Vending

WashU student launches textured hair-care vending machine

Игорь Головнёв - stock.adobe.com

September 21, 2026

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Zariah Taylor, a senior at Washington University in St. Louis, has launched TheHairVault, a vending machine offering more than 50 products for textured hair, according to a report in the university's news publication The Source. Located in the Village House dining area, the machine carries combs, gels, shampoos, conditioners and a miniature flat iron.

Taylor developed the idea after struggling to find suitable hair-care products on campus during her first year. Without a car, visiting an off-campus beauty supply store was difficult. She surveyed other students and tested demand by selling small quantities of products at temporary tables before moving forward with the vending concept.

Taylor received guidance from WashU's Skandalaris Center for Interdisciplinary Innovation and Entrepreneurship and its Entrepreneurship Law Clinic. She registered TheHairVault as a limited liability company and launched it through the university's Student Enterprise Program, which gives students experience operating businesses. The machine opened Sept. 5