CREATING HAIR CARE PRODUCTS

Clarity of ideas is not a process that can be rushed. Every moment in the last seven years of my life has had a direct impact on the formulations that Love Kinks will present. Love Kinks will launch three products in 2022 – a hairline serum, conditioning moisturiser and hair oil. Every scent, every ingredient, the packaging, the pricing and even the funds to go forward with this project have come from a long list of events that have contributed to this moment. 

The scent: How a product smells is very important to me because I have found that natural hair products often smell bland and, at times, foul. Our Lemongrass, Grapefruit Peel and Mandarin Peel scent is perfectly complex and fitting for our beautiful black women, men and children. 

The hairline serum: There are so many reasons why we decided to go the serum route for hairline maintenance. 1. A serum’s fast-absorbing nature prevents rubbing of fingers against the hairline during application. 2. A serum penetrates deeper than oils and creams, which allows for better results. 3. It’s always sad to see ladies with greasy hairlines and men with greasy beards because of oils. The Love Kinks serum formulation is not greasy at all. 4. The dropper allows for more precise application and saves product from being wasted. 5. It also makes evening application easy. There are so, so, so many more reasons.

The conditioning moisturiser: Our super moisturiser had to be in a pump to avoid product waste, slipping and dropping – as well as for that all-round neat and clean application. Pumps are everything. The biggest formulation problem with creams is the white residue or curdling when mixed with other products. We have made sure that this doesn’t happen. We are happy with our results so far. We are creating a super moisturiser that’s light and detangles hair easily. We will later follow up with a thicker sealant cream. 

Hair oil: Hair oils are an integral part of hair care for black women and men. These oils are often foul smelling or just too simple. We have created a beautifully fragranced, non-greasy and complex oil with a mix of oils that we all love – including Black Castor Oil, Castor Oil, Cannabis Sativa Seed Oil and our fav Jojoba Oil.

The packaging: Finding the right packaging has been the most difficult part of the process. For me, it’s make or break because it’s the only way that people can interact with the products before they use them. The design needs to communicate the brand story, and be modern and artistic. We worked with two designers – one worked on the design and the second one added a new perspective. 

Creating hair care products for natural hair is something that I have always wanted to do. This event in my life is something that was going to happen in any reality. There is no path life that could follow in which Love Kinks does not evolve to incorporate a hair care line. This part of the journey is the act of aligning my actions with my passion.  Serving the needs of others is something that’s in line with my purpose – and how amazing is it that I get to do it through a never-ending love for natural hair.