Afro hair: the boom of French brands

Long eclipsed by American brands, French companies specializing in products for curly hair , frizzy or curly hair are now more and more numerous to hatch on the market. Sapote or kukui oils, shea whipped cream, coconut and bamboo scrub, etc., they offer a multitude of ranges, recipes and accessories to a clientele delighted with this return to natural hair care .

Pioneer brands

Finding the right shampoo, the effective mask, the best oil for your textured hair ... Defining your hair routine can be a real obstacle course. And that's why brands have proven to be great allies, with their ranges of moisturizing, fortifying and styling products. Question Afro hair, if American brands were once the darlings of consumers, today a crowd of Afro cosmetics made in France is piling up in our bathrooms.

A pioneer in the field, Activilong is the work of Yannick Cheffre's knowledge and passion for curly hair. The Guadeloupean, founder of the Miss Antilles International Laboratories , marketed her first products in 1983, thus revolutionizing the industry. Her talent and her products have been honored several times during the Victoires de la Beauté, notably her “Hair Riches” range in 2010 or her Acticurl leave-in in 2015. Her latest Actiforce skincare ritual has been acclaimed on social networks and acclaimed at the Natural Hair Academy (a salon dedicated to Afro beauty, editor's note) in 2017.

In 1998, while France was celebrating the victory of its Blues at the Football World Cup, Farida B launched an assault on the market for curly and frizzy hair . Since then, the eponymous brand has carved out a great reputation with its revitalizing products such as the HydraFrizz range.

Afro hair revival: nuggets of the 2000s

The transition to the year 2000 has not dried up the enthusiasm of fairies dedicated to Afro hair care. And the last decade is a good vintage. In 2009, we saw Kelly Massol 's Les Secrets de Loly and its handmade products with fruity scents and respectful of nature. Word of mouth about the quality of its products has had its effect since it now has more than 30,000 subscribers on Facebook and has won several awards.

In 2012, Sandrine Jeanne Rose , already on the strength of her success with Kanellia, threw herself into a new project: SJR . She has used her expertise in this range dedicated to straightened, bleached and relaxed hair, which consists of products mainly with keratin. The same year, another nugget tried her luck in the world of curly, frizzy, locked and straightened hair: Nappy Queen . Its objective: to offer effective products “ without keeping the user in the bathroom for too long ”.

But Bilguissa Diallo , at the head of the company, does not only want to address adults, so she is also developing a brand for toddlers, called Nappy Kids . These natural treatments, made in France, are mostly formulated with ingredients from the Afro-Caribbean pharmacopoeia (shea, aloe-vera, ylang-ylang, jojoba, etc.). And for even more access to these products dedicated to natural afro hair, it is developing its range for professionals with the launch in October 2018 of 3 references for hairdressers.

Let's trust the French designers!

For their commitment to more natural products, for their courage as business creators and for all the reasons mentioned in this article, Ethnilink has chosen to favor the referencing of French hair care brands.

Indeed, these creators are passionate, invested 200% in the formulation of their ranges to offer us the best quality in terms of composition and effectiveness (the standards in France are more demanding than those practiced in the United States).

French hair brands are more recent than their American competitors but defend themselves rather very well, in particular for those who are looking for really "clean" compositions.

So let's make room for them on our shelves and encourage them! You will be surprised by the place they will take over time.