Steven Washington, owner of the North Philadelphia salon I Love Remy Hair Inc., is confident his business will make him a millionaire in a little more than a year. His target customers — African American women throughout the United States — are part of a culture in which hair "has a lot more of a social significance beyond beauty," said Lori Tharps, assistant professor of journalism at Temple. "For a very long time, black women were considered unattractive because their hair was not naturally straight," Tharps said. "The weave gave a lot of women the opportunity to experience long, flowing hair."