Beauty supply stores provoke our inner Spock. No, not the guy who pronounces everything human to be “illogical,” but the one who finds the idiosyncrasies of humans “fascinating.” The sheer volume and variety of products marketed and devoted to giving the species a pleasing look and smell would be overwhelming if we didn't find it to be so much fun just to browse through. Naturally, beauty supply stores cater to the predominate race of the customers in the area. Basket Beauty Supply in Inglewood carries a large and eclectic section for black hair care: brands like Crème of Nature coloring, all manner of relaxers, hair scalp and skin oil, many products labeled with the word “African,” plus old-school products like Pinks, Sporting Waves, Duke, Sulphur 8 and Murray's pomade, which may or may not remind us of our grandpas. Then there are the “food” items: Castor Oil hair treatment, Olive Oil shine moisturizer, Hairaerobics, Spearmint Spritz, Sea Kelp Shampoo and Conditioner and “hair mayonnaise.” And there are the basics like Noxzema and baby oil and Vaseline. Either way, your fellow man or woman will have great hair and soft skin. Full disclosure: We bought an eyebrow pencil. 132 S. Market St., Inglewood. (310) 677-9419.

—Juliette Akinyi Ochieng

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