Written By: Mo Clark
When passion meets purpose, innovation is born—and that’s exactly what happened when the founder of Shades of Melanin Hair turned a personal frustration into a beauty movement. What started as a mother’s quest to find long-lasting, high-quality hair for her daughters quickly transformed into a brand that not only delivers premium extensions but also celebrates identity, community, and cultural pride. From their groundbreaking Salt and Pepper Collection to their mission of honoring every shade and every crown, Shades of Melanin Hair is more than a brand—it’s a testimony of faith, resilience, and the power of representation in the beauty industry.
HH: Tell us about the ‘aha moment’ that sparked Shades of Melanin Hair. Was there a specific frustration or gap in the hair care world you set out to fill—especially for melanated hair?
Shades of Melanin Hair: Shades of Melanin Hair aha moment was when I realized how much I was spending on Beauty Supply hair for my daughters and how it never lasted long. I wanted to find hair that would last years, could be colored and still be able to have its great unique quality.
HH: What’s the one hero product from your line that you believe every stylist or consumer should try, and what is the unique formulation or ingredient twist behind it?
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Shades of Melanin Hair: Our Signature Speciality Product line is our Salt and Pepper Collection for older Women. We started this line 2 years ago. I worked closely with my vendor for 6 months before releasing this line. I was seeing older women transitioning into their grey hair era looking for top quality grey hair to match their natural hair. So we invested deeply in this line. We have recently added Clip Ins and K Tips. Our Salt and Pepper is from a single donor, in its natural grey mixed color in a wavy form. 100% Raw Hair in its natural state. We have multiple hairstylists wanting to collab with us to store the hair in their shops. So I’m trying to figure that out because it will require me to travel a lot more.
HH: Your brand name speaks to identity and skin tone. How does Shades of Melanin Hair weave representation, cultural pride, and community into its branding, marketing, and content strategy?
Shades of Melanin Hair: “Shades of Melanin Hair celebrates every shade, every crown, and every story—honoring identity, elevating representation, and building a community where beauty in all its tones shines unapologetically.”
HH: When you were scaling from your first order to where you are now, what was the single hardest business leap—logistics, supply chain, funding, marketing—and how did you overcome it?”
Shades of Melanin Hair: The hardest part was grasping the customers attention, building relationships and trust since we were new. So I had to think of ways to let the customer know that we were indeed a legitimate company. We did our LLC before starting, we reached out to celebrities for collabs, and we received our trademark in 2024. Major goals have been achieved and the trust is there to the point where we ship orders overseas now. God definitely is faithful! All praises to him. Funding was definitely a challenge as well, I started with zero funds. It was hard getting a business loan being new. I had a full time job in healthcare and still do. So I set aside money from my own pocket to help fund the business. It wasn’t until 2023 I was able to receive my first grant. Which was enough to buy 10K in inventory. So we just kept flipping that inventory, saving and buying more. We expanded and added hair care products as well. Lastly, my business has been slow moving until January 2025. As much as I prayed, cried and questioned God, he kept saying, be patient. Like I heard him clear as day. We have really been blessed, business is good. The wait was well worth it, Gods timing is the best. We started in 2019, you hear me! And 2025 is when it really took off.
HH: How do you gather feedback from your customers and hair professionals to fuel product iterations, and can you share a time when customer insight led to a major pivot or improvement?
Shades of Melanin Hair: We always welcome customer feedback. We definitely listened. From issues to what they would like. We never argued. So when you start a business, it’s always a trial and error process. So we took the bad went back and came up with a better solution and formula. We even let a vendor go because during COVID they started making closures with plastic and we didn’t know until we had one of our long time stylist in LA test it. We do quarterly testing on all three vendors to retest the quality of our hair. And I mean everything. They get one time to mess up and correct it. That’s it! The vendors know I’m picky and we will check behind them. So we started with four and now have three. The fourth vendor was let go in 2021. All three vendors offer something different that we love.
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HH: Where do you see Shades of Melanin Hair in 3–5 years? Are there any dream partnerships, product lines, or industry challenges you plan to tackle next?
Shades of Melanin Hair: We are looking to partner with a hospital that treats cancer patients. We are looking for them to be able to use us as a hair and/or wig choice for African American women. We often hear the wigs that are given at the hospital are not compatible with African American women’s hair. So we are trying to change that.
From humble beginnings in 2019 to achieving global recognition in 2025, Shades of Melanin Hair is a living example of what it means to stay rooted in faith, community, and culture while scaling new heights. With plans to partner with hospitals serving cancer patients and a vision to continue creating innovative, inclusive products, the brand is rewriting the narrative of what beauty looks like for melanated women worldwide. For Shades of Melanin Hair, the journey has just begun—and the future shines as bright as the crowns they honor.
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