Black Business Month Spotlight: You Go Natural
August is Black Business Month, and I will be sharing Black-owned beauty brands that I LOVE!
Starting with You Go Natural!
I’ve had locs for almost six years now, and sometimes I get bored with my hair. The Cognac Open T-Shirt Turban from You Go Natural is perfect for those days when I want to jazz up my locs a little bit.
You Go Natural sells a variety of headwear lined with satin to protect your hair, including headbands, headwraps and their swim turban collection (how dope is that?!)
The material of the turban I have is stretchy to fit over my hair, but it’s also firm to keep my locs in place. It has an infinity loop that I can wrap around my head in a variety of ways depending on the look I’m going for.
I try to avoid putting gel on my hair, so my edges look a hot mess when I’m in need of a retwist! This turban is awesome for covering up my edges, while still giving me a put together look.
I love that You Go Natural has a range of different colors and patterns for their headwear to give us naturalistas plenty of options. The Cognac turban is a great neutral color that can go with any outfit, but I also have my eye on the Rooted Open Crown Bun for a statement piece.
You Go Natural’s headwear is perfect for elegant updos, and casual down hairstyles. Here are three go-to styles when I want to rock my turban:
1. the classy high bun
Look polished in a pinch by putting your hair in a high bun and then wrapping the turban around your head.
2. Double the fun bun
Two is better than one with this fun hairstyle! To get this playful look, part your hair into two pigtails and wrap each ponytail into a bun. Then wrap the turban around on your head, and Viola! You’re ready to channel the 90s vibe!
3. cute casual hair down
Bored with your hair down? Try this cute casual style. All you have to do is wrap the turban around your head to create the layered look and then tuck it behind your head. Boom! Ready in 5 min or less. Yassss!!
Want to learn more about this awesome Black-owned business? Check out this interview with the founder Monique Little below:
How have You Go Natural evolved since you initially started your business?
The first collection of YGN wraps used only Traditional African Wax Print fabric and mimicked more elaborate Headwrap styles. As the brand has evolved, we found that our customers love the ease and comfort of our t-shirt collection, and we’ve enjoyed creating an entirely new category from this customer insight.
Can you share some insight into your creative process for choosing the designs and colors on your beautiful headwraps?
We design our wraps to mimic the wrap styles that women wear every day. Our goal is to design styles that make your everyday hair styling easier. We release a new color collection every season and create custom prints twice a year.
Where do you find inspiration for new products?
YGN’s vision is to create the most innovative hair product and accessories that make hair care easier. Wherever we see a way to elevate and innovate on the hair care experience, that is where the inspiration lies.
Photo courtesy of You Go Natural
What’s your go-to headwrap hairstyle during the summer?
I love the Open T-shirt turban for its versatility and lightweight feel.
Do you have any advice for women who are trying to get more comfortable with embracing their natural hair?
Experiment with new styles until you find one that you love, and find lots of inspirational imagery for looks you want to rock.
How has the pandemic impacted your business? (Hoping more sales as women need quick hairstyles for all of the Zoom meetings!!)
You called it. We saw an increase in sales as hair salons closed down and people’s attention turned to at-home haircare. The great thing about our products is once our customers try them, they become hooked on the quality and convenience, so even as the world reopens, we’ve gained long-term loyal customers.
How do you hope the natural hair industry evolves over the next three-five years?
I hope we continue to see more inclusive and innovative product options to make caring for natural hair easier.
I saw that you were on the Forbes Next 1000 List! Congrats! How do you hope this recognition impacts your business?
Thank you! From the beginning, our growth has been based on the quality of our product and the integrity of our service. While the recognition is nice, we’ll continue to rely on this substance to grow our brand.