Beauty Supply Refresh opened its doors in 2020. They temporarily closed to move to a bigger location, reopening a few blocks away.
FLORISSANT, Mo. — A beauty supply store in north St. Louis County has launched a new location to connect beauty and wellness.
Refresh Beauty Supply on 440 Howdershell Road invited the community in for customer appreciation day on Saturday, a day after reopening its doors. Opened in 2020, the business has moved just a few doors down in the Villa del Cresta shopping center.
“We were bursting out at the seams from our other store and just because of community support. We’ve been able to grow within those four years,” said co-owner Trinita Rhodes.
Along with her partner, Wuan Davis, Rhodes recognized the growing demand for natural, holistic hair care products among African Americans and wanted to close knowledge gaps by helping consumers better understand their hair texture, skin and scalp health, and nutrition.
The larger location now features a hair and skin oil bar and consultation station to help customers meet health needs to address their health and skin. The 100% natural, plant-based, and vegan hair/skin oil bar allows customers to create personalized oil blends tailored to their unique needs. They can also select from a curated range of popular oils and body butters.
“If you’re looking for a specific hair provider, whether you suffer from hair loss or alopecia or you need mental health services, we are a hub for that because we connect with so many resources in the community, to be able to pass that on to the community,” Rhodes said.
It is also the people behind the product that makes this place unique.
“We support all hair textures. But it’s profound when I think of another young African-American little girl who looks at us and she’s like I have never seen a Black-owned beauty supply,” Rhodes said.
Mental health liaison Ashley Smith discovered Refresh Beauty Supply on that journey and is now sharing her results with others.
“They gave me the education and the knowledge that I needed to take my personal care into my own hands without having to spend a lot of money to do it,” Smith said.
“Everybody can’t afford hair products. So maybe that’s why they are wearing their bonnets and so we want to have a safe place where they can feel comfortable and hold those conversations that they may need,” Rhodes said. “We want to fuse beauty and mental health wellness.”
Beauty Supply Refresh will hold an educational event, “Getting Back to the Basics,” on Sunday from noon to 2 p.m. The event will focus on healthy hair.
The store is open Monday-Saturday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.