10/08/2020When neither high-street stores nor high-end boutiques cater for your curls, where do you shop for shampoo?
For most of my adult life,I made the pilgrimage from my central London home to specialised shops in Kilburn or on the Edgware Road, passing Selfridges on the way, to root around dusty shelves and bargain bins; a beauty apartheid based on my curl pattern. Hair texture hasa coding system, from straight to coily, loose to tight. I’m 4C; tightly coiled, fragile and lacking moisture, yet ‘my’ haircare – garishly tropical in look and smell – has historically been laced with cheap sulphates, low-grade silicones and petrochemicals.
I yearned for gentle formulations in packaging to be proud of, which I could line up on my shelf instead of stashing away in a cabinet. In recent years, the market has changed dramatically, with modern Black-owned brands emerging and major corporations catering to the sophisticated beauty addict in me.