The Story Behind TBL Braiding Hair
Why We Started TBL Braiding Hair
Bria McCollum
Founder, The Braiding Loft
When I opened The Braiding Loft, my vision was simple. I wanted to create more than a place where women came to have their hair braided. I wanted to build a space where they felt respected, cared for, and confident from the moment they walked through our doors. Every decision we made reflected that commitment, from the experience we created to the products we placed in our clients' hands.
Like many professionals in the braiding industry, I purchased braiding hair through suppliers I had known and trusted for years. It was simply the way our industry operated. My focus was on serving clients, supporting my team, and building a business that represented the community I was proud to be part of. At the time, I never imagined that one of the most meaningful lessons I would learn as a salon owner would come from questioning one of the products we used every single day.
That changed in February 2025.
I came across a Consumer Reports investigation that examined chemicals found in some synthetic braiding hair products. It challenged something I had accepted as standard for years and encouraged me to pause. For the first time, I found myself asking questions I had never asked before about a product that had become such a familiar part of our industry.
The investigations published by Consumer Reports, together with the research conducted by Dr. Elissia Franklin and her colleagues at the Silent Spring Institute, didn't tell me what decisions to make, nor did they provide every answer. What they did provide was a reason to think differently and the motivation to begin looking for answers myself.
I remember wondering whether there was a better way. Not simply by finding a different product, but by better understanding the products we had trusted for so many years.
Like many entrepreneurs, I was focused on building my business. The salon continued to grow, our team continued serving clients, and the everyday responsibilities of operating a business naturally took priority. Although those questions stayed with me, they remained in the background for a while.
Then, in February 2026, Consumer Reports published a follow-up investigation with additional testing and new findings.
This time, I read it through a completely different lens.
I wasn't simply thinking as a consumer. I was thinking about the people connected to my business every day: my team, who works with braiding hair daily; my clients, who trust the products we choose to use; my family, including my daughter, who wears braiding hair; and the broader community that has embraced braiding as part of its culture for generations.
For the first time, I realized that I had spent years carefully evaluating every part of the client experience, yet I had never applied that same level of curiosity to one of the products we used most often.
That realization stayed with me.
If people trusted us with something as personal as their hair, then I believed we had a responsibility to better understand the products we were placing in their hands. Not because I believed I had all the answers, but because I believed asking better questions was part of earning that trust.
Over time, one question became impossible for me to ignore.
How could we do better?
That question became the foundation of everything that followed.
Looking Beyond What Was Familiar
I didn't begin by searching for a new product.
I began by searching for better questions.
As our research continued, one discovery completely changed the direction of my thinking.
Alternatives already existed.
The challenge wasn't that they were impossible to find. The challenge was that they weren't commonly introduced through the suppliers many salons, including ours, had relied on for years. Like countless professionals, we purchased what was familiar because those were the products most readily available to us. Conversations about different manufacturing practices, sourcing methods, and alternative products simply weren't part of our everyday purchasing process.
That realization shifted my perspective.
Instead of asking why different options didn't exist, I began asking where they were, who was producing them, how they were being made, and what questions we should be asking before choosing the products we place in our clients' hands.
As our research continued, I realized something else.
Clients who wanted different options often had to find them on their own. They researched brands, compared products, placed separate orders, and brought those products to their appointments because those alternatives weren't commonly available through the suppliers many salons relied on. The more I reflected on that, the more I questioned why that responsibility had become the customer's to carry.
I believed we could do more.
Not by claiming to have every answer, but by taking responsibility for doing the work first.
Following the Evidence
Once we understood what we were looking for, our focus shifted from asking questions to following the evidence.
We interviewed manufacturers, requested certifications, reviewed documentation, learned about production practices, compared materials, and spent months building a better understanding of the products before making any decisions.
The deeper we looked, the more we realized that documentation alone wasn't enough.
We wanted our decisions to be supported by more than paperwork alone. Whenever possible, we wanted them to be informed by independent evaluation as well.
After identifying a manufacturer whose standards aligned with what we were looking for, we commissioned independent laboratory testing in the United States. We also enrolled the same braiding hair in a PCR Consumer Testing consumer study involving 50 participants. Those results are expected in September and will become part of this story as they become available.
Throughout this process, one belief continued to guide every decision we made.
The products we place in our clients' hands deserve the same level of thought, care, and intention as the services we proudly provide.
That belief has become one of the guiding principles behind TBL Braiding Hair.
Why I'm Sharing This
There were easier ways to introduce this project.
We could have completed the research privately, selected a product, and quietly moved forward.
Instead, I chose to share the process because I believe people deserve to understand how these decisions are made.
This page isn't intended to suggest that we've reached the end of the conversation, nor is it meant to imply that we have every answer. It's a reflection of our commitment to continue asking thoughtful questions, continue learning, and continue making decisions with greater intention than we did yesterday.
As TBL Braiding Hair continues to evolve, this page will evolve alongside it. We'll continue sharing new research, testing, milestones, and lessons learned because I believe openness is demonstrated through consistent action, not a single promise.
Looking Ahead
Looking back, I'm grateful that I didn't stop at the first question.
This experience changed the way I think about the products we use every day and the responsibility that comes with selecting them. It reminded me that meaningful progress doesn't always begin with having the right answers. Sometimes it begins with being willing to ask better questions, remain curious enough to keep learning, and care enough to follow where the evidence leads.
TBL Braiding Hair is one result of that commitment, but it isn't the commitment itself.
The commitment is to continue learning, continue improving, and continue making thoughtful decisions for the community that has trusted us from the very beginning.
My hope is that this story encourages more thoughtful conversations throughout our industry, inspires others to ask questions they may not have considered before, and reminds all of us that the products we trust every day deserve the same level of thought and care as every other part of the experience we provide.
Thank you for taking the time to read our story.
Bria McCollum
Founder, The Braiding Loft
"The products we place in our clients' hands deserve the same level of thought, care, and intention as the services we proudly provide."
