The Beauty Genie Box vending machine can hold more than 500 products that are all specifically made for textured hair. It’s got everything from mainstream oils and shampoos to products you can’t always find in stores. And now it’s open at Chicago’s Union Station.
“When you think about Black and brown communities who don’t readily have access to beauty supplies outside of your traditional beauty supply shop,” said Ebony Karim, CEO of the Beauty Genie.
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Karin said whether it’s bonnets, shower caps or edge control, the Beauty Genie vending machine at Union Station has you covered on the go.
“We have been conditioned not to feel good about our natural hair and not to embrace our natural hair,” Karim said.
“Our hair was not only social status, not only the spiritual connection, but it became a form of resistance here.” Said historian Ernest Crimm III.
Crimm, a former Chicago history teacher, said such resistance has looked different over time, whether it was braids that were roadmaps to escape slavery or relaxers to try to meet society’s standards.