Carless Grays loves the way a silky smooth full weave makes her feel.

“When I leave Justine, I feel like a model,” the Owings Mills resident gushed about the way her stylist, Justine Smith, weaves human hair throughout her full head of braided tendrils using 16-inch extensions.

It used to cost Gray $350 every six weeks to get the style. Now, it’s $25 more, thanks to President Donald Trump’s increased tariffs on imported hair from India and Vietnam.

Grays knows that higher prices are as inevitable as the need for edge control gel for baby hairs on a windy day.

“The tariffs are going to get passed on to the customer,” the 64-year-old retiree lamented. “I’m not happy about that.”

As temperatures spike and travel heats up this summer, Black women rely on protective hairstyles like braids, wigs, weaves and extensions. But new tariffs this year are raising costs for major hair and beauty exporters in China, which in turn, are boosting sticker prices for Black consumers.

Talk about a hot girl bummer!

The Black hair care industry is big business. Valued at $3.1 billion in 2023, forecasters expect growth of $4.6 billion in 2032, according to Dimension Market Research. In the U.S., Black people spend $473 million annually on hair care products, 14% of the total beauty industry market share.

India is the world’s largest exporter of human hair, accounting for 93% of the market, according to Trendeconomy.com.

“They made tariffs feel like it was something the United States was doing to another country for the benefit of us, when in fact, small business owners are going to get hit the most,” said Sherida Morrison Santiago, a business professor at Coppin State University.

Santiago, who historically has spent hundreds of dollars on hair pieces, is also feeling the brunt of rising costs at the salon. Long gone are the days, Santiago said, when she could get a roller set with a wash and trim for up to $65. A recent visit to the salon set her back $200, thanks in part to the rising costs of products related to her hairstyle.

“When the cost is passed along, it inflates. So I, instead of going to get my hair done a couple of times a month, I can’t afford to,” she said.

The rollout of new tariffs has been a rollercoaster for many businesses with international ties. Tariffs on Chinese imports, for example, rose to 145% but were scaled back to an effective 55% through mid-August. Vietnam was hit with a 46% tariff, and India with 26%, but those rates fell to 10% through July 9 to allow for the Trump administration to try to negotiate new rates.

Celebrity hairstylist Cory Holland is based in Severn and has already noticed $5 to $10 increases in prices per bundle he uses for hair extensions. A typical customer may use 2 to 3 bundles each time they visit the salon.

“That’s for the good stuff,” Holland, 45, said with a laugh.

So far, Holland, whose roster includes superstar singers Lalah Hathaway, CeCe Peniston, and the late Aretha Franklin, has had to increase his prices from $5 to $20 per service.

“Ain’t got no choice,” said Holland, who also styles hair at BHD Extensions in Glen Burnie. “I ate the costs as long as I could. They were OK with it.”

So far, Holland hasn’t seen a drop in customers. He says that’s because many have corporate jobs “so they want to stay fresh.”

“They can’t take much more,” he said, explaining prices of hair dyes, haircare products, perfume and makeup have also increased $3 to $5.

Justine Smith, who has done Grays’ hair for 15 years, said one of her vendors “is now shipping from a completely different country,” after the tariffs took hold.

Smith’s customers are coming to her salon less frequently, especially laid-off federal workers, crimping her expected revenue totals for this year.

For Grays, her style can last two weeks, but she still insists on the earlier turnaround to achieve that “fresh look” she gets after leaving Self.ish Beauty Spa, where Smith rents a space to style her loyal customers.

Grays said prices would have to increase by a “crazy, crazy” amount for her to consider not returning to her favorite stylist, Smith.

“I may have to cut something out,” she explained. “I might not eat three meals a day, but I’m not-not getting my hair done.”

Quintin and Megan Lathan said they have always tried to prioritize their customers. But the husband-and-wife owners of one of the only Black-owned beauty supply stores in Baltimore are facing a business climate they haven’t seen before with the uncertainty of tariffs.

“There’s no real getting around it because it’s affecting everyone in the chain from the distributor down,” Quintin Lathan said.

The Lathans have been in the beauty supply store industry since 2016 when they opened their first shop in the Charles North area. They closed that shop last year to focus on their store, Beauty Plus, inside the Northwood Commons Shopping Center across from Morgan State University.

In April, they started receiving letters from their distributor, notifying them that they’d see prices increase on certain products because of tariffs, Quintin Lathan said. For them, it felt like the beginning of a domino effect that they knew wouldhit their customers’ wallets.

So far, the Lathans have seen the cost of 100% human hair increase substantially. It’s a go-to product for those wanting a more natural look, especially for Boho-styled braids.

Quintin considers Megan to be the “inventory guru” who is intentional about purchases and tries not to over order. Her usual rule of thumb is if the product isn’t essential to stock, “we don’t get it.”

They’re continuing to stay true to their small business values by considering customers before they set their prices and keeping an assorted product base.

The Lathans recently unpacked boxes of product in the back of their store and reminisced about another time when they faced major challenges as business owners − the COVID-19 pandemic. Back then, they delivered orders to customers as a family, sometimes with their two young daughters along for the ride.

The situation wasn’t easy, but their customers appreciated it and the Lathans are determined to get through what’s ahead.

“Only thing we can do is keep a positive outlook and maintain prices as much as we can,” Quintin Lathan said.

Correction: The captions in this story have been updated to correct the spelling of Megan Lathan's name.