Berea College, Local Salon Owner Partnering to Offer Kentucky’s First Beauty Product Vending Machine on Berea College Campus

Berea College is teaming up with You’ve Got Curls Hair Loss center to provide a beauty product vending machine—the first of its kind in Kentucky—in Berea’s Black Cultural Center.

The machine is the creation of Melanie Day, founder and CEO of  You've Got Curls and Hair Loss Center in Lexington, Kentucky. The center is looking to place similar vending machines elsewhere in the state, with each machine providing a curated selection of high-quality hair care and beauty products and extensions to college campuses.

“I’m extremely excited to place our first vending machine on the Berea College campus, and to provide students with hair-care products they may need but cannot access,” Day said. “But one of the things I’m most excited about is the opportunity for these machines to do more than just provide products to students. My hope is that these machines create community for students who may have the same hair challenges as they do, so they can share their experiences, learn from each other and be empowered to celebrate their differences. My dream is that these machines will help instill confidence in students and others who use them.”

You’ve Got Curls and Hair Loss Center was established in May of 2012. It is central Kentucky’s first multicultural naturally curly boutique salon featuring holistic hair therapies. The center also serves veterans and cancer survivors undergoing chemotherapy.

Included in the machine are popular brands such as Mielle Organics, KITSCH Hair Accessories, Decca Plus and 3-D Mink Lashes. Some of the eco-friendly products include Dr. Bronner’s soap. Students will have access to hair accessories, styling products, hair tools, combs, brushes, satin bonnets, durags, personal care, extensions and beauty items for all ethnicities. Students can learn about proper hair and skin care while living on campus by means of In Living Curls Hair Care, an in-person and online educational component created by Day.

“We are so excited to have this first-of-its-kind vending machine on the Berea College campus, and we are anxious to see the community it will build,” said Kristina Gamble, director of the Black Cultural Center. “One of our core missions at Berea College is inclusiveness, and this machine is just one thing we can do for our students to let them know that their differences are seen and celebrated.”