Curly Gurl Luv is a black-owned beauty supply store in Los Angeles helping women, men, and children with textured hair meet all of their unique beauty needs in a beautiful community space. We are dedicated to closing the gap between dollars spent and ownership!
Over the last year of being in business, we have gathered a wish list of additional beauty and hair products our customers want us to provide. With your support, we will be able to expand the products and extensions we offer the community!
$14,450
Funds Raised$25,000
Funding GoalApr 2023
Ended$14,450
Funds Raised$25,000
Funding GoalApr 2023
Ended$14,450
Funds Raised 
Our Curly Gurl Luv Story
In our community, barber shops and salons provide a unique social function. They are cultural sanctuaries. Historically, beauty supplies have not served that role. When I (Christina) learned that Black women are the primary consumers of hair care products but own less than 5% of all beauty supply stores nationwide, I decided I wanted to become a part of the solution.
After a lot of research and prayer, my husband Alex and I decided to invest in our community. I received professional mentorship and training from an industry expert and quickly learned how to launch and sustain a black-owned beauty supply store. We have created the beauty supply store that we believe our community deserves. A beautiful, modern space that celebrates our unique culture and beauty.
For our grand opening in April 2022, we had an outpouring of support from the community! There were over 200 people in attendance, including the Mayor of Lawndale, City Council Members, and County representatives from Supervisor Holly Mitchell’s Office.
Curly Gurl Luv is a meaningful symbol to the community. We are demonstrating that Black women can have ownership in the hair care retail space. We are joyful that many of our first customers were excited that we are in the community and that they no longer have to travel long distances to meet their beauty needs. We are proud to have created a beautiful, safe space that is for us, and by us.
Community Impact
Curly Gurl Luv has accomplished so much in less than a year! We are a social enterprise that is dedicated to empowering women to grow in “self-luv” and celebrate their unique beauty. We provide opportunities for local black-owned brands to sell products in our store, and online. We address issues of poverty by hiring from within the community.
Part of Curly Gurl Luv’s mission is to create a safe space where we learn about our hair from each other. We have accomplished this by hosting free natural hair workshops where textured hair experts answer questions and complete product demonstrations. Like our “Curl Care 101” workshop, it provided free training from hair experts like Dr. Kari Williams.
Dr. Kari teaching at Curl Care 101.
Breast Cancer Warrior💝
Last year, when we learned Black women have a 31% breast cancer mortality rate – the highest of any U.S. racial or ethnic group - Curly Gurl Luv dove into action during Breast Cancer Awareness Month by launching our “She Fights On” Campaign! We partnered with Fashion Source Wig Collection to provide free human hair wigs and wig care products to women at the South Bay Cancer Center in Lawndale, currently undergoing Chemo.
How You Can Support Curly Gurl Luv
Many of you have been on this journey with us over the last year and we couldn’t have made it this far without you! Now that Curly Gurl Luv has been in operation for nearly a year, we have received feedback about what additional products and hair our customers would like for us to provide. With your contribution to our campaign, we will be able to expand the products and extensions we provide so Curly Gurl Luv can continue to uplift the community and provide safe spaces where we can learn about our hair from each other.
Every dollar makes a difference and gets us one step closer to our goal!
About the Founders
Co-Founders Christina & Alex Smith
Christina and Alex tied the knot in 2016, in Corona, California. After meeting in 2013 at a conference for a Christian organization they both worked for, they connected on social media and discovered their shared passion for justice and delicious food. In 2018, they settled back into South Los Angeles, the community where Christina grew up. They both used their degrees, skills, and passion to further invest in the youth and families in their community. Christina empowered students as a Special Education teacher and case manager in Title One schools. Alex serves as a pastor and program administrator for community capacity initiatives at USC. Their shared calling is to empower and invest in black and brown communities. In addition to Curly Gurl Luv, Alex and Christina have two toddlers: Josiah & Charis. As a family, they enjoy exploring different parts of LA, playing games (especially board games), staying active, spending time with family & friends, and cooking.
Your name will appear in our stories on IG and FB. We will proudly tag you in a thank you post!
Your name will be added to the official Curly Gurl Luv Wall of Fame on our website!
Why get a few full size products when you can receive many samples to test out?
Includes:
- One (1) Black Panther Edge Control,
- Three (3) different Mielle products and
- Two (2) facial masks.
PLUS be added to our website "Wall of Fame"
Get the perfect gift for him! Feel clean, refreshed and moisturized with:
- One (1) Uncle Jimmy Hair Beard & Body Wash and
- One (1) Nile Hair & Beard Oil.
PLUS be added to our website "Wall of Fame"
Receive an exclusive Curly Gurl Luv T-Shirt.
PLUS be added to our website "Wall of Fame"
Make your next wash day a breeze! You will get:
-Mielle Babassu Oil & Mint Shampoo and Conditioner.
- One (1) Dr. K Comb Out Creme and
- One (1) RED Detangling Comb.
PLUS be added to our website "Wall of Fame"
Stylists you want this deal!
- You will have a permanent placement on the Curly Gurl Luv Trusted Stylists/Salons Page along with your short bio.
- Get a one-time shoutout during our Stylist Monday's series.
- You will also be enrolled in our Stylist Loyalty Program with a $25.00 in-store credit, that can be used when you spend $250.00 or more.
Join our Exclusive Crew and receive 5% off all purchases made in store or online for a LIFETIME! (This pass cannot be combined with any other sale or discount and excludes Human Hair purchases)
PLUS be added to our website "Wall of Fame"
Join the CEO of Curly Gurl Luv to Talk Curls, sip wine, and eat lunch with other curlfriends at the Barsaha Restaurant, located in Manhattan Beach.
PLUS be added to our website "Wall of Fame"
| Name | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Amy Oxendale-Imig | Black Mountain, NC | April 05, 2023 |
| Anonymous | Mount Vernon, NY | April 02, 2023 |
| Iman Cotton | Alhambra, CA | April 02, 2023 |
| Carmen Hamilton + Rhett Simmonds | Middleport, CA | April 02, 2023 |
| Akida Quarles-Crosby | Los Angeles, CA | April 02, 2023 |
| Aaron Jones | Woodland Hills, CA | March 31, 2023 |
| Amber-Noelle Anthony | Jamaica Estates, NY | March 31, 2023 |
| Sarah Casado | Los Angeles, CA | March 30, 2023 |
| David N | Stamford, CT | March 29, 2023 |
| Zori Paul | Chicago, IL | March 29, 2023 |
| Talyia Riemer | Mesa, AZ | March 24, 2023 |
| Kevin Quarles | Middleport, CA | March 21, 2023 |
| DAYSHA UNDERWOOD | Middleport, CA | March 19, 2023 |
| Janice Fredericks | East Elmhurst, NY | March 17, 2023 |
| Harriet Zaretsky | Santa Monica, CA | March 16, 2023 |
| Harriet Zaretsky | Santa Monica, CA | March 16, 2023 |
| Steve Henry | Santa monica, CA | March 13, 2023 |
| Steve Henry | Santa monica, CA | March 13, 2023 |
| Brian Quarles | Homestead, FL | March 13, 2023 |
| Lorene Goggins | Middleport, OH | March 12, 2023 |
| Fanchon Kelley | Chicago, IL | March 10, 2023 |
| Anonymous | Roselle, NJ | March 10, 2023 |
| Marques Quarles | Pasadena, CA | March 10, 2023 |
| Baily Warman | Schaumburg, IL | March 10, 2023 |
| Knicks Knicksington | Elk Grove, CA | March 09, 2023 |
| William Ingram | Los Angeles, CA | March 09, 2023 |
| Daisy Mahadeo | Redding, CT | March 08, 2023 |
| Linda Kim | Los Angeles, CA | March 08, 2023 |
| Jennifer McDowell | Los Angeles, CA | March 08, 2023 |
| Tiffany Lane | Lawndale, CA | March 07, 2023 |
| Edmund Hamilton | Chicago, IL | March 04, 2023 |
| Charles Quarles | Los Angeles, CA | March 04, 2023 |
| Christal Green | Inglewood, CA | March 04, 2023 |
| Krishaun Quarles | Los Angeles, CA | March 04, 2023 |
| Valerie Ives | Los Angeles, CA | March 03, 2023 |
| Emeka OBI | San Jacinto, CA | March 03, 2023 |
| Anonymous | LOS ANGELES, CA | March 02, 2023 |
| Sonal Singhal | Long Beach, CA | March 02, 2023 |
| Jerry Ingram | View Park-Windsor Hills, CA | March 02, 2023 |
| Alex Smith, Sr | Mount Vernon, NY | March 02, 2023 |
| Brandy Taylor | North Hollywood, CA | March 01, 2023 |
| Anonymous | Houston, TX | February 25, 2023 |
| Amy Koid | LOS ANGELES, CA | February 24, 2023 |
| Dr. BRICKELL QUARLES | West New York, NJ | February 22, 2023 |
| Abhik Chatterji | Rye, NY | February 22, 2023 |
| Eric & Fazia Gooden | Los Angeles, CA | February 22, 2023 |
| Dev Thomas | Elk Grove, CA | February 22, 2023 |
| Baily Warman | Schaumburg, IL | February 21, 2023 |
| Tiffany Quarles | Los Angeles, CA | February 21, 2023 |
| Jeremy Gooden | View Park, CA | February 21, 2023 |
| Jonathan Quarles | los angeles, CA | February 20, 2023 |
| Karen Quarles | los angeles, CA | February 19, 2023 |
| Jennifer Blue | Los Angeles, CA | February 19, 2023 |
| Benjamin Wickstrom | Sacramento, CA | February 17, 2023 |
| Anonymous | Los Angeles, CA | February 16, 2023 |
| Tiane Jones | Los Angeles, CA | February 16, 2023 |
| Anonymous | LOS ANGELES, CA | February 15, 2023 |
| Janie Everly | Bakersfield, CA | February 14, 2023 |
| Mariska Jones | Los Angeles, CA | February 14, 2023 |
| Anonymous | Churchton, MD | February 11, 2023 |
| Omar Castro | Chicago, IL | February 11, 2023 |
| Scott Madsen | Boise, ID | February 09, 2023 |
All This in Just 24 hours!
Hi Luvs! We are excited to share that in just 24hrs we have raised over $4,000! Our hearts are filled with gratitude and excitement. Thank you for partnering with us in this journey early. Every dollar contributed and re-share on social media has brought us this far! We are just getting started. Stay tuned for more updates as we get closer to our goal!
OMG GUESS WHAT?!
We have reached 20% of our goal in just 1 week! Thanks to all 24 of YOU, our contributors, we are well on our way to accomplishing our Goal of 25k!
Please keep sharing Curly Gurl Luv with anyone like you, who wants to support small black-owned businesses, and close the gap between dollars spent and ownership in the hair care industry.
We Went Somewhere Special!
Happy Saturday Luvs,
We had the opportunity to be a pop-up vendor at USC’s Women Conference! With over 800 in attendance, we had a great time connecting with women from all walks of life and sharing with them about our mission and our campaign! As of today we’ve raised $6,125!
It is so encouraging to have an outpouring of support from so many people. Thank you for being our village!
USC Women’s Conference 2023
Matching Funds Now Available
We truly do have an amazing village of supporters helping us achieve our goal!
We are excited to announce that one of our supporters has just agreed to match all funds given over the next 5 days up to $2,500! This is an awesome opportunity to share with friends, family, and colleagues who may be interested in supporting the work we do. Help us get the word out that others can contribute today to double their impact!
NEW KIDS ACCESSORIES!
Hi Luv’s,
We have raised over 9k and we are not waisting any time! Because of your support we have been able to expand our kids section. We now offer a wider variety of beads, balls, barrettes ribbons and more! One of our newest accessories is Gaby Bows. Gaby Bows is a black-owned high quality barrette accessory line that was created by a 7 yr old and her mom. Check out the before and after shots of our expanded kids section!
Before
After
We Got Published!
Great news, Luvs!
The story of our business was published in the Covenant Companion! (A growing award-winning denominational magazine). Of course its mentions our fabulous crowdfunding campaign!
Many people ask us why we started a beauty supply. There are MANY entrepreneurs in my family, (Christina). So, while 8 months pregnant with our daughter I prayed about what that might look like for me, the idea of Curly Gurl Luv just came to me. Curly Gurl Luv is about women helping each other grow in self-love, loving ourselves and how we were created. That’s why when we started Curly Gurl Luv, we based it on 1 John 4:19: ‘We love because God first loved us.’”
Check out the article here to learn more of our story!
WHOA! We are Half Way there!
We have officially raised 50% of our campaign goal and have 50 backers! This is a HUGE milestone and we are so grateful for everyone of you for making this possible! We have have continued to expand our inventory and recently purchased the highly requested Human Braiding Hair. Customers have already begun to purchase our new items! We are excited to help them meet all their unique beauty needs.
ONLY 4 days Left to GO!
In less than 5 weeks we have accomplished so much together! We have raised $12,725 ! Every person you have shared with about our campaign, and every dollar contributed has brought us that much closer to our goal. THANK YOU for making any of this possible!
If you haven’t mentioned our campaign to someone in our community, will you let them know about our business – the Curly Gurl Luv family is always here with open arms! We have 4 more days until the campaign closes but our mission continues on!
WE DID IT!
WE DID IT LUV’S! Together we have raised $13, 400!! Our crowdfunding campaign was an amazing journey! Thanks to all 60 of YOU we have achieved so much. Thank you for your generosity and support, it means so very much to me and Alex. With the funds raised, we have continued to purchase new inventory that our community has requested. One of our newest items, Human braiding hair, is already flying off the shelves! Supporting our campaign has made an impact in our business and community.
Want to continue to be a part of our mission? Follow us on social media @curlygurlluvbeauty or sign up for our newsletter us at curlygurlluv.com
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