A partial victory was won by an Iowa State student who is pushing to get African-American beauty products on the shelves of the Ames Wal-Mart.

On Friday, Tanya Duval, a senior in sociology, met with Wal-Mart management officials and witnessed the unveiling of a 3-foot section of African-American hair-care products recently shipped from Des Moines.

“They’re finally on the shelf,” Duval said.

Although Wal-Mart does now carry the requested hair-care products, the store still does not carry makeup or pantyhose in shades for darker skin, which is not acceptable to Duval.

“I’m going to Wal-Mart headquarters in Arkansas in two weeks to speak with them,” she said.

Duval, who said she frequently shops at the Ames Wal-Mart, has led a campaign demanding the store sell hair-care products, makeup and pantyhose for African-Americans. If Wal-Mart had not made improvements by Friday, Duval was planning to lead a small protest inside the store.

Duval said after months of trying to convince Wal-Mart management of the need for these products, it was only after she threatened a protest that any change was made.

“I had to come out here before anything at all was done,” she said.

The products at the Ames store were not ordered directly from the company but were shipped to Ames from a Des Moines location.

Mark Pistorius, Wal-Mart general manager, said he does not have the authority to order the items directly, so he has to go through other stores.

Pistorius said ethnic cosmetic products were carried when he first came to the store six years ago, but they were dropped because of lack of sales.

“We will continue to carry the hair-care supplies if there is a market,” he said.

Pistorius also said Duval has given Wal-Mart a list of things she would like to be ordered, and they will work with her to obtain these items.

Frustration with finding products has led many African-Americans to other stores, including Sally Beauty Supply and Walgreens Drug Store.

“A lot of people are starting to come here for that reason; there’s no one else to help them,” said Donna Eyanson, a cosmetician for Walgreens.

Walgreen’s carries brands of makeup with ethnic shades, including Revlon, Shades of You and Cover Girl. However, some brands are being discontinued because of lack of demand, Eyanson said.

Walgreens does not carry pantyhose in ethnic shades because of lack of demand, but she said they could be ordered if requested.

Wal-Mart requires a five percent African-American population in a city before offering these products, and according to the latest census, Ames is only three percent African-American. However, Duval said this does not include the Iowa State campus, which has a sizable black community.