WashU senior turns hair-care challenge into campus business with vending machine

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - A Washington University senior saw a problem on campus and decided to create a solution that’s designed to help students feel seen, included and at home.

Zariah Taylor, a fashion design senior from St. Louis, founded TheHairVault, a vending machine stocked with natural hair-care products for students who struggled to find what they needed on campus.

Taylor said the idea grew out of her own experience after arriving at WashU. She wore her natural hair in a puff before eventually transitioning to locs, but maintaining her hair became difficult without convenient access to the right products.

Without a car, getting to stores off campus was challenging. And the products available on campus did not always meet her needs.

“When I first got to WashU, my hair was not in locs. It was more of, you know, it was out. I was wearing puff and it got hard to maintain, and I don’t have a car. I’m from St. Louis. The buses take too long, and the products on campus were just not for my hair type,” Taylor said.

Rather than accept the inconvenience, Taylor started asking other students if they were experiencing the same problem. She surveyed students and began selling small quantities of natural hair-care products.

She eventually took her idea to the university’s Skandalaris Center, where she developed and pitched the business concept that became TheHairVault.

The vending machine now offers roughly 60 products, including travel- and full-size gels, edge control, curling creams, combs, brushes, lashes and braiding supplies.

But Taylor said the business is about more than making hair-care products accessible.

“This vending machine here creates a sense of bringing home to what is now for students home. It brings a sense of inclusion, a sense of identity on campus, recognition, saying we know you’re here and we want to make you included too,” Taylor said.

The machine has received positive feedback from current students. Taylor said even some alumni have told her they wish the resource had been available when they attended the university.

With graduation approaching in May, Taylor is already exploring opportunities to bring TheHairVault to other college campuses.

For her, the business represents something bigger than hair care. It’s about helping students feel recognized, confident and comfortable being themselves.