BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB)– Three sisters from Buffalo’s East Side are making history. Brianna Lannie, Danielle Jackson, and Lauren Jackson are opening The Hair Hive, the first beauty supply store in Buffalo owned and operated by black women.

“Beauty supply stores are a billion-dollar industry. We are the number one consumer. As African American women we only own seven percent of that industry,” said Lauren.

Four years ago, the sisters say they came up with the idea from their own experiences in hair stores as well as hearing stories from their friends.

“A lot of times they’ll get the wrong thing or they’ll be led in the wrong direction, so I knew that it was a need,” said owner Brianna.

Frustrated with the lack of representation, they decided to go into business for themselves.

“We literally wear the hair. I change my hair like every month, so it’s good to see people who are actually using the products and using the hair,” said Danielle.

With help from WEDI Buffalo, they were able to open a storefront at 1413 Filmore Ave and carrying products for both men and women.

“We have a lot of variety of colors, just a wide spectrum from glow in the dark hair, to sparkle hair, pretty much anything you can think of that’s different we have it in our store because we want to give something to our community that they can’t get anywhere else,” said Lauren.

And they are giving back to their community while trailblazing this path. The sisters plan on highlighting products from local entrepreneurs giving a helping hand to people in the neighboorhood they grew up in.

“Every dollar that people spend in our store goes back to our community, and we want them to know that to support us is supporting yourselves and your surrounding area and we want them to shop with us,” Lauren said.

The grand opening of The Hair Hive is Saturday, March 7. For hours of operation, click here.