Sephora Just Relaunched a Major Hair Category for the First Time in 20 Years
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If you're shopping online at Sephora today, you might notice that their hair styling products section looks a little different. That's because starting today, Beauty Insiders can officially add braiding extensions to their shopping carts for the first time in two decades. The retailer has re-entered this space of their business thanks in large part to Ruka Hair , a UK-based, Black-owned beauty biotech brand that's changing the landscape of modern-day haircare.
"We are building what we like to call the Apple of hair care, and that is an ecosystem of textured hair products that are built with science, innovation, and community in mind," Ruka Hair cofounder Tendai Moyo tells me over a Zoom call. Moyo and cofounder Ugo Agbai launched Ruka Hair in 2021 with an ethically sourced human hair range , gaining firsthand insight into hair's foundational elements. The team later took these learnings and worked directly with professional trichologists to craft their proprietary Synths 2 bundles, collagen-based, lab-made fibers modeled into an assortment of versatile braiding hair textures. Unlike traditional plastic synthetic hair extensions that can melt above 250 degrees Fareinheit, Synths 2 is biodegradable and designed for versatility, with a unique ability to withstand heat styling and even hair dye.
A model wears Ruka Hair's Synths 2 Braid-It: Afro Kinky Collagen Fiber Braiding Hair ExtensionsRuka Hair
Ruka Hair's Synths 2 Braid-It: Textured Straight Collagen Fiber Braiding Hair Extensions in Honey BlondeRuka Hair
Synths 2 was born to set Ruka apart in the hair industry while creating more sustainable, scalp-friendly extension fibers thanks to business acumen the cofounders gained while working as strategy consultants for corporations like L'Oréal Groupe and GSK. "You're looking at components which really shouldn't sit on the scalp for extended amounts of time, but again haven't changed because it's been dominated by these large conglomerates who aren't incentivized to really innovate for this customer base," continues Moyo. "And so for us, it was about how do we make a fiber that eventually will eradicate the need for human hair and plastic in five years' time."
The thoughtful intentionality behind Ruka Hair products has translated to major wins in the beauty industry. Along with raising a total of 10 million dollars in funding to date, the company has garnered ongoing interest from big-box retailers like Selfridges in the United Kingdom and presently Sephora in the United States. Instead of launching Synths 2 and Ruka's human hair bundles in beauty supply stores across the country, Moyo says she was more interested in entering spaces where a majority of shoppers are purchasing their essentials to give the brand more of a platform.
According to Moyo, her company's deep investment in science innovation has helped eradicate many of the concerns around selling hair extensions on a mass scale. "As demand for more inclusive hair solutions continues to grow, we saw an opportunity to partner with a brand that is redefining what's possible in the space," Jennifer Lucchese, senior vice president of haircare merchandising at Sephora, tells Bazaar . "Ruka stood out for its first-of-its-kind Synths 2 technology, made from plastic-free, collagen-based fibers designed to deliver the look and feel of human hair without compromising performance, hair health, or environmental standards."
Ruka Hair Synths 2 Braid-It: Textured Straight Collagen Fiber Braiding Hair Extensions
Ruka Hair Synths 2 Braid-It: Bone Straight Collagen Fiber Braiding Hair Extensions
Ruka Hair Synths 2 Braid-It: Afro Kinky Collagen Fiber Braiding Hair Extensions
Ruka Hair Save Me Serum Protective & Moisturizing Serum for Hair & Beard
Ruka Hair Do It All Curl Defining & Moisturizing Hair Gel
Ruka Hair EdgeSlick Edge Styling Hair Brush, Comb & Travel Case
Ruka Hair Hold Me Down Edge Control Gel
Ruka Hair S/cent Wardrobe Hair & Body Perfume Gift Set
Along with Synth 2 extensions in three textures: Afro Kinky , Textured Straight , and Bone Straight , Sephora now carries Ruka's Do It All Curl Defining & Moisturizing Hair Gel , Hold Me Down Edge Control Gel , EdgeSlick Edge Styling Hair Brush, Comb, & Travel Case , nourishing Save Me Serum for Hair & Beard , and best-selling hair and body perfumes . "As a Black woman-owned brand from the UK with a mission to make high-performance hair solutions more accessible, Ruka brings a distinctive perspective and is an exciting partner as we introduce hair braiding bundles as a new category within our growing assortment," continues Lucchese.
Ruka launched their Synths braiding hair at Sephora as a use case due to their ease of construction, as this style typically doesn't require the inclusion of clips or wefts, tracks of continuously bonded hair. However, Moyo is already looking to the future and the brand's forthcoming Synths 3 extensions next year, collagen-based fibers with many of the properties of human hair, including "shape memory technology" that allows wearers to toggle back and forth between straight and curly styles. But for now, the Ruka team is focused on educating both Sephora shoppers and Beauty Advisors on the background and benefits of their offerings.
Ruka Hair
"I want a customer to walk in and feel confident that if they ask a Beauty Advisor anything in a store that sells our product, they're treated the same as if they were asking about a hair perfume or a foundation," continues Moyo. "A lot of our community can feel othered in these spaces when it comes to those products, and especially when it's not the traditional place that people go and shop that product, I think the education becomes that much more important."
Ruka Hair is now available to shop at sephora.com starting at $34, and in-store at select locations starting August 14.
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