "Black Girl Long Hair," or other forms of social media such as natural hair pages on Instagram. Per Mintel, 42 percent of naturalistas are somewhat or very influenced by hair blogs/social media/internet.
Hair Care Industry:
Since the rise of participants in the New Natural Hair Movement, hair care product companies have been affected. Black hair care has been a highly lucrative industry for a long time now because of the emphasis placed in Black hair. For a long time, this was a good thing for producers of chemical relaxers, but that has changed as the Natural Hair Movement continues to grow. According to data from market research firm Mintel, chemical relaxer sales dropped by 12.4 percent between 2009 and 2011 and between 2011 and 2014 the sales dropped by 15 percent. In addition to this between 2010 and 2011, the number of Black women who said they no longer used chemical relaxers on their hair rose by 10 percent. Makers of chemical relaxers and other similar harsh chemical products are losing money as a result of the current Natural Hair Movement. Contrarily, there has been an increase of products for natural hair on the market. Companies such as Obia Natural Hair Care Line, Curl Box, and Shea Moisture, have provided Black women with products that are actually healthy for their hair. According to Tonya Roberts, a multicultural analyst at Mintel, there has been a 22 percent increase in purchase of these types of products. In addition to this, salon revenues have fluctuated depending on the services done at individual salons. Salons that offer natural hair services have had increased revenue for these services, with an increase of clients requesting non-chemical services and a decrease in clients seeking relaxers. It should also be noted that some participants of the Natural Hair Movement stop going to hair salons completely once they "go natural."