Spotlight On: The Plug Mobile Beauty Supply

Isioma Nwokolo saw a problem and a need while she was attending college at OU in Norman, and wanted to do something about it. Nwokolo graduated with a Health Science degree in 2017, but during her time living in Norman, it became very quickly apparent that there weren’t any local resources for the beauty products that she and many others needed.

“Most stores don’t really offer the right products for minorities. You have to find very specialized stores that carry this stuff, and when I was in college, I always wondered why do we have to go so far away to get what we need? A lot of us didn’t have cars, we’d have to depend on other people just to get basic things that we needed,” explained Nwokolo.

“You don’t understand how a lot of women can just go down the street to Wal-mart and get what they want. They can go to any store down the street and get what they want, but as an African-American, we can’t just go to Wal-mart and get what we want. You would have people scrunching as many into a car as they could just to drive to another city to get what you needed, and we might get to go once a month,” she said.

Not only that, but many of the minority students were trading their school meals to those with a vehicle, to get rides to these places. Some of the beauty establishments they were able to get rides to also treated them very poorly, calling them names, following them around the store and accusing them of theft. This caused Nwokolo to question why there aren’t more places in college towns that offer more specialized minority beauty products. That’s when she decided she wanted to fill that void and create a mobile beauty supply store.

“It’s called The Plug Mobile Beauty Supply Store. It’s basically a business that caters to the minorities in Oklahoma, especially in the college community. We carry beauty supplies and products that you can’t really find at any other local store. Oils that are beneficial to our hair, actual braiding hair, weave, raw shea butter, things that are just not easy to find,” explained Nwokolo.

Filling in the lack of minority beauty supply resources isn’t Nwokolo’s only goal, she’s far more ambitious than just that. She has a passion and an altruistic attitude about creating equality and opportunities for minorities as well.

“I also think we need to work on generational wealth with black people, it’s a big thing. When I open my physical business eventually, I want to really work towards employing minority college students and I want to give them shares in the company. I want to make sure they have really good insurance. I want to make sure that they have a really good job. So many minorities just don’t have that opportunity and are never given the opportunity. They don’t grow up with a lot of means, you’re not given those opportunities and you don’t know those people,” she said.

Nwokolo also spoke of changing the culture about education with minority groups. There are many cultures that seem to grow up thinking that school isn’t meant for them, that it’s not an option. Nwokolo wants to change that mindset for as many people as she is able to.

“I want my business to grow and be so big that I can offer those opportunities. There are so many people in this world who do great things and it’s just because they were given an opportunity. It’s crazy how important your environment is when it comes to be successful,” she said.

Nwokolo is a fiery and passionate young lady with big plans. She has a good head on her shoulders and a drive to help others. In this day and age, we could use more people like that.

“I think that people should at least feel important, you should feel like you belong. When you are a black student at a predominately white institution, we really don’t feel like we have a place. And it’s not just at one institution here in Oklahoma, that’s just the way that it is here. That’s it. I just want everyone to feel like someone cares. Someone feels like you deserve to look nice, with products that are good for you. It’s not just hair products, it’s all beauty supplies, for men and women and it’s multicultural, there’s something for everyone,” she said.

While Nwokolo registered her business back in 2018, it wasn’t until the Pandemic hit that she found herself with the time to devote to it and make it a reality. Currently, it’s just an online shop, but her goal is to eventually get a vehicle that will serve as a mobile beauty store.

You can find the online store at www.theplugbeauty.myshopify.com. .

“They can see all my products on the website and I deliver the products straight to your door. You can choose same day delivery, you can do next day, you get to specify. Eventually I will have a mobile beauty shop that people can actually come into and shop. I’m also working with a lot of vendors in Africa. I have a woman in Ghana that literally sits at home with her kids and makes the masks, that’s a side job that she has now to make more money for her family. I get my hair from there as well. I try to source my stuff from economies that really need it. Plus, if they are really using these products, they know how they should be used and made,” said Nwokolo.

Nwokolo’s parents originated from Nigeria. Her father is a doctor and owns his own medical practice in Oklahoma City called The Okey Nwokolo Clinic. Her mother works there as well as a nurse practitioner and Nwokolo is also employed there. She has a tight family unit who offer support and encouragement. They have strong cultural ties to the African community, and take great pride in their roots. But that doesn’t mean she only caters to African-Americans.

“I’m for everyone, I want people to know that I care and I am here. I have aspirations of making this world better. I just want to do something to help even the playing field for minorities. I just want to give people opportunities. When I was at OU, it was such a hardship to get the things I needed just to look presentable for class, so you don’t feel embarrassed to show up in class. It’s just all these things you feel like you have to overcome just to fit in. I don’t want people to feel like that. I don’t want people to feel like they have to give away their meals just to get a ride out of town to get the products that they need,” said Nwokolo.

Check out The Plug Mobile Beauty Shop and all it has to offer.