How Trump’s tariffs are hitting beauty supply stores and ultimately your wallet

President Trump announced a 125% tax on Chinese imports, and now beauty supply store owners and shoppers are feeling the impact.

Ladies, I’m going to hold your hand when I say this…Trump’s tariffs are impacting our favorite store—the beauty supply store. For the last few weeks, the consequences of President Trump’s trade wars over international imports, particularly China, have become more and more real.

Despite Trump placing a 90-day pause on his new tariffs, the president’s 125% tax rate increase on Chinese imports is starting to impact beauty supply stores across the country.  For business owners like Chasity Monroe, owner of Pink Noir, a hair and beauty supply store in Memphis, Tennessee, the trade wars are impacting her small business, as she says she buys many of her products directly from China. 

“It’s just been really scary for a small business that’s not been open long,” Monroe told NBC News, explaining how she has already seen suppliers increase their prices, which she will have to tack onto the customer product prices. 

As a result of these tariffs, synthetic braiding hair that once cost $3-$5 a pack may now cost customers $10 to $12. Similarly, Zametra Taylor, owner of Beauty Supply 4U in Lauderdale Lakes, Florida, explained how the tax on Chinese goods could lead to a minimum 15% increase on products like wigs, extensions, and accessories, as they primarily come from China. 

“It’s really making me sick,” Taylor said, per WPLG Local 10 News. 

In the US, Black hair care is a lucrative industry, generating an estimated $3.2 billion in 2023 on products alone, not even counting hair accessories, wigs, or electric styling products. Though reports predict the industry reaching a $4.9 billion valuation by 2033, a key part of the industry lies in international exports, which provide everything from product ingredients to bundles to stocking caps. 

The trickle down effect of Trump’s three-figure tariffs on Chinese goods impacts not only small Black-owned beauty supply stores, but also larger Black-owned beauty brands seen in retailers like Sephora and Ulta. 

“The supply chain is a huge barrier,” said Tomi Talabi, founder of The Black Beauty Club, to NBC News. “Tariffs only raise the cost of entry: packaging, ingredients, shipping — all go up.” 

As companies debate whether to absorb these tariff costs or pass them on to consumers, owners like Taylor are getting creative in protecting customers from feeling the financial impact by implementing layaway programs when necessary. 

“I’m trying to hold out as long as I can,” she says.