This is how one beauty salon owner survived the pandemic
A Long Beach beauty salon owner has hope for the future of Black-owned businesses.
By Kyle Penix
Barbershops and beauty salons have long been considered major cultural hubs in the African American community. Historically, these have been safe spaces where African Americans burdened by racism in America could go to not only improve their appearance but also their mind, body & spirits.
The COVID-19 pandemic threatened a range of Black-owned businesses in Southern California, specifically in the city of Long Beach. Mandated closures that were meant to protect people and to prevent the spread of the virus caused many businesses to shutter their doors and pray that some sort of financial relief would be made available. The pandemic also had a major impact on mental health due to the loss of loved ones, loss of income, extended isolation, etc.
Tina Obaid poses for a photo inside of her salon. / Photo courtesy of Tina Obaid
Tina Obaid is the owner of Elation Hair and L.A. Hair Candy, which are both based in Southern California. She’s been in the hair care industry since 2012, humbly beginning by selling hair products from the trunk of her car in Long Beach, CA. Her early business techniques that contributed to the growth of her small business were by placing an emphasis on quality customer service. By 2016, her hair care business had become popular among her friends, family and the local community. Obaid earned enough money to eventually expand her profile and opened up her first shop in Compton called Elation Hair. The success of this first shop began to help her spread awareness of Black-owned businesses, especially those owned by women of color. In a few years time, Obaid opened her second salon in Long Beach called L.A. Hair Candy. This business was also doing quite well until the pandemic completely disrupted her progress.
“When the pandemic hit, it was really scary, because what they did was the city of Long Beach forced us to close because they said that we weren't considered an essential business. I was wondering if I was going to make it. I was like, I was counting my dollars. I didn't have a lot of dollars saved. So, at that time, I'm thinking, I don't have that much money and I can't make any money. I don't know how to pay the rent. And so I started trying to make, you know, game plans. I started thinking about ways of how I'm going to, you know, get through it financially at the same time”, Obaid said.
Obaid wasn't aware that there were options available to help save her business from closing for good. Despite the lack of support from the city of Long Beach, there were community members willing to offer their assistance.
You've got a friend in me
Shirin Senegal is the founder of the newly formed Long Beach Beauty and Barber Association. Her passion for supporting minority businesses overcome adversity was inspired by the passing of her late husband due to gun violence.
As a non-Black person, she understood the benefits and priveleges afforded to her being of a lighter complextion. In her view, other groups had an unfair advantage while navigating the pandemic due to the legacy of prejudice in the country.
Source: Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy by Kyle PenixInstead of waiting for the someone else to help folks like Tina save their business, she decided to step-up to do something.
Shirin Senegal / Photo courtesy of Shirin Senegal
“I started Ronnie's house in 2016 after I lost my husband to gun violence on January 12th of 2016. And the focus of Ronnie's house is to work on eliminating gun violence through economics and through mental health. We also opened up the first business accelerator in Long Beach with the help of the city of Long Beach. It was an initiative to get more minority businesses support. So, we were opening up the accelerator in the city of Long Beach's Economic Development Department at the time”, Senegal said.
“So, during the pandemic, we were supporting Black-owned hair care businesses and then the Long Beach Beauty and Barber Association came to life. I was in here all hours of the night calling businesses. Some of them thought I was a scam, but $20,000 later businesses didn’t think we were a scam anymore. I jumped in and reached out to Tina and reached out to some of our other shops and said, Hey, guys, can you team up with me? We got to go to the city council. Let's create a petition to get funding. Let's do everything we can to stay alive”, Senegal said.
To her and Obaid, mental health was a strong motivator to keep the business going.
Mental Health Matters
Suicide was the second leading cause of death for Black Americans in 2019, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Also, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 63% of African Americans believe a mental health condition is a sign of personal weakness.
Dr. Lanita Jacobs is an expert on Black hair care and teaches about the importance of mental health in these settings at USC. In her opinion, beauty salons are essential to the well-being of the Black community.
Dr. Lanita Jacobs shares her thoughts on intimacy within hair salons.
Jenebah Lewis, MSW talks about the stigma of mental health in the Black community.
Dr. Tyan Dominguez discusses the impact of COVID-19 on mental health.
Professor Jenebah Lewis, a mental health expert at USC says that the relationships between barbers as well as hair stylists in the Black community often exceed that of other ethnic groups. She says that this is because of the legacy of slavery and the conditions of its aftermath. In her experience as a young Black woman growing up, she and her hair stylist became so close through after-school conversations that the stylist became like an Aunt to her and was even invited to her graduation.
She says that barber shops/beauty salons are essential to addressing the mental health crisis in the Black community because some African Americans still distrust medical institutions.
Dr. Tyan Dominguez, an expert on racial disparities in healthcare also says the impact of COVID-19 hurt the Black community in extreme ways. Other groups certainly struggle with mental health, but the primary difference is that there are far fewer outlets for members of the Black community to seek support. Business owners like Obaid are essential to leading the charge against the negative affects of the mental health crisis.
The impact of COVID-19 is still felt today across Southern California but community support is helping keep small Black-owned beauty salons open.