Monroe said she hasn’t increased her prices yet but fears it will be unavoidable once she places orders with the new tariffs in effect. She also owns a small hair care line produced in China and has tried to explore the possibility of shifting production of her products to the United States. Monroe said a Memphis-based producer told her she would need to order a minimum of 10,000 units, which isn’t workable for her business.
Just outside Nashville, LaWanda Majors, 54, owner of MajorStyllz Beauty Supply, said recently that a “Brazilian bundle,” a popular style of human hair extensions she buys from a vendor whose supply is from overseas, was going from $125 to $175. Majors, who opened the shop with her late sister, Sherita, in 2023, said it was already a struggle to stay afloat.
Right now, her margins are so tight that she’s the sole employee. Majors said she has recently marked down everything in the store, to bring in the money she would need to buy more inventory as prices go up.
“I’m just stuck right now,” she said. “I just put it in God’s hands.”
Beauty customers have also been paying attention to rising prices — and posting their concerns on TikTok.
“I know they talk about everything else: groceries, necessities like toilet paper and other stuff; they talk about cars going up. But I wanna know about the hair products,” a Louisiana-based woman said.
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