Hair Care for a Cause: Auburn grad starts online business in Tampa Bay

Gaiter graduated from Auburn University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism. Upon graduating, Gaiter moved to Tampa, Fla., to pursue a master's degree in rehabilitation and mental health counseling. She graduated in 2013, which was followed by a year of turmoil as her stepfather, affectionately known as 'pops,' was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Following her stepfather's death in June 2014, Gaiter found a way to turn her grief into activism, which ultimately led to the creation of Billingsley Essentials. Billingsley Essentials was founded in honor of Gaiter's late stepfather, combining her love of hair care and passion for raising awareness about pancreatic cancer.

'I wanted to find away to honor Pops and do something that I thought that I would be good at,' Gaiter said. 'A lot of women nowadays, specifically African Americans, are returning their hair to its 'natural' state, which simply means not using harsh chemicals like relaxers and perms on the hair and returning to the natural hair in which they were born. I thought that I could intertwine the two (pancreatic awareness and natural hair) and come up with a successful business.'

With each online purchase of a Billingsley Essentials product, 10 percent of the proceeds are donated to Stand Up to Cancer. Customers also have the option to give additional donations through the website.

In recent years, there has been a large shift in African-American hair care to embrace natural hairstyles. Billingsley Essentials boasts a wide array of products that help men and women revert their hair back to a more natural state. All Billingsley Essentials products are organic, which prevents hair from becoming 'stripped' during the transition.

'More and more African Americans and other ethnic backgrounds are transitioning from processed hair to natural. It simply means going from chemically relaxed hair back to the hair you were born with.' Gaiter said. 'It's definitely trendy in the African-American community right now, and will continue to grow as other men and women begin to embrace their natural hair.'

November is recognized as Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month. Gaiter urges Auburn students to wear purple on campus one week in November, discuss pancreatic cancer with friends, research the cancer, give back, volunteer, or run in a marathon for pancreatic cancer to help spread awareness. Additionally, students can make a donation for as little as 25 cents to the Stand Up to Cancer foundation on Billingsley Essentials ' website under the 'Shop' tab.

Photo Credit: Teronica Gaiter