Johannesburg, Sep 18 (DPA) Mercy Ndhlovu and Nomsa Mncube run a beauty 'salon' under the open sky on the edge of a street near a Johannesburg shopping centre.

They are there on work days from early until late and, not far away, eight other stylists wait for customers. Mercy Ndhlovu gets her first customer at noon. She wants a style called twists, which consists of a hair piece that is attached to the hair close to the head and turned inward, said Ndhlovu.

'Looking good is important for all women, no matter how or where they live,' said the Zimbabwean.

Beauty is big business in Africa where more and more companies are seeking to attract customers with special product series for people with dark skin and curly hair.

The skin-care, hair-care and makeup products are called ethnic series and they have been on the market in South Africa since the end of apartheid.

Most of the companies are targeting black middle class consumers, but there also are cosmetic products for people who have less money to spend on such items.

There was a time when both black and white consumers had to rely on hair- and skin-care products made just for whites.