Today we’d like to introduce you to Amara Onwukaeme.
Amara, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I am Amara Onwukaeme, the owner of the luxury hair extensions, wig, and beauty brand, The Headline. I come from a Nigerian household where a child can be one of four options: A doctor, a lawyer, an engineer, or… a disgrace to the family. My parents had successfully embedded this mantra in me from childhood, and as they say, so eloquently, it is “A plus…. Or bust”. My oldest brother is an engineer, my second oldest brother is going to medical school. As for myself, I was surely the perfect Nigerian daughter who was on my way to college to become a lawyer… Atleast that was the plan.
I started making wigs my sophomore year at Howard University to make money after searching on YouTube “How to make a wig”. I had no time to maintain a regular job due to the rigor of my program, and frankly, I knew that I was more of a worker than anyone’s employee. I practiced for 3 days, then I distributed promotional flyers all over campus using an alias “Wigs by Crystal” because I wasn’t confident enough to get fully behind my brand. I even posted my flyers in the boy’s dorms, because I figured they must have a girlfriend that needed a wig. I came up with the name “Glam Strandz” and customers began contacting me. I charged $30 for the first wig I ever made. But soon enough, I was doing wigs for everyone including my professors! I got so popular on campus that I wanted to take my business a step further and sell hair extensions. I did month’s worth of testing and research and found a vendor with the best quality hair. I used one of my refund checks for my Gates Millenium Scholarship as an investment and bought a bulk order of hair and began selling. However, I knew I wanted to be more than just a hair company and wanted to build a global beauty brand. One night, God gave me the name “The Headline” and it just stuck. I bought my LLC, and I released my line on September 2nd, 2017.
Has it been a smooth road?
Can I be real here? HELL no. Entrepreneurship has been the most humbling, hardest, yet dynamic endeavors I have ever embarked on. No ebook, master class, or resource can truly prepare you for the responsibility and load that comes with running a business. In the beginning, I struggled most with support. I’ve lost many friends on this journey. When I initially dropped my brand, I put it in a group chat, my friends at the time didn’t go crazy for me like I expected them to. This badly hurt my confidence. The business was slow. My prices reflected the value of my product, and people were slow to be convinced. There were some months that I only had six sales. Sometimes things were so slow I thought it was God’s way of telling me to stop. There are so many circumstances in business out of your control: vendor going on holidays, post office losing packages, chargebacks, hair being different shades of brown, you name it. We live in a “grind 25/8, sleep is for the weak” hustle driven society. When you feel the natural human emotions of being drained or unmotivated, society makes you believe that you aren’t doing enough or that you’re weak. Maintaining my mental health has been a challenge for me, but I prioritize my sanity these days more than money. Now I am currently facing the challenge of expanding my brand’s reach and influence. With so many hair companies on the market, I need to stand out and have an unparalleled brand presence. Now that I have graduated, I am trying to further curate my identity as a brand and network with individuals that can take The Headline to the next level.
Tell us more about the business.
I love this question because funny thing is, I have never done hair in my life. Seriously, I don’t even know how to cornrow hair. However, I make quality wigs and provide the finest hair extensions on the market. I have been able to have traction because of the quality of the product I sell. It still blows my mind that women trust in me and my brand enough to spend $700 in one sitting for my hair. I have built a six figure business by the power of word of mouth. I haven’t had any major influencers in my hair, no major sponsorships, or endorsements, and I have invested very little in advertising. We don’t even have 10k on Instagram yet. However, If someone is wearing a Headline, they bought it. Every time a new customer contacts me. it is usually because someone they know purchased and loved the hair. The word on my hair spreads because people love it. What sets me apart from others is the integrity I have behind my brand. I will never sell anything for a price that doesn’t reflect the quality of the product. I constantly communicate with my audience and ask for feedback from my customers.
I encourage my customers to leave reviews. I am informed about the products they are buying and make sure that I am collecting the best hair from young healthy donors and that each bundle came from a person. Every product I sell I have tested. I rather lose out on money than for anyone to ever say they didn’t receive quality hair from me. I also provide options for customers to finance my hair. Customers can get their hair immediately and pay over time. I try to keep my social media fresh and exciting. However, every day is a win for me. I didn’t know that hair was so emotional until I started my business in which I then realized the impact of my product. I have provided wigs to women going through hard breakups and The Headline gave them confidence. I have provided wigs to women that suffer from alopecia, and my wigs have brought tears to their eyes. I have provided wigs to women who just don’t know how to do their hair and now all they have to do is throw on my wig and walk out the door feeling like a superstar. Some so many women attest to how my wigs and hair skyrocket their confidence and boost their self esteem. And when you’re confident, you can do anything. Anytime I make a woman feel good, I feel accomplished.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I definitely see men wearing wigs too! I definitely want to start a “Headline Him” line for hair replacement units for men. Hair is not just for women, men deserve confidence as well! I also believe there will be more of a digital shift in how we approach hair. I don’t see many apps dedicated to the hair experience, and I hope to create that one day.
Pricing:
- Luxury virgin Brazilian closure wigs (our most popular) starting at $320
- Bundle deals starting at $190!
- HD frontals starting at $155
Contact Info:
- Address: Pure Bella Spa, 3290 Memorial Dr #4, Decatur, GA 30032 Suite B
- Website: Theheadline.us
- Email: info@shopheadline.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/shopheadline
- Facebook: Facebook.com/shopheadline
- Twitter: Twitter.com/shopheadline
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