BUFFALO, N.Y. — From box braids to dreadlocks and afros, many iconic hairstyles can be found in The Hair Hive, a Buffalo beauty supply store.
"But the thing that sets us apart from other beauty supply stores, is that number one we're black-owned. Number two we are woman-owned. Number three we are family-owned and on top of all that we have the knowledge of the product," Brianna Lannie, co-owner of The Hair Hive said.
During Black History Month, three sisters, Brianna Lannie, Danielle, and Lauren Jackson have combined their passion for hair and making videos to create content on platforms like TikTok to educate the community.
"It's really important to us, because we are Black and we are the first Black-owned beauty supply store here in Buffalo. It's really important to let our community know that we are here as well and we are a part of history," Lauren Jackson, co-owner of the beauty supply store said.
This year, the theme is "Bossed Up."
"Because in this industry, it’s a term to be 'A Boss' for our females. So, that’s why we are featuring females in the beauty industry that have really changed the game pretty much," Danielle Jackson, co-owner of the beauty supply store said.
All month long, they are featuring Black men and women who have tapped into the beauty industry. The first person that they feature is Sara Spencer.
"She started her own beauty company. She started APEX college and she had over 35,000 workers while she was doing that company," Danielle said.
"And become billionaires or made their mark in history, just like we are hoping to make our mark in history and in the community," she said.
Last year, they dove into the history of hair and different things people did not know about hair.
"One of the more popular videos we had is when people learned that, back in the slave trade people used to transport rice in their hair over to different countries and that’s how rice came over to the United States," Danielle said.
The sisters say they want the conversations about the evolution of Black hair to continue.
"So it does not get forgotten and it does not get lost, so that's why it is so important for us to continue that and just know our roots and where we come from, things like that, especially being a Black women in the hair industry," she said.
The sisters posted their first video last week and will continue to shine the light on Black men and women who are in the beauty industry throughout the rest of the month. If you would like to check them out, you can just search "The Hair Hive Buffalo" on TikTok.