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As many of us already know, even in a predominately black community, it can be hard to find the beauty products that cater to people of color.  But what retailers fail to realize is when they ignore the needs of consumers in a minority community, they’re also hurting their bottom line.

Ad Age blogger Pepper Miller Miller points out that the growth of natural hair care products have created the multi-million dollar brands Miss Jessie’s and Mixed Chicks and have inspired the launch of several other products for kinky hair that lead the new standards for the $9 billion black hair-care business.

Despite the large numbers, retailers continue to miss the mark with the lack of diversity they put up on their shelves. Instead these products find their place in neighborhood beauty supply stores.

Miller says that the difficulties associated with finding products for women of color are the result of mainstream “planogramming.” This is a method used by retailers to stock the same cosmetics, hair and skin care products in every community. Unfortunately it falls short in stocking the desired products in black communities. Hair care for women of color is often relegated to the tiny and segregated ethnic section. Generally the section is never large enough to accommodate the demand. Instead, frustrated minority shoppers are left staring at the image of the smiling blond models in the front of the beauty section and an endless supply of cosmetics in the wrong shade.

As an explanation for this missed opportunity, retailers declare it’s too difficult to stock products using ethnic planograms and that they do not have the budget to give ethnic products national ad campaigns. They also claim that small, community beauty supply stores that sell these products at low prices make it difficult for them to compete in this market.

Miller points out that these are poor excuses from retailers. She even filed a complaint about the retailer in her community’s lack of selection. Their response? An extra foot in the ethnic section.

Natural African-American hair came to prominence in the 1960′s, with the introduction of the Afro and the  adoption of ‘Black is Beautiful’ as a mantra for Black men and women nationwide. While the 80′s found many African-American women returning to relaxers, wigs and hair weaves, natural hair has had a huge resurgence in recent years, leading many manufacturers to rush to create products to satisfy the growing need. Here are some of the best product lines for natural African American hair.

Oyin Handmade

Since 2003, Oyin Handmade has been producing fragrant, all-natural products that have become extremely popular with the natural African American hair crowd. The Juices and Berries leave-in conditioner spray and Whipped Pudding two excellent choices for keeping hair moist and healthy.

Cantu Shea Butter

While the Cantu line is not exclusively designed for natural hair wearers (they also make a shea butter relaxer), the styling and conditioning items are great for unprocessed African-American hair or for those growing out their chemical treatments.  The stand-out products are the Super Shine Hair Silk,  Grow Strong Strengthening Treatment and the leave-in conditioner.

Kinky Curly

Another popular choice for African American women with natural hair, Kinky Curly makes Curling Custard, which is a great daily styling product for curly tresses. The line also includes, Come Clean, a shampoo that is free of drying sulfates and Tiny Twirls products for kids.

Miss Jessies

Created in 1997 by two sisters who felt there was a lack of styling products available for natural African American hair,  Miss Jessies started with it’s signature Curly Pudding- a fragrant and lush daily leave-in cream. The line has since expanded to include Creme de la Curl shampoo and conditioner, Rapid Recovery Treatment (a deep conditioner) and a number of other products. While the product names reference curls, Miss Jessies creations are enjoyed by wearers of natural African American hair of all textures.

Are you on President Obama’s email list? After last night’s State of the Union Address, he sent out an email with the subject heading “We do big things.”  The young people in this list from AOL Black Voices are doing just that!

From familiar faces like Raven Symone to 15-year-old Leanna Archer who has a natural hair care line–they all seem to go by the mantra “go hard or go home.”

Click here to read about these inspirational youngins!

Who is your favorite on this list?

Goodness knows we spend a lot of money on haircare. Between salon visits, hair products and accessories, hair maintenance can be a nice chunk of a modern girl’s monthly budget. In these tough economic times, we all want to find ways to cut costs without sacrificing in the looks department.

Here are ways to save a few bucks on haircare and still be cute!

In our quest to outwardly express our inner diva, black women worldwide have sacrificed time and treasure to achieve ravishing ringlets, roller sets and relaxers. It’s a constant struggle and sometimes we’re unknowingly battling ourselves. There is a wealth of misinformation swirling about when it comes to African-American hair care. Acting on this false information only leads to unnecessary stress and frustration. Here are some commonly held misconceptions about African-American hair.