My biggest concern when studying abroad was not where to travel, currency conversion, or even the language barrier. It was finding black hair care products. The Czech Republic, like most European countries, is predominantly white, meaning that most of their hair products would not cater to my 4B/4C kinky hair.
Some people came prepared with all the products that they will need for the next four months, but others (like me) did not. Whether it was due to strict less than 3.4 oz policy by American Airlines, or due to a lack of space in your checked bag, the underlying problem is the same: you are in a foreign country without proper hair care products.
I needed to find a solution and fast, so thus began my journey. My first stop was very close to home (also known as the Machova dorm) and that was the DM.
THE DM
The DM was the first store the RAs mentioned when we arrived in the Czech Republic. At first glance, I thought that this store would have no products for me. But I was pleasantly surprised by what I found at the DM. My advice to newcomers or current students is to not give up on it. Even though the DM is not your typical beauty supply store, it does a range of products that women of color can use for their hair. You just need to explore more than one DM, like the one on the bottom level of the Quadrio Station near Narodni Trida.
Location: The best part about the DM is that it is located everywhere in Prague. You won’t be able to turn the corner without running into a DM. I mainly go to the DM near Machova at Francouzska or the one mentioned at Quadrio Station.
Selection: The DM has a few shampoo and conditioner brands that are 4C-friendly like “Love, Beauty, and Planet,” and even several OGX shampoo and conditioner sets. The DM also has standard hair supplies such as hair ties, bobby pins, and comb sets. I was also surprised to find detangling brushes, Got2Be glue, and paddle brushes for all of my wig-wearing girlies amongst DM stock.
Now, they did not have edge brushes, wig caps, or even regular brushes that can be used for a slickback, but that is the beauty of this guide. I found some pretty cool dupes that you can use when you do not feel like traveling to the few black hair supply stores that I discovered. Some of these dupes are very well-known to the black community and some are not.
The classics are, of course, using a clean toothbrush as your edge brush or using the stockings that they sell at the DM as wig caps.
While I was on the verge of giving up on a beautiful slickback, I found a weird but useful dupe there. The DM does not sell regular brushes that you can use to brush back your natural hair like the cheap, plastic brushes that we can find in our average beauty supply store in the US. So, as I was walking out, I noticed a white brush and I thought that I had finally found it only to realize that I was not in the hair care aisle, but the foot care aisle. The brush of my slickback dreams came with a foot scrubber on the back, and after much debate, I bought it. I must say that it works pretty well. Just don’t accidentally use it on your feet, okay?
Price: The prices are very reasonable for some products. I bought a detangler brush for 169 Kc (about $7) which is probably how much I would have spent in the US. It really depends on the brush. Some products were more expensive than what I would’ve paid at a local Walmart in North Carolina. The OGX Shampoo and Conditioner both cost 229 Kc ($10) each. In the US, the same brand and type of shampoo and conditioner is about $6 each. The dupes that I found are cheaper because those are more common products/items. Regular wig caps cost $3.50 for two in the US, so $1.75 each. The stockings were about 40 Kc ($1.6). Wig caps in the US are also pretty cheap but with stocking you can make more wig caps for the price of one. Don’t you love a cheap, and good dupe?
Friendliness: DM workers are very friendly, especially the ones by campus or the dorms. They are used to dealing with tourists and understand that we are strangers to Prague, so we need a little more assistance than a regular Czech person.
Payments: The DM takes card and cash (not USD or Euros, please use Czech currency).
The DM is close, convenient and cheap, but they don’t have many moisturizers or gels, and the few that I did find were not that great. There was one product that I believed could be used for my edges, but it definitely wasn’t. I usually trust Got2Be, but do not be fooled by the Got2Be putty — it sucks. Unless zero hold and white residue on your edges or hair is the look that you are going for. Then, it’ll work perfectly.
For more reliable products, I had to go to the real hair supply stores catering for black hair. First on my list was Afroafrik.
Afroafrik
If you have read or even looked at the All You Need to Know page for NYU Prague, then you might have seen Afroafrik under their Black Hair and Cosmetics section. It was the perfect place to start my hair search journey. Afroafrik is an African goods store that also sells black hair products. Afroafrik is located on Stepanska 36 near the Stepanska Tram stop and is only an 8 minute walk from Narodni Trida.
Location: It is very close to campus, but it can be difficult to find if you use Apple Maps. You cannot find the store by searching its name. Instead you have to enter the full address and go into this regular-looking building that has different stops on each level. Luckily, Afroafrik is on the first floor.
Selection: The selection in this store is limited. They had one side of a very short wall that was dedicated to hair care and another wall with some braiding hair. It is a great place if you need to grab a perm, some gel, or Cantu moisturizer since Cantu dominated the shelves. It is not the best place if you need a bunch of hair products or if you literally did not bring anything with you like me.
Prices: The prices, like most stores that I went to, were more expensive than what I would spend in the US. I bought the smallest container of eco styling gel (8 fl. Oz or 236 ml) and it cost about 85 Kc (about $3.30) for a jar that fits into the palm of my hand. The larger jar was about 185 Kc ($8). However, this store is on the cheaper side than the other stores that I mention in this guide.
Friendliness: My experience there was interesting. The people there did not greet me at all, mostly because someone was getting her hair done. It was a little awkward and I definitely did not linger. I could have just been disappointed because I am used to Western cashiers being super friendly, or because I had high expectations of meeting other Black or African people. I thought that they would be excited to see me as I was them.
Payments/Services: The store does take cards, however, the card machine stopped working for me and I had to pay in cash. Unfortunately, I did not have enough for everything that I wanted and there were no nearby banks that I could run to. I would definitely suggest bringing cash with you.
Overall, it was a nice store, but it was not my favorite. The next store that I went to was not on the All You Need to Know page.
Ebony Prague
I found Ebony Prague with the help of Google. Ebony Prague is located on Mikulase Z Husi. It is a little further than the other stores and is also difficult to find on Apple Maps. Ebony Prague is approximately a 21 minute tram ride from Narodni Trida.
Location: Getting to this store was hard and confusing. After taking tram 18 from Narodni Trida to Ostrcilovo Namesti, I had no idea where to go next. Eventually, I figured out that I had to go under a tunnel and hike up a few hills. I stood on the corner of Mikulase Z Husi and Marie Cibulkove confused for a long time before realizing that I was staring at the building. Ebony Prague is a red building with clear glass doors with a white trim. I hope that helps.
Also, I discovered that traveling from Machova is ten times easier. You just go to I.P. Pavlova, take the metro towards Letnany, get off at Vysehrad, then walk past the Prague Congress Centre and Holiday Inn. Trust me, the struggle was worth it.
Selection: Ebony Prague has a great selection of products and services. The hair products range from Cantu to Shea Moisture, Dream Kids, Creme of Nature, and Mielle. That is only listing a few of the brands present. They also had a whole display case of Jamaican castor oil and raw shea butter. The range felt endless. I bought some of their Kaniz Wonderedge edge control for about 250 Kc ($10) which is on the pricey side, but it works great. I went on a hike, and I left that mountain with my edges intact which is not normal for me.
I was also ecstatic to find that Ebony Prague had braiding hair, ponytails (even drawstring puffs for about $15), and wigs for about $55. I would not buy the wigs that Cecilia, the owner, makes and sells, but I did recognize many of the prepackaged wigs that she had. The wigs are not celebrity-grade wigs, or even 100% human hair wigs. But I have seen many Black influencers install synthetic wigs, especially brands like Sensationnel (which Cecilia sells), and they look stunning.
Prices: The prices are on the pricey side but this does not apply to everything in the store. The Jamaican Black castor oil was 36 KC (less than $2) but most of the products were over $10 to $15. Their largest jar of eco-styling gel is 185 Kc ($8) and the smallest jar is 170 Kc (about $7). Afroafrik has cheaper prices with their smallest gel costing $3.30.
Let me quickly break down the difference in prices between Black hair products in Prague and in the US.
Black hair products are generally more expensive than regular hair products, even in the US. However, some of the prices for Black hair care were more expensive than what it would be in the US. A 13 oz. jar of Cantu Moisturizing Twist & Lock gel was 280 Kc (about $12) at Ebony Prague. At Walmart or Amazon in the US, it would have been around $6 — almost half of the price of the one at Ebony Prague. But the price of the 8 oz. jar of eco styling gel was cheaper at Ebony Prague than in the US by $2. The price difference could be due to the fact that demand is low, so the supply is low or it might just cost a lot to ship it here. Prague’s Black hair care business is not thriving like European countries with a higher percentage of Black citizens like in the UK. In most cases, products are more expensive than in the US.
Friendliness: Cecilia is super nice and understanding. As soon as I entered and explained why I was there, she was very welcoming. She has a curtain that separates her hair braiding service from the rest of her store and she opened the curtain to ensure that I see the other products that she sold there.
Payments/Services: The store only takes cash, but there is a bank inside the Hotel Inn up the street. Cecilia directed me to it and it was a fairly quick and painless process. You will have to enter in the amount you want to take out unless you want to take out nearly 10,000 Kc.
Cecilia does offer hair braiding services at the shop, but you need to call her in advance. I will say her style of braiding is very old school — if you want knotless, then it’s time for you to learn how to do knotless yourself. Her number is listed on Ebony Prague’s website. The website is great if you don’t feel like going on a scavenger hunt to find the store as you can order products there as well.
It was a great experience and I definitely recommend going there.
Kankaeon
The last store, Kankaeon, is a bit controversial.
Here’s a disclaimer: The store is owned by white Czech people. You will see white women wearing box braids or other predominantly black hairstyles. Because of this, it was really hard for me to go to this store and I felt wildly uncomfortable there.
Cultural appropriation is not a big deal in European countries because their history with black people is not filled with racial tension like it is the USA. European countries do not not share the US’s history of slavery and segregation. That still does not change the fact that this is still uncomfortable and even triggering to see and experience.
Location: It’s relatively close to campus. It’s located on Malatova 9 and is 10 mins from Narodni Trida. You take the tram (9,22 or 23) from Narodni Trida to Ujezd or Švandovo Divadlo then walk for five minutes.
Selection: Despite my discomfort, Kanekalon does have a few black hair products, hair dye, and braiding hair. They had ORS products, Jamaican Lime and Mango shampoo, edge brushes, and Cantu products. The styling selection was fairly small, but they had plenty of braid beads or decoration and dye. It wasn’t a huge selection of products that could be used for moisture, hold, or even shampoos/conditioners. Most of the products were for styling and were consolidated to one tall shelf. They had a wider selection of braiding hair, or hair accessories for braids than actual hair products.
Price: A large container of Eco styling gel was 399 Kc (about $16) and a small bottle of Crazy Color dye was 159 Kc (about $7). The price of the gel was considerably more than US prices, but it was also more than what you would spend at Ebony Prague or Afroafrik. The Crazy Color hair dye was cheaper than what it cost in the US. It typically costs about $13 in the US.
Friendliness: The women there kind of ignored my existence. I greeted them and told them that I was writing a story and they were just like “okay” then proceeded with what they were doing. It made the already awkward experience, more awkward. The store is super small, smaller than Afroafrik (The second smallest store on this list) so that made it worse in some ways. We were in close proximity yet no one spoke to me, but that could be a Czech thing like what I mentioned above with Afroafrik.
Payment/Services: They also only take cash at the store according to their website. However, if you order from their website you can pay using a bank transfer.
Amazon
Honest Opinion: Do not do it! Amazon is a fan favorite but customs and the additional international fees make an easy process extremely difficult. Shipping by itself is already about $13. For those of you who are bold enough to order from Amazon, the All You Need to Know page has information about the prices you are expected to pay in taxes/ customs. Please save yourself the trouble.
This guide is far from complete as there are plenty of places that I have not discovered yet. I hope that this guide helps any potential Black students coming to Prague. Also, feel free to comment below some other stores that you have been to that I should feature here as well.
By Iyoniah Teague