Korean-owned Black hair care company Ebin New York is under fire after a former corporate employee exposes them for racism, verbal abuse, and wrongful termination in a viral TikTok video. A few weeks ago, the creator posted a four-part video recounting her 5-month long mistreatment as the “only Black woman in corporate” at Ebin. “I just woke up one day and decided ‘you know what, let me tell my story’,” content creator Samiyah Gaddy tells ESSENCE.
Known for their 24-hour Edge Tamer and wig adhesive spray, Ebin has managed to infiltrate the Black beauty industry through their marketing towards Black women. However, they have since been exposed for years-long abuse of the same women their business relies on. “I was treated so horribly I would go to the bathroom everyday at work and cry,” Gaddy says in the video. She worked there as a social media marketer from mid 2023 to January 2024, with the first incident happening less than a week after she started.
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In that incident, Gaddy recalls creating a TikTok for the brand which was deleted because of “negative comments.” Despite going viral within hours, in one comment “someone was saying ‘the company better be Black-owned’ or something like that,” she says. (Case in point: Ebin’s success is dependent on how adjacent they are to Black culture while hiding that they’re not). “Ever since that day, they started speaking Korean the whole time in the office, in the marketing room,” which was just the beginning of her exclusion and alienation at Ebin.
Other incidents included everything from being left out of a work trip and constant verbal abuse from colleagues, to having higher higher expectations than her peers placed on her and even having to take a mental health leave. “I knew what I was getting into once I started complaining about things like that,” she says, with HR allowing the abuse to continue. “I just wanted to share because there are so many Black women and everyone is buying this brand and they don’t even know how they’re treating their Black employees,” Gaddy says.
With Gaddy’s storytime hitting almost 350,000 likes, another former employee stitched her TikTok with a similar experience at Ebin. “Once I saw Samiyah speak out, I was like, ‘I’m definitely going to speak out’ because a lot of the women don’t speak out,” former beauty advisor Imani Harris tells ESSENCE. Having worked there from late 2022 to mid last year, Harris’ abuse went as far as exploiting her ideas, unfair pay, and even making her give up her desk to Korean employees.
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“[The abuse] happened before I got there, I saw it happen to other women, they got fired or they quit and then it was happening while I was there and then after I left I saw that it was still happening,” Harris explains. “This can’t keep happening.” Now, Black women are calling for an Ebin New York boycott. With over 300 videos under the #ebinboycott hashtag and the top video at over 56,000 likes, other women are telling their workplace horror stories and recommending Black-owned alternatives.
One Black TikToker who owns the beauty supply store Silky Sol in Houston, Texas acknowledged the difficulty she has had competing with Asian-owned stores. “What [Gaddy] is going through is almost the exact same thing that Black beauty supply owners go through,” she says. “The difference is they were actually using her to sell their products. And for us… they just want to starve us out.” The owner goes on to explain how Ebin, among other companies, did not offer her a direct sales account for her store.
“The number one reason why Black beauty supplies actually go under is because we have to buy our products at a higher rate and we have to sell them at a higher rate,” she says. Although many beauty supply stores have alternatives– TikToker Courtney Jinean recommended the RED by Kiss Lace Bond Spray, Gummy Professional Styling Wax, and Magic Tanning Lace Tint Spray– Black-owned options like the viral braided baldhead Tookie Did It Swoop’t Edge Control, The Frontal Queen Lace Adhesive Spray, and Hair Diagram’s Bold Hold collection may have to be ordered online.
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“What I wanted to do is just showcase black-owned brands right now,” Gaddy says. “It seems like we’re going to stand on business and really support each other after this.” As for Harris, a boycott may not be enough. “I definitely hope that it’s more than that,” she says. “For this company, I don’t think we need to resume business,” she continues. “I really hope that this shows them that you can’t mess with us like that.”
