[Explanation] Qingxian County, Cangzhou City, Hebei Province, is a place with a world-class cosmetic brush manufacturer.
Qingxian County, with a total population of about 440,000, has more than 400 cosmetic brushes and related companies, with an output value of 1.5 billion yuan, and 16,000 people are engaged in the cosmetic brush industry.
At present, Qingxian cosmetic brush products are exported to more than 50 countries and regions in Europe, America, Southeast Asia, Africa, etc., and become a distribution center for many international brands of cosmetic brush factories behind the scenes.
Zhu Aiqin, who has been in business for 26 years, is one of the few bosses in Cangzhou makeup brush companies who can make a brush by himself.
[Concurrent] Zhu Aiqin
To make a high-quality animal hair makeup brush, you need to use the human eye to select high-quality hair, and then remove broken strips, inverted roots, impurities, etc., perform the most technically difficult pier shape, and then tie the thread, repair the shape, comb the hair, and shape it , Assembly, etc.
[Explanation] In the 1980s and 1990s, as a labor-intensive industry, cosmetic brush manufacturing moved from Japan to lower-cost South Korea.
Due to various historical reasons, the Korean makeup brush factory moved to China and began to take root.
In 1995, Zhu Aiqin entered the Korean makeup brush factory and became the first batch of technicians in the enterprise.
Later, Korean-funded enterprises withdrew or closed down one after another, but the production craftsmanship remained.
[Concurrent] Zhu Aiqin
After working at Baosheng for more than 7 years, I left, and then I opened a small OEM factory outside, mainly to undertake some unfinished orders from Korean-funded enterprises.
Until 2013, I opened a Taobao shop. Relying on everyone’s recognition and word-of-mouth spread, more and more people knew about our shop, and consumers began to ask me to customize makeup brushes.
[Explanation] From 1990 to 2006, the Cangzhou cosmetic brush factory group led by Korean-funded enterprises was mainly engaged in OEM production. Cangzhou's cosmetic brush brand did not begin to appear until nearly 10 years.
In 2014, Zhu Aiqin registered the "Qinzhi" brand and began to focus on its own brand.
Local brands such as "Ainuoqi", "Shoushoulang" and "Meisikou" have also begun to rise.
[Concurrent] Zhu Aiqin
Raise the requirements for each process and criticize the quality of the products. For example, the paint on wooden poles must be painted 11 times.
At the same time, the foundry companies have been completely stopped. If workers do piece-rate OEMs every day, the quality will definitely decline. Once the quality of the workers' handwork declines, it will be difficult to bring them up again.
[Explanation] To make a brand like Japan's Baifengtang or Zhubaotang has become the common wish of many makeup brush owners in Cangzhou.
In the evaluation of many beauty bloggers, the quality of Cangzhou makeup brushes is no less than that of Japanese tangkou brushes, but the price ceiling of Cangzhou makeup brushes is much lower than that of Japanese tangkou brushes.
[Concurrent] Zhu Aiqin
In fact, the difference between our domestic cosmetics brush and the Japanese Doguchi cosmetic brush is not very big.
Some aspects of our high-end wool reserve and production process are even more advantageous.
And we are now very satisfied with the quality of Cangzhou makeup brushes in the hearts of Chinese consumers.
[Explanation] From the initial OEM, to the creation of its own brand, to the current limited edition brushes with Internet celebrities, with the help of KOL (Note: Key Opinion Leaders), for online marketing, consumers are interested in Cangzhou makeup brushes. Recognition continues to increase.
As a labor-intensive industry, cosmetic brushes require the concentration of craftsmen. If Cangzhou cosmetic brushes want to truly achieve their leading position in the industry, it ultimately depends on their “kung fu”.
Xing Lu, Li Ao and Wu Siyu report from Cangzhou, Hebei
Editor in charge: [Ji Xiang]