Being a young person in Nigeria is tough enough but a young entrepreneur? That takes another level of super strength.

Glory Ama is that Nigerian. At 25 years old she has built quite a reputable and successful haircare business 'Amari Haircare'. She launched <a href="https://amarihaircare.com/">Amari haircare</a> at the peak of the covid 19 pandemic. Imagine starting a new business when the world was on shutdown. Most people would have said it's not a smart move but Glory has shown that courage and belief in oneself is all you need to succeed, even if the world around you is crumbling, LITERALLY.

Like intelligent entrepreneurs, she entered the market with proper planning and a survey of the haircare market. She pre-launched 4 products to test the Nigerian hair care market before going on to build one of the most sought-after hair products in Nigeria today.

When asked what pushed her to the hair care business, she said that she had a really long hair length as a child, but she started to experience hair breakage as she progressed into adulthood. Her search for a solution to her personal hair problems led her to formulate products that not only solved hair breakage but also hair growth and maintained healthy hair scalp and strands.

Like most formulators, her curiosity led her to make her own product by watching DIY YouTube videos. But She stepped up her game by getting professional training before launching her business. She graduated from the prestigious <a href="https://formulabotanica.com/">Formula Botanica</a>. Formula Botanica is a leading online teaching institution for organic formulation. The institution has produced students who own remarkable brands in the international skincare scene.

We had a chat with Glory to pick her brains about the various hair care practices that cause stunted hair growth and how to improve them

HOW DID YOU GET INTERESTED IN NATURAL HAIR CARE?

Hair Care in Nigeria or in Africa as a whole is very foreign. When I was younger, I had long hair and then I started to experience hair fall and hair breakage, which is very common in this part of the world. I was constantly told at the saloon that it is not unusual to have hair breakage and nothing was done about it. I started making my own products because I didn't want to accept that my hair was irredeemably damaged and had no hope of revival.

My journey to finding what works for my hair started with speaking with other women who had the same problem as me and sharing the solution with them. And that was how Amari Haircare was birthed.

WHAT PERSONAL EXPERIENCE MADE YOU BELIEVE THAT ACHIEVING LONGER HAIR AS AN AFRICAN WAS POSSIBLE?

I remember I met a lady on my trip to Ghana. She had what we as Nigerians will call Deeper Life hair. It was then I realized that the reason it's called a Deeper Life hair is because she didn't relax her hair.&nbsp;Her hair was the most beautiful African hair I had ever seen. It looked like a crown with the way she styled it. And at that moment, I wanted that for myself. It gave me the hope that my hair could be better and that I didn't have to depend on wigs or hair extensions to look fabulous.

When people (old and young) started admiring my hair, I realized there was a market for it. People who genuinely want to have longer and healthier hair. That was how I stepped in with a minimalist approach to hair care.&nbsp;

IN YOUR EXPERIENCE, WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON HAIR PROBLEMS THAT PEOPLE EXPERIENCE AND HOW CAN NATURAL PRODUCTS HELP TO ADDRESS THEM?

The most common hair problem we face in this part of the world is hair breakage. African hair is very fragile which leads to constant and excessive breakage. A lot of people think that ours tends to be short because it doesn't grow like the other races. But that's misinformation because the real culprit of stunted hair growth is breakage and shedding.

Our beauty standards are highly dependent on hair styling, extensions, and manipulations which contributes highly to why we don't retain hair length. Because of these standards, we develop<a href="https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320648"> Traction Alopecia </a>which is the loss of hair due to tightly pulled hairstyles like braids, dreadlocks, or tight ponytails.

As to how natural products can help reduce hair breakage, shedding, or Traction Alopecia. Natural products alone can't help if these beauty practices are not stopped or drastically reduced.

Essential oils like peppermint and rosemary are known to stimulate blood flow which can promote hair growth.Then there's the butters like shea butter and mango butter which can strengthen hair strands.&nbsp; With these natural products, your hair isn't so much at risk of breaking or not growing.

DO PRODUCTS THAT ARE TARGETED AT THE MALE GENDER, LIKE THE BEARD OIL ACTUALLY&nbsp; WORK?&nbsp;

I would like to say that any part of your body you nurture will always be better. That intentionality and extra care will always pay off. And this is what i tell the guys that come to me for recommendations on what to use to grow and maintain their beards, and since we don't sell products for beard growth, they always opt for our hair growth serum but i don't recommend that.&nbsp;

The face is a lot more sensitive than the scalp on our head. Our products are formulated for the hair and not beards. But I believe that beards will do better if they are being taken care of with any natural oil and nurture.

WHAT ARE THE NATURAL WAYS TO NOURISH AND CONDITION YOUR HAIR WITHOUT USING COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS?

WATER. Most commercial moisturizers and conditions have water as a primary ingredient. Water is life for your hair. So your first go-to should be water and then seal up the moisture with a natural butter like shea butter, mango butter, or avocado butter. You can also use oils to seal the moisture, depending on your hair's porosity (your hair’s ability to hold moisture).

I encourage people to pay attention to their hair in order to figure out their porosity. But the basic science of moisturizing will always remain liquid and butter or liquid and oil.&nbsp;

HOW DO STYLING TOOLS LIKE FLAT IRONS DAMAGE THE HAIR? AND WHAT ARE THE SAFER OPTIONS?

Our hair is naturally not so strong. So heat from curling tools or styling tools will make the hair strands weaker and susceptible to breakage. That is why staying away from these tools is recommended if you want your hair to be healthy.

The alternative to stretching hair with a hot iron will be to use traditional methods like threading and Bantu knots. African hair tends to have shrinkage and most of us are not fans of shrinkage. Yes, shrinkage is a sign of healthy hair but sometimes we want to flex our hair length.

For me, I prefer Bantu knots as it stretches my hair really well. So I would say doing protective styles like threading, and Bantu knots. Or twisting weekly is a better way to stretch your hair without any damage.

WHAT ARE THE TIPS FOR MAINTAINING HEALTHY HAIR BETWEEN WASHES?

Find that protective style that can really protect your hair. There are some styles that we call protective style but it does more harm. I prefer loose twists. I put my hair in a loose twist to avoid always touching or combing. So find the protective style that wouldn't require manipulations and one that works for you and stick with it.

HOW DO YOU GET PEOPLE TO INCORPORATE AMARI HAIRCARE INTO THEIR HAIR ROUTINE?

My favourite thing about Amari is that we are a minimalist hair care brand and that means we encourage hair care in fewer steps. And more is not always better. Sometimes, less is more if it's done well.

The first step is getting people to change their mindset about the commercialized 6-step hair care routine. If you can achieve more with a two-step routine why waste your time? Amari is all about giving people the value of their money without wasting their time. My hair care regimen is not more than 2 steps and my hair is a testament that it's effective.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE WHO'S JUST STARTING THEIR NATURAL HAIR JOURNEY?

I would say "hair care is not complicated"The solution is not in your products. The solution is not in one particular step. The solution is to understand your hair and what works for you. There is enormous information about natural hair on the Internet. Get informed and stick to what has proven to work for you.

"hair care is not complicated"
The solution is not in your products. The solution is not in one particular step.
The solution is to understand your hair and what works for you.


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