The gospel according to

beauty supply

Looking at the work of Allana Clarke and Lauren Halsey, I feel a deep connection to the beauty supply store, a pivotal institution in Black hair culture. This space serves as a mecca nurturing transformation, enhancement, and self-esteem. The beauty supply store is almost synonymous with the experience of being a Black woman.

Both Halsey and Clarke represent Black hair culture in unique and compelling ways. Halsey’s work glorifies and preserves the vibrance of braiding hair and the creativity of traditional Black hairstyles. Her art showcases Black hair culture in a fantastical, empowering, and culturally rich light. It represents the avant-garde, free, and expressive nature of Black hair, beautifully capturing these styles as a time capsule, offering a glimpse into the evolving era of Black hair.

Clarke on the other hand focuses on track glue, a product used in Black hair-styling. Her sculptures made from this glue critique its use, because, despite allowing for expressive hairstyles, it can cause traction alopecia. Clarke uses track glue as a metaphor for the pressures Black women face in society. She speaks to the way we sometimes conform to beauty standards even if they harm us, pointing out the struggle between beauty and survival in a world where hair can influence our opportunities and relationships. Track glue represents this tension.

Clarke’s work is about the lengths we go to fit in and be seen as special, often by aligning with unnatural standards. It critiques how society dictates our worth through beauty standards. Halsey’s art celebrates the creativity and heritage of Black hair, while Clarke examines its complex effects. Both artists are connected by the beauty supply store, the only place to find both braiding hair and track glue.

“The Gospel according to the Beauty Supply” is my response to the impact of the beauty supply store on both artists’ work and on Black hair culture. I compare the beauty supply store to a church because it’s a place where we go to transform, feel better about ourselves, and feel safe. Finding the right pack of hair, the right earrings, or the right do-rag can be as uplifting as a spiritual experience, making the beauty supply store a place of worship in its own right. But like religion, the beauty supply store has its darker side: sometimes we go there to conform out of insecurity, and some of its products, like track glue or perms, can have long-term health effects. Despite this, the beauty supply store is a crucial part of Black life, offering comfort and connection even when it demands conformity.

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The church bells ring

I go in because I feel this place knows me

Bonnets sacred as halos

Rush to receive Communion

We looking to find god

or

Blue Magic grease

No difference

Where we from

$20s, $50s, hunnids pass in offering trays

    We tithe for salvation

    Or

Knotless braids

as if there’s a difference

    Where we from

Everyone in the aisles

Jumping, exalting, beaming

We all feel the Holy Spirit

Or a fresh bundle

Or a new outlook on life

Or a Dr. Miracle’s hair-growth oil

We don’t know there to be a difference