< A Black Cosmetic Company Sells, Or Sells Out?

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Hair care is a multibillion dollar business in the United States. The biggest share of that - sales to black women. Products for black women with natural hair are an especially fast-growing segment in the industry, so there are plenty of customers with a stake in the news that broke this week. Carol's Daughter, a beloved line of natural hair and body products, was sold to the cosmetics giant L'Oreal. Karen Grigsby Bates from NPR's Code Switch team reports.

KAREN GRIGSBY BATES, BYLINE: Carol's Daughter was born in the Brooklyn kitchen of Lisa Price.

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LISA PRICE: I started with butters and bath oils. And I took them out to craft fairs. And I was selling them to people. And people were interested...

BATES: She added hair care by popular request. Eventually, her products became so successful they were carried in seven stand-alone boutiques in chains likes Sephora and Ulta and in megastore Target. The Wall Street Journal said the company had 27 million in revenues in the past 12 months. But the brand struggled after it expanded, some said too quickly. In May, Carol's Daughter stores filed for bankruptcy protection. Fans worried about the future of the company. Then, on Monday, this...

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PRICE: Hi, this is Lisa Price, founder of Carol's Daughter, and I have some exciting news for you. Carol's Daughter will be joining the L'Oreal family.

BATES: But will its customers see themselves in this new family? Cornell professor Noliwe Rooks teaches Africana studies and specializes in black women's image and in gender issues. She says the devotion to Carol's Daughter goes beyond Price's product.

NOLIWE ROOKS: She came out of a black community, and love for black women and economic possibility for black people was as much a part of her creation story and her narrative as was, you know, whatever her products would do to your hair.

BATES: Rooks says Carol's Daughter pioneered serving the increasing number of black women choosing to wear their hair in natural styles at a time when options for that hair care were limited.

ROOKS: Carol's Daughter was certainly at the forefront of bringing about certain kinds of products that would make it possible for black women to style our hair.

BATES: Now there are several other companies, like Mixed Chicks and Miss Jessie's, serving curly-headed women of all ethnicities. Carol's Daughter has broadened its product line and the spectrum of its models, which left some longtime fans, like beauty vlogger Honey Bii, upset.

HONEY BII: I'm not fair complected. And by no means do I think that they have to have this Afrocentric feel to it, but I feel like she sold us out.

BATES: Ken Smikle disagrees. He's the president of Target Market News, a Chicago research and news firm that monitors black consumer patterns. Smikle says if you're an entrepreneur, you want to get offers from bigger companies.

KEN SMIKLE: At the end of the day, there's got to be a certain amount of maturity on the part of us who are African-American consumers of products, particularly those from black-owned companies, to realize that growth is inevitable.

BATES: And he says the L'Oreal acquisition makes sense for both parties.

SMIKLE: Cosmetics is tough. And it would be more logical for a company already engaged in the market to want to make a purchase and extend their ability to serve black customers.

BATES: L'Oreal already owns the SoftSheen line, which was purchased from Carson Products, a black-owned company in 1998. But it's had a bit of a learning curve in other areas. It came in for a lot of heat on black social media when it used Beyonce to promote a foundation.

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BEYONCE KNOWLES: There's only one true match for me. And I'm worth it.

BATES: The singer's image, many claimed, had been lightened in the print ads to make her more appealing to the mainstream. L'Oreal denied it, but the controversy endures. Ken Smikle says there will be missteps. But to paraphrase L'Oreal's tagline, it'll be worth it.

SMIKLE: This is a good deal. It's a good deal for the industry. It's certainly a good deal for those who are loyal customers of Carol's Daughter.

BATES: And, hopes company founder Lisa Price, it's a deal that will keep Carol's Daughter on shelves for years to come. Karen Grigsby Bates, NPR News.

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