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18 November 2015 | beautystorebusiness.com THE START OF SOMETHING GOOD When the two met, Wendi had moved to California from the East Coast and was working with Kim's sister, while Kim was a PR representative for an athlete. The idea for their company spawned from a "regular venting session" Kim and Wendi had about their shared hair woes—and a lack of products on the market that fit the needs of multicultural women. Growing up in the '70s, Wendi would mix several products, from V05 to Dippity- Do, in an attempt to concoct a suitable formula. But, she grew frustrated if the end result left her hair too greasy and oily, if it involved combining too many products or if she finally found one she liked and it got discontinued. When Wendi was young, her mother worked in the beauty indus- try, allowing her to have several different products to test at her disposal. ("I have some kind of background just being in the bathroom with her, studying," she says.) After a lifetime of learning how to become "chemists naturally" through trial and error, Kim and Wendi swapped haircare tips and also knew exactly what they were looking for—and how they'd get it. "Kim is really about action," Wendi says. "She said we need to do some- thing about this; so we found a lab and worked with a chemist, and within a year's time, we had an incredible leave- in conditioner formula for us and our friends—and that's where the story of Mixed Chicks begins." REDEFINING THE AISLE Though they didn't come from business backgrounds, Kim and Wendi knew that if they were experiencing hair dilemmas, there had to be other countless other women in their shoes. "Our business was about us … We were the business. Everything we were going to sell was going to be for ourselves," Wendi says. "And we learned so much hands-on through life experience—far more than we could have learned in the lab." Rather than finding the arena that was the most profitable, the pair set out to solve a personal struggle, one which, as it turns, many other women could relate to. And although they are best known for products suited for curly hair, only two of their products are specifically designed for curls, while the rest cater to a wide variety of textures. With a mission to persuade retailers to integrate their "ethnic" hair sections into one collective aisle for all haircare products, the Mixed Chicks want to rid of categorization by race for good. "There are a lot of women who aren't 'ethnic' but have curly hair—who don't even know there's an ethnic aisle," Kim says, with the hopes that it will become commonplace in the beauty industry for stores to merge their haircare aisles or classify them by texture rather than race. "What's next for us is changing the minds of those people who are really stuck in that box." "There's a big world out there and get- ting our products to curly-haired people all over the world is our mission," Wendi says. Excited to reach a large audience in a wide array of national chains, the Mixed Chicks soon found out that not all their customers were able to find the products because of the categorization of the aisles. Spreading the importance of their message that "ethnic" is not the same as "multicultural," they want everyone to join their "multicultural revolution"— which has been the company's main objective since beginning in 2004. And just as with their haircare line, Mixed Chicks' new makeup line shares a similar "There's a big world out there and getting our products to curly-haired people all over the world is our mission." Mixed Chicks Must-Haves If they had to narr t n, here's hat Kim and Wendi couldn't live ithout. Sell these t o best sellers! • Leave-In Conditioner (10 ounces, $19.99): If your customers want to lock in moisture, take control of frizz and emphasize their natural curls, this product is for them. "The leave-in conditioner for sure is still our top seller," Wendi says. "That's the one product that I really can't live without. If I'd have to pick one, that is our wash-and-go product." • Morning After Redefining Foam (8 ounces, $14.99): "We have a new product called the Morning After Redefining Foam and I'm loving that," Kim says. "I can be lazy and really not do my hair, and then put that on and be fine. It redefines the curls." It's also great for children for a quick morning routine that revives next-day dry hair or for anyone living in cold climates, so they won't have to wet their hair. Ask The Experts The Mixed Chicks share their haircare secrets for curly girls every here. • Lock in Moisture: "We always say condition, condition, condition," Kim says. "People need moisture in their hair. What we love about our deep conditioner is that it's for people who don't have a lot of time. The deep conditioner works fast, so it restores moisture and detangles to make hair manageable." • Get Regular Trims: "I'm going to agree with [Kim], but also add to do at least one trim per season, at a minimum. Never compromise health for length," Wendi says. All images courtesy of Mixed Chicks