‘Healthy, Happy Hair:’ Oyin Handmade Partners with the University of Maryland Medical System for Equitable Hair Care Initiative
Nursing leaders at the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) found a shortcoming in being able to meet the haircare needs of patients of color as some of its organizations care for as many as 70% of Black patients.
Jamyla Bennu, co-founder of personal care company, Oyin Handmade partnered with UMMS to provide haircare products to patients with textured and curly hair to address issues of diversity, equality, and inclusivity for patients across the Maryland Medical System.
Through the initiative, spearheaded by nurse leader DoRhonja Nichols, DNP, RN, Director of Critical Care & Behavioral Health Services at the University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center, Oyin Handmade provides travel-sized versions of its best-selling products to their eleven- member hospitals. The high-performance products featuring food-grade ingredients offers clean formulas that specifically cater to patients with highly textured, curly and coily hair.
Bennu shared details of the partnership’s commitment with BLACK ENTERPRISE, and its effort to improve patient experience for the well-being of the communities.
Tell us about your background and what led you to entrepreneurship
As a lifelong naturalista and ingredient–conscious consumer, I became interested in this field when I couldn’t find commercially available natural and organic products for my highly textured, natural hair. In 2001, I started handcrafting moisture–rich solutions for myself as a hobby, then sharing with family and friends. In 2003 while working as a freelance web designer and content creator, I created a website to share my hair and body treats with other members of the online natural hair community. The business grew organically from there and Oyin Handmade was created! We are so honored to be part of the early wave of the millennium’s natural hair movement which has helped shift cultural expectations and industry standards around textured hair care worldwide.
Explain what your initiative does for patients of color
This initiative ties together our longstanding commitment to provide high- quality products for healthy, happy, highly textured hair, and the Hospital’s internal commitment to inclusion and improved patient experience. Up to 70% of the University of Maryland Medical System patients are Black, and making texture–sensitive personal care products available to them during their stay is a remarkable way to help them feel seen and cared for during their healthcare journey.
What sparked the idea to fill this unique gap in the marketplace, providing natural hair products in a medical setting?
We’d been working for a few years toward expanding our line into hospitality and industrial settings because we saw a need that wasn’t being addressed. Many folks with highly textured hair (ourselves included!) are long accustomed to either traveling with our own hair products or opting for longer–term protective styles when traveling because we know the available amenities will not be appropriate for our hair type. When UMMS reached out to us for consideration in their initiative, we were thrilled. The hope is that it removes one small thing from their patients’ list of things to think about while receiving care. We honor this commitment to inclusivity on the part of the hospital system and are so excited to be a part of this initiative.
Why did you choose to partner with the University of Maryland Medical Center?
With our longstanding Maker roots, we are proud to be a self–manufactured personal care brand and to be made in Baltimore, a majority–Black city with such an inspiring industrial and African–American cultural legacy. It was especially meaningful to partner with such an important anchor institution in our region. The University of Maryland Medical System’s team contacted us as a part of a twofold initiative: there was the DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) initiative they wanted to implement for their patient population, and ideally, they wanted to go with a locally produced supplier that was either a women–owned and/or BIPOC owned company, to support the DEI initiative on the supplier side as well. We checked all of those boxes and were nimble enough to customize several of our formulas to be appropriate for a healthcare setting. It’s been an incredible opportunity for our business.
What do you hope this partnership achieves in terms of the relationship between patients of color and healthcare personnel?
This partnership represents a new growth edge for the personal care industry because hospitals are starting to recognize that self–care and personal care can also be a part of health care. Anecdotally, we’ve heard from multiple health care providers about the unofficial work they often do to provide this care on their own – bringing in their own hair care products and tools to assist patients with their personal care when needed. It. is our hope that more of these resourceful care providers are supported by their institutions with the resources they need to continue providing this ‘whole–patient’ care.
How do you hope to expand on your initiative to address issues of diversity, equity, and inclusivity for patients of color?
Our slogan is ‘healthy, happy hair’ – the idea is really baked into our brand, so being able to be a part of someone’s healing journey is huge for us. We aim to continue growing our team and utilizing our new production space to open the door to our community, showcasing how we self–manufacture to create inclusive products for everyone.
Full-sized Oyin Handmade products such as the Honey Wash Shampoo, Honey Hemp Conditioner and Hair Dew Leave- In Conditioner, along with combs, brushes and hair picks, are available for purchase at oyinhandmade.com, amazon.com, select Whole Foods stores across the country and the flagship Oyin Handmade store in Baltimore, Maryland.