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22 November 2015 | beautystorebusiness.com was a difficult, stressful, depressing 19 months. I wouldn't change my choice, but I'm not sure everybody's strong enough to handle that." In November of 2012 after a nine-day trial, the jury found that Sally Beauty had infringed on the Mixed Chicks brand— awarding them $8,114,535 in combined actual and punitive damages. "All of us try to get out of jury duty, but I was so grateful for how many days the jury [members] took away from their jobs and families for the case. We all owe that as U.S. citizens and it made me have more respect for the judicial system," Wendi says. "If we didn't win the decision, we still won in that we fought for ourselves," Kim says. "We weren't going to roll over with what we felt was wrong. People get away with doing wrong every single day, but we knew in our hearts that this was our baby—and any mother's going to protect her child." ONWARD AND UPWARD Though Kim and Wendi started Mixed Chicks by just selling the leave-in condi- tioner, the company now boasts a variety of items, including a men's line, kid's hair- care products, a straightening serum, flat iron, paddle brush, spring bands and now makeup. But no matter what they're selling, the goal remains the same: catering to the needs of a multicultural audience with combination hair. "I think we're the fastest-growing demo- graphic of people: multicultural individuals," Kim says. "I think that's what our world's going to blend into. I think our industry's paying attention to that, and we're thrilled about that. We just really hope the manu- facturers get on the page with us in helping to put the pressure on our retailers and the industry to understand that we have got to stop a divide by race." ■ Karen Wilhelmsen is a writer and editor based in Anaheim, CA. Supporting The Cause As business owners, Kim and Wendi know the importance of giving back to the community. In addition to most of the Mixed Chicks' products being cruelty-free and vegan (some contain an animal byproduct), they also release their leave-in conditioner in a bottle with a pink cap once a year in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. For every 10-ounce bottle sold, $1 is donated to the cause. Once more, they also have a partnership with the National Sickle Cell Disease Association (to bring awareness to a cause that Kim and Wendi say is "not in the forefront but is just as important"), and for a limited time each year, donate $1 for every bottle of their deep conditioner sold. Lastly, they have partnered with the Green Goddess recycling program, giving customers a 30% online-discount promo code in exchange for sending in empty containers. "I think we're the fastest-growing demographic of people: multicultural individuals."