A need for accessibility. That’s the premise of Vash Beauty Labs, a new hair care line created by Chicagoan Karlene Davis.

Davis said she’s always been interested in making her own hair care products, but it wasn’t until she shared her work on social media that she realized there would be a demand from other women.

“Tik Tok, that’s when everything blew up,” Davis said. “It started from me making a get ready with me [video], and someone asked about hair care products, so I said, ‘I’m using my own products.’ Maybe that's a way that I can showcase my hobby. So I made a video of me making edge control, and … I thought it’d get 100 views. It actually got over 1 million views.”

Davis put her business plan together in two weeks and then began taking orders. With that, Vash Beauty Labs was born, featuring its primary product: edge control.

“Edge control is a staple in Black hair care,” Davis said. “We are obsessed with our edges. It’s like a very strong stiff gel, and we want it to stay for a very long time, and we don’t want our edges to move — which is very hard to formulate.”

Davis continued: “Creating Black hair care products is important because I think most of the hair care on the market isn’t catered to us.”

With limited products created for Black consumers and Black hair types varying in textures, Davis said product versatility is important.

“With hair types, it’s based on how tightly coiled the hair is,” Davis said. “So you have type A, B and C hair and then numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4. Black hair can be more coarse, which is 4C hair. … It’s hard to find products for 4C hair because it needs extra strength. We want edge control to hold our edges down, but with 4C hair because it is so tightly coiled, it doesn’t always stay that way.”

Davis uses Tik Tok feedback from her customers. She said her goal is to cater to all hair types.

“The more Black-owned hair care products we have, is more opportunities for us to choose from working for our hair and hair type,” Davis said. “ … When you look good, you feel good. I want to help women feel great, feel comfortable with their hair, no matter the texture.”

To learn more about Vash Beauty Labs, click here.

Follow Angel Idowu on Twitter: @angelidowu3