Supporting Black-owned businesses during Black History Month: Hair R Us

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Before Leroy Nedd opened Hair R Us in 2015, there were no beauty supply stores in Vermont that carried accessories, supplies and products specifically designed for Black hair types and textures.

Black Vermonters were forced to travel out-of-state to get the hair products they needed.

“Boston, New York, New Jersey, wherever. Some of them would go back home. Some of them would have their family send them stuff, mail it to them. And that’s where I come in to try to bridge the gap. We shouldn’t have to go through that,” Nedd said.

What used to be an hours-long trip to the beauty supply store is now just a short drive or walk to Hair R Us on North Street in Burlington.

“Sometimes these girls walk into the door and they get in here and they scan their head around left to right and they’re like ‘Where have you been?’ It’s like a sigh of relief,” said Nedd. “And they come in here and they’re like ‘Wow, oh wow, okay, I never knew we had something like that in Vermont.’ Well, yes we do.”

Nedd sells everything from hair products like mousse and hair grease, to wigs, to braided extensions.

“These come braided already so all you have to do is cornrow your hair and weave that into your hair,” he said.

Nedd says although Black people are his primary customer base, he has a variety of clientele, including transgender people, cancer patients, FBI agents and local actors.

“Those are things that I never prepared for when I was doing my research to start this business. So those are all welcomed things to me,” Nedd said.

Nedd says over the years, he has garnered a loyal customer base and he hopes more people will become aware of Hair R Us. He says as long as the customers keep coming, he’ll keep providing.

“I make sure I bring what they ask for. It’s all about them. So whatever they ask for, they got. That’s what I do,” he said.

Nedd says he plans to open Hair R Us stores in Portland, Maine and Concord, New Hampshire in the future.