It wasn’t too long ago that the U.S. House of Representatives passed the 2018 CROWN Act, a bill that would essentially ban race-based hair discrimination. Even though this was a win for Black hair texture and styles, there’s still work to be done when it comes to honoring Black ‘crowns’ and the way they’re protected.
For many Black Americans, changing hairstyles from braids to locs to weaves and wigs can be a fun practice that allows our hair time to grow and breathe, all while being protected from the elements like heat and humidity. But as enjoyable as this might be, hair care can also be time consuming. Who understands the stress of getting up early to make sure their hair is neatly pressed for work. Or the hours spent late at night twisting and braiding hair to take out the next morning, only to repeat the process. Making hair care easy and chic is Monique Little, founder of You Go Natural—a hair care line of pre-tied wraps and scarves for men and women looking to protect their hair without the hassle.
Some have soft business launches and others take to the market hard and fast. Monique’s unique journey as an entrepreneur started in her home, after the birth of her first child. Dawning natural hair since 2001, Monique was looking to protect her natural hair while breaking from the tiresome regime of needing to do it every day. Thus, You Go Natural found its market.
“The product came to me out of a personal need.”
Monique Little
“I was using head wraps to cover my hair that wouldn’t dry my hair out and damage it and break it off. And I was really horrible at tying head wraps, so I created these pre-tied head wraps. It helped me to feel confident and not like I looked a mess going out of the house,” Monique told THE BLOCK.
“I showed them to my Instagram following, which was really small at the time, [but] everyone was asking where they could purchase one. I ended up selling them online and from there, it kind of took on a life of its own.”
Finding a need and being the source to fill it, Monique recruited her mother to help create and produce the wraps which they did from their homes on their respective sewing machines. With a fast-growing business, they quickly outgrew their initial stations of work and began a venture that would lead them to a factory in Dallas, 50 seamstresses to help make orders and a small but budding empire.
“Fast forward seven years later, and we’ve launched five new lines of products that have the same vein of innovation for this customer, women with kinky and curly hair, who are busy on the go and need something easy to be able to care for their hair,” Monique explained.
TheYou Go Natural founder admits that since launching her brand, her eyes have been opened to the ways in which Black women interact with both their hair and the methods used to protect it. Much like Black hair, wraps and head-coverings come with their own bundle of controversy, with head-coverings being deemed unprofessional in the workplace. Even within the Black community, head wraps have shared a negative connotation as “tacky” or “ghetto” when worn outside. But You Go Natural is reshaping how the public views wrapping one’s hair.
“I have seen a lot of women say this has been great for [them]. It’s COVID, I don’t want my hair exposed to the elements, so they wear it to cover their hair. And I think it’s really been encouraging to me to see how it’s been incorporated into people’s lives,” Monique said, adding that Black women utilizing the wrapped look has inspired her work and reminds her why it’s important not just for Black hair, but for Black women and their confidence.
“Women are so multifaceted. We’re businesswomen, we’re mothers, we’re sisters and sometimes we literally just don’t have time to think about our hair. But it doesn’t mean that we don’t want to feel beautiful,” Monique explained.
“When people put this product on, I want them to feel like they’ve done something great for themselves, like an act of self-love and self-care,” she added.
Since launching in 2016, Monique has made her goal and purpose to provide hair relief for both women and men. While there are other brands out there looking to cater to Black shoppers, Monique doesn’t see any competition; only an opportunity for other brands to finally step up and fill a need that has a willing market of buyers. For those looking to insert themselves into the beauty market, a piece of advice from the You Go Natural founder:
“The beauty market has been around for centuries, and we have only, as Black women, been able to really partake in it for the past maybe 10 to 15 years. I believe that we deserve the same innovation in our segment of the market as they have in others. That’s why I create products that really think about taking in curly hair types and creating products that make life easier for this customer.”
For those wondering what they’ll be doing with their hair tomorrow or next week, Monique’s been looking out for you, do yourself a favor and Go Natural.
