Choya Woods, the owner of Melanin Beauty Bar, a hair and beauty salon, is a cosmetologist, mother of four and very involved member of the La Crosse community.
“Melanin really was born as pretty much a space for all people, but with people that look like me as an emphasis,” said Woods.
Woods had previously worked at a local salon in La Crosse for about 10 years. She explained that although she loved her time there, she eventually left due to personal and diversity reasons.
“It wasn’t enough culture for me,” said Woods. And that was something that I felt was missing from La Crosse in general, when it comes to people of color.”
Before her recent additional hire at Melanin Beauty Bar, Woods initially worked alone and described her situation as ‘wearing a lot of caps.’ She explained that COVID-19 had caused the initial staff number to dwindle, eventually leaving her as the only person working at the salon.
“I kind of got to this space where I just wanted to work with me, and not forcing the idea of having people work in my space,” said Woods. “I like a healthy workplace, and I want the people that work with me to feel comfortable in my space–more personal than just business. I feel like this is what I look for.”
Woods described her typical workday, seeing anywhere from around 15 to 25 people during the three days that make up her work week (Tuesday-Thursday). She mentioned that while most salons functioned with an owner, manager, stylist, receptionist, and more, she had to do all these jobs herself.
“The pros… it makes me very personal in my business. So I get to know everybody from the beginning of the service to the end of the service,” said Woods. “But then on the back end of it, …it can be very overwhelming answering all of the emails, text messages, Facebook messages [and] Instagram messages.”
Woods said she was excited to have a new braider on the team and added that her new staff would be focusing on marketing plus hopefully reviving the Melanin Beauty Bar Instagram page soon.
Woods’s goal is to make her clients always happy.
“I want them to feel like I care and my attention is on them. So I like to offer small little gestures and tokens of appreciation,” said Woods.
Besides being a space that provides education on curly hair, Woods wants Melanin Beauty Bar to be a safe space for people of color regardless of whether they’re getting their hair done or not.
“I meet a lot of people that stop [by] because they’re like, ‘I moved here, and now I’m just looking for people of color and the name said melanin, so I knew there had to be some people of color,’” said Woods.
Woods also touched on some difficulties she has experienced on the job, specifically financial issues and clientele diversity.
“Most of my client base is not women of color, although that’s what I would love to cater to,” said Woods. “I get a lot of people with curly hair and that’s my area, but I really do want to see more people that look like me in my chair.”
Woods finds it very important to connect with the youth of the La Crosse community and has hosted several events uplifting students of a wide age range and college organizations.
“I think young people are what’s gonna drive our nation right now… but the older generation overlooks the younger generation,” said Woods. “They have a fresh outlook, and I think we need to pour into them more than we do.”
She has hosted candle parties, an art-immersive, a ‘Sisterhood and Soup’ gathering for women of color and events with participation from UWL students.
Woods’s other involvements include hosting a young group of black girls called LOTUS. She explained that LOTUS stood for Leading Our Tribe to Understanding Self and was a self-discovery group for girls of color from ages six through high school.
“[Melanin Beauty Bar] is named for us…because it is a word that encases all people. Everyone has melanin… we’ve all got it in some form,” said Woods. “I really want people to understand that it is for all of us because the community is important.”
Melanin Beauty Bar is located at 701 Rose, La Crosse, WI. For more information, email [email protected] or go to the website, Facebook or Instagram.
