Exclusive | Fashion & Beauty | Business
Angela White aka Blac Chyna partners with trans businesswoman Lauryn England's The Hair Plug Agency and wholesale factory in Myanmar (Burma), to launch her new hairline Hearts Pure.
From being the first-ever openly transgender woman to own a restaurant in Alabama, to now being an entrepreneur owning and operating a wholesale hair factory in Myanmar, Lauryn England is paving the way not only for the LGBTQ+ community but for businesswomen as well.
Believe it or not, making a name for herself in the hair industry has been her passion since the age of 15. England sat exclusively with Gaye Magazine's Latesa Lins to share her story on how she made all her dreams happen after landing a $5 million marketing hair deal in Asia.
Latesa Lins: Thank you so much for speaking with us today and congratulations on the success of your hair care factory, The Hair Plug Agency!
Lauryn England: Thank You, thank you! Yea, I've always had a business when it came to hair. Since I was 15, it's been the first passion that I gravitated to.
Latesa Lins: Oh wow, so since 15 years old, you just knew?
Lauryn England: Well actually even before that...as I was growing up, hair has just always been one of those things that just ran in my family. My grandmother was a hairstylist and a few other family members...so I've been doing hair for a very long time, for over 13 years, ya know doing celebrities' hair and stuff like that.
Latesa Lins: Yasss, I love that it runs in the family! So what inspired you to branch out on your own and start The Hair Plug Agency?
Lauryn England: Well I was selling hair at the time and I decided to visit Asia to look into different hair places for my business. But Covid happened & I ended up on lockdown for 30 days. During that time I did get discouraged because hair is my thing & everything just got messed up.
Latesa Lins: What happened during those 30 days of being on lockdown?
Lauryn England: Surprisingly, I met a guy that owned several hair factories while I was looking at different stores. We talked about the factory that he owned in China and Burma (Myanmar). He told me that he was actually looking to expand into the U.S. market. I was from the states and knew a lot about hair & wholesale. During my conversation with him and his other business managers, we clicked and he later offered me the partnership. It was all just perfect timing.
Latesa Lins: Yeah, because who would've thought he would offer you a factory deal at that time during Covid?
Lauryn England: Right, but the Covid pandemic lasted so long and really messed that deal up, so I decided to just open up my restaurant instead but during the midst of that, I kept praying like "God I hope I can go back to Asia".
Latesa Lins: I'm glad you mentioned your restaurant! Just last year, we (Gaye Magazine) published a feature article about you opening your restaurant, "Lady E's Chick' n Cafe".
Lauryn England: Yes it was doing amazing! Then the guy that had the factory ended up leaving to go to Vietnam and he asked me, "Hey I have a factory that one of my business partners is getting ready to basically drop," and he asked if I would be interested in being apart of his factory as a part owner?"
Latesa Lins: What!? ...I would have said yes right then and there!
Lauryn England: Girl! I gave myself like until the next day and it was no questions asked. I ended up selling my restaurant because [though] it was doing really really amazing, I felt like this was a God-giving situation that led me to be able to go back to something that I truly wanted to do. I have a passion for cooking but hair - I know off the back of my hands... with my eyes closed. So now I've been living in Asia since November 2022.
Latesa Lins: Well congratulations on such a big accomplishment. I noticed that Blac Chyna reached out to you about your hair factory and now you both are in a partnership. How did that transpire?
Lauryn England: So I dm'd [messaged] Blac Chyna on Instagram in 2018 and I said, "I want to do your hair" and she didn’t see the message. But recently she ended up telling me that she was on the phone with someone that followed me and Blac Chyna told the lady that she wanted to start a hair company and was trying to find someone to help her. So the lady was like 'oh you gotta go to this girl named Lauryn'.
Latesa Lins: Wow, you guys were destined to work together!
Lauryn England: I kid you not, as soon as we did get on the phone I was like, "hey, I have my own hair care factory and I want to help you start a hair company - maybe do a partnership together," and Blac Chyna booked her flight to Asia the next week. It just happened so quick and everything worked out.
Latesa Lins: So what was the experience like for Black Chyna when she got to the hair factory?
Lauryn England: I gave her the ultimate experience when she came. I showed her the factory, I let her cut the hair directly from our donors and then I took her to Thailand where we visited the tigers. Just wanted to show her that when anybody comes to my factory, that’s the treatment I want to give them. I believe that it’s business but it can also be pleasure while you focus.
Latesa Lins: I love how you’re helping her start her business, I’ve also noticed recently Blac Chyna is reintroducing herself with her real name now, Angela White .
Lauryn England: It’s kinda funny because me and Blac Chyna have the same last name (white). So I felt like it was a God-sent situation for us to connect.
Latesa Lins: Seeing her step into a more authentic side of herself is great to see! She spoke with recently on how she removed her lip fillers and just focused on working out, sobriety & her Bible. I feel like with you teaching her hands-on with this venture she’s even more inspired to just be herself. Since Blac Chyna has agreed to partner with you, what is the goal for your new partnership?
Lauryn England: Now that she launched her new hairline (Hearts Pure) under my hair care factory our goal is to help other people start their own 6 figure hair company. We're doing all the start-up work for them such as logos, website design, packaging...everything they need, including drop shipping services.
Latesa Lins: Oh wow, so similar to like a hair factory start-up kit?
Lauryn England: Right, like I didn't want my factory to be just any factory where you just buy our wholesale products and then still be stuck on what to do. I want you to not only wholesale from me, but I also want you to be able to know what you are doing. I will be guiding you on this journey and making sure you're set up to be successful.
Latesa Lins: During this whole start-up of your hair agency, has being trans affected your process in any way?
Lauryn England: No not necessarily, more so when I had my restaurant. Hair is something that I've always been known for so I've never really been looked at in a bad way. With me being Trans, hair has actually helped me with my transition. It was like the perfect transformation in beauty. If I'm going to wholesale hair, I know how I want my hair to look, I know what type of hair I would want to wear...and the quality of it.
Latesa Lins: Speaking of quality, how hands-on are you and Blac Chyna when it comes to packaging your product?
Lauryn England: Well what I do is a quality check. I have over 100 employees that I pay at my factory. During my quality check, I have to cut the donor's hair off of their heads and I pay the donors for their hair. We then have to actually fly to different parts of Burma (Myanmar) to source donors. I've even created my own formula for HD pre-pluck laces. I talk to technicians like, "hey I want the front row to look like this or I want the middle of the lace to not be this thick,". So no company has this exact same lace that my hair factory provides.
Latesa Lins: Now that you have your new partnership with Blac Chyna and a unique lace to sale, what’s next for you?
Lauryn England: Ooooh, I wanna say the music and also growth in my transition. I recently flew 30 hours to Columbia, where I got facial feminization surgery. I got bigger boobs, a new nose, forehead - everything, just ready to become the woman that I’ve always envisioned for myself and that’s the most exciting part about my next chapter.
Latesa Lins: I’m definitely wishing you a safe recovery. I can’t wait until you pop out, new and improved! We are definitely rooting for you. Thank you so much again Lauryn for speaking with us and good luck on your journey to success.
Lauryn England: Yes of course, I love what you all are doing! Thank you for the opportunity.
Lauryn is currently partnering with celebrities and aspiring entrepreneurs to take the hair industry to the next level.
"The hair industry is a billion-dollar industry, and it's enough room for everyone. You can only fail if you never start," says Lauryn.
If you are interested in starting a hair business in partnership with Lauryn and Blac Chyna's wholesale hair factory, visit The Hair Plug Agency's website. Shop Chyna's hair line at HeartsPure.com.