'I relaxed my natural hair for 13 years then made the product that was missing'

09 June 2023 , 16:24

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Badria grew frustrated with the lack of understanding and attention the haircare industry paid to Black curly and textured hair (Image: Badria Ahmed)

Like many women with naturally curly, coiled or textured hair, Badria Ahmed struggled to find products on the market to style her thick afro growing up.

Born in Somalia and raised in Sweden, there were very few options for Black hair care, so Badria permanently straightened her tresses from the age of seven.

By the time she was 22 and living in Australia, Badria had no idea what her natural locks even looked like. But there wasn't a hairdresser in sight offering a relaxer.

So, she chopped off her chemically treated hair and began a journey of self-discovery to create the inclusive haircare products that were missing in the beauty world.

Holy Curls launched in 2019 and was the beauty brand that so many women needed (Badria Ahmed)

Badria began creating her own homemade hair products over a decade ago (Badria Ahmed)

"I knew that I had to learn and understand my natural hair, why it behaved the way it did and what natural ingredients I could find easily to care for it," Badria told the Mirror.

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Badria would make her own haircare mixtures at home and give them out to friends to try. It became clear her products were needed.

"In 2011, I moved to London and it was so obvious to me the disconnect that existed between women with curly hair," she explained.

"There was straighteners, weaves, wigs and perms, but nobody embraced their curls. I became very interested to understand why that was, and why we felt like our natural hair wasn't beautiful."

Badria noticed that the market was "completely underserving" a group of people that were clearly in need of support and education.

"No brand was catering across every single texture type. It was either Afrocentric products or products that Black people couldn't use because they weren't moisturising enough," she said.

Badria is redefining society's definition of 'beautiful curls' and educating women (stock photo) (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Through travelling the world and visiting various parts of Africa, Badria learnt what ingredients were best-suited to curly hair, like baobab oil and shea butter.

In 2019, she officially launched her London-based small business, Holy Curls, which immediately connected with her target audience.

Within the first year of launching, celebrity hairstylists were reaching for it and singer-songwriter Jorja Smith promoted the curl-defining brand on social media.

But the success didn't come as a surprise to Badria, who knew how much the curly-haired community needed her newfound wisdom.

"I never doubted that Holy Curls would become big. I saw that gap and massive need in the space of haircare," she said.

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"We organically expanded into the US very quickly, and last year, we turned over half a million pounds."

She believes the well-known curl type system is outdated and not helpful for all hair textures (Badria Ahmed)

Badria has a new pipeline of products in the works and has invested a huge amount of time and money on in-depth research.

"Our next project is really the education that is missing. A lot of people are frustrated because there are basic things we should know about our hair," she said.

"The curl type system is not very inclusive and doesn't give the full picture of what somebody needs to be doing to care for their curls.

"We've been working for a while on something to replace that system. Curls 2.0 is a really exciting initiative."

On Holy Curls' website, you can input your hair type into the Routine Finder, which will give you a step-by-step guide to understand your texture type.

"My personal holy grail product is the cream. I have high porosity hair and it's very dry. The cream is hydrating and nourishing," Badria said.

"My second is the oil serum. It's a hybrid product between a serum and an oil, and it leaves a silky, not oily, finish."

The industry has come a long way since Badria was young but we still need more education (Badria Ahmed)

As well as understanding your hair type, Badria believes we need a societal shift in acceptance and what defines 'beautiful curls'.

"People associate definition with healthy curls. But it might be that you cannot achieve definition," Badria explained.

"We need to come to a place of acceptance and know that if you're taking care of your hair and it's healthy, that's the most important thing."

While the beauty industry has made huge steps in becoming more inclusive and diverse since the Black Lives Matter rising in 2020, Badria said we still have a way to go.

"We launched the year before George Floyd happened. All of a sudden, everybody had to look at what they were doing when it came to inclusivity," she reflected.

"I've been told a lot, 'we want you because you're Black'. It's great to be put in the spotlight, but it can be frustrating.

"It's not about me being Black or not. Black people can also create amazing things without being put into a category."

Do you have a beauty story to tell? Get in touch. Email [email protected].

Nia Dalton