Hey B&B friends! Over the past eight years, I’ve had a love/hate relationship with my naturally curly hair. Well, actually I take that back., For the first six years, I absolutely loved my curls. I felt like I really knew my hair. I knew my curl pattern; I knew how to get a twist-out that left me with curls that were slayed to the GAWDS; and I was pretty much retaining length.
I can’t lie… it hasn’t been easy. I’ve battled heat-damage (I had to cut 4-5 inches from my entire front hairline after frying my hair during a weave experiment gone wrong.), but I still triumphed and brought my hair back to kinky bliss. Fast-forward to the past two years, and the hair struggle has been real! I find myself getting frustrated with the look and feel of my hair, and even though I have good and bad days, I find more comfort in wearing weaves and other protective styles for the wrong reasons–not solely to protect my hair but to avoid dealing with it.
And then I tried HAIRiette. Guys, I kid you not. After just one trial of the co-wash and oil blend, I fell in love. My hair was soft and my curls were popping! I still have my go-to, tried-and-true natural hair care products that I absolutely adore, and I’m happy to honestly say that HAIRiette is the Bomb.com. I seriously feel like I stumbled upon natural hair gold with this line!
I caught up with the amazing founder of HAIRiette, the uber-talented actress Tanya Wright. When she isn’t flexing her acting chops in the Netflix series on shows like Orange Is The New Black, you can find her getting her inspiring women across the world to love and embrace their natural hair. HAIRiette is more than a hair care line, it’s a multi-media lifestyle for women with naturally textured hair–check it out!
What inspired you to launch your own natural hair care line?
It was inspired by own relationship with my hair, which has been a tough relationship. All relationships mature and you realize those things in life that give you the most grief can also give you the most joy, if you’re willing to put your arms around them. I said to myself: “I want to better understand my hair. How will I be able to do that?” So I created this product line that I really love.
Your products contain Kokum and Marula. What’s so great about these ingredients for healthy natural hair?
I’ve used a lot of products in the natural hair market. I worked with a chemist for about a year-and-a-half working on these formulations and discovered that Kokum was leaving my hair moisturized. Particularly for naturals, keeping the moisture is key. This keeps your hair moist for a couple of days. It doesn’t just sit on the hair and make it greasy and you don’t have to use that much of it. The idea about this line was that it was going to keep your hair moisturized from the inside out.
There’s also a chemical called the HAIRiette Hydrating Complex that the chemist put together. What she did was match molecule-for-molecule to create a vegetable-based Keratin. The Marula Oil is nature’s silicone so it’s going to give you that high-gloss shine without the bad stuff.
Your line has co-wash, an oil blend and curl cream. Can you walk me through how to use it for maximum results?
I started with about 8 products with the chemist and we boiled it down to these three because I felt like these could be used singularly and interchangeably. You start with the co-wash, which is rich, latherless and it’s a great finger- detangler if you put it in your hair in the shower and just let it sit for a while. I love it because it doesn’t have that crunch.
The Curl Creme is the second step; it’s designed to moisturize, shine and define your curls. I usually put it on as soon as I get out of the shower when my hair is sopping wet and apply it in sections from root-to-tips. Just let it dry naturally, so no manipulation or fussing with your hair.
The Oil Blend keeps your hair really soft and moisturized for up to three days. I like to use the oil with the co-wash if my hair is particularly tangled. I scoop up the co-wash and add a couple of drops of oil to really kick up the moisture. Sometimes I use it with the Curl Creme. I haven’t flat-ironed my hair in years, but if you want to flat-iron your hair it’s a great protector.
What are your go-to tip for manageable curls?
I would like for women to display what they have. It’s very important and it’s the thing that inspired me. We tend to covet other people’s hair, but we all are uniquely, beautifully made. The products are really designed to work with your natural texture. Celebrate your natural texture. These products will take what you’ve got and bump it up.
The second tip is–moisture is key. As naturals, everyone wants longer hair and they way you keep growth is by decreasing breakage. The only way to decrease breakage is by keeping it moisturized.
What inspired you to write your book I Found God In My Hair?
I Found God In My Hair is a book of 98 spiritual principals that I learned from my hair. I was learning all these things and applying them to my everyday life. It’s a funny book. It’s poignant and it’s my real-life experiences as an actor dealing with my hair.
Season 3 of OITNB is streaming on Netflix! Can we expect to see any good story lines regarding Crystal & Sophia?
We didn’t even know Netflix was doing that. These people are geniuses! I heard about it on Twitter like everyone else. I’m not spilling anything.
It’s clear to me that Tanya is extremely passionate about HAIRiette, and the proof is in the pudding (or curl creme)! I really started to love my curly texture after just one use of products from the line! You can learn more about HAIRiette and snag these amazing hair products for yourself at HAIRiette.com.
Ciao Bellas,
Thank you for introducing me to this new line. I will definitely check it out!
Awesome! I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for stopping by!