New boutique set to open in downtown Dayton

The natural hair and beauty boutique will specialize in hair and skin care items from black-owned businesses and feature the work of local artists and makers.

"I want people to feel good about themselves and their community," Ramsey said. "It is a safe space to let your hair out."

The space last held Starred by Tamika candle company.

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Products will include shampoo bars, deep conditioners, whipped Shea butter, leave-in conditioners and Ayurvedic hair care products such as henna and neem.

Ramsey, a black woman in an interracial marriage with a white man, wants to create a shop that is welcoming and inclusive to all.

While many of the products she intends to sell are geared primarily towards black people with natural, non-chemically processed hair, people from other ethnicities can use some of the products as well.

Ramsey said her 1-year-old daughter and husband use many of the products.

The shop will employ one and will be open Wednesday through Sunday. 

A graduate of University of Dayton and Chaminade Julienne Catholic High School, Ramsey stopped using chemicals in her hair in 2007.

She said struggled before finding the right way to care for it.

“There [were] not a lot of reference points,” Ramsey said. “I think it is better now.”

Two other Saint Clair Loft businesses, Soccer Shots Miami Valley and Twist Cupcakery, are owned by Ramsey’s former UD and CJ classmates Brandon Artis and Kate Rivers.

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Puff Apothecary will strive to help people find the right products for themselves and their children.

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“I want them to come to a space where they feel positive and they see other people do it and they don’t feel so alone,” she said.

The store will be open Wednesday through Sunday.

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