This chapter turns the focus towards you, but we won’t try to preach your experience back to you. Instead, we’ve collected and presented voices and insights of the textured hair community from a variety of resources. From in person conversations to blog forums and formal articles, what follows defines the reasons for Crolles’ existence, and our motivation to keep providing thoughtful, quality textured hair care.
—–
Our first voice is Sarah’s (product tester – hair type 3C). We sat down with her, and simply asked: what bugs you the most about textured hair management? Whilst Sarah was sure to assert that she saw her curly locks as a blessing and not a curse, she did spill the tea on the key hindrances…
“Since I can remember, it’s been a story of frizz management. When I was younger, I used to straighten my hair just so I didn’t have to deal with it. Now, I like to wear my hair natural, and sometimes the frizz is manageable, sometimes it isn’t – depends on how I style it and the products I use. Another thing, though, is dirtiness. My type of hair collects dirt so easily, so I have to wash it all the time. ”
Next, we spoke to Angie (product tester – hair type 4A), and asked the same question. Angie told us…
“For me, it’s dryness. I’m constantly hunting for products that will actually provide the deep moisture all the labels promise. Also breakage, split ends […] but I guess that’s related to dryness. So yeah, I just need something that will repair and strengthen my hair, I think that’s the most important thing.”
It was conversations like these that really defined the Crolles recipe, and convinced us that we were on the right track with formulating a shampoo that prioritised quality (thorough cleaning and moisture) over any fancy styling features. We also took frizz management and ease of use into account, trialling various versions of our bar to ensure 1) an even curl-frizz ratio and 2) a quickly produced, rich & easy to use lather.
—–
Next, we turned to successful vlogger, book club founder and leader of #SmartBrownGirl community, Jouelzy, who had much to say on her primary frustration with the natural hair community: texture discrimination.
The blog post is subtitled, “We Aren’t All Curly, Girl”, speaking to a cultural preference (reflected in the products on the market), for curls over coils (referred to in Jouelzy’s piece as kinks). First, Jouelzy dips back into the 70s for a little context, i.e. the heyday of coils and kinks:
“In the 1970’s, the Afro reigned supreme. You could see ads, TV shows and movies showcasing the lustrous kink of highly textured hair. Somewhere in the late ‘80s, naturals became taboo, giving way to relaxers and drippy texturizers. Alas, the new millennium brought back our passion for natural hair with a roar – and a lot more curl. So, what happened to all that kink?”
Jouelzy points out the damage that marketing campaigns have done to perceptions around textured hair: “healthy natural hair” has become equated with “thick, shiny curls”, thus sending the message: if you can’t get your curls thick and shiny, your hair can’t be healthy.
With our founders having hair types 3C and 4A respectively, Crolles is passionate about returning balance to the textured hair community. We resent the idea that any hair type can “trend” – since hair type is different to hair style – and created three distinct Crolles bars to cater for all textured hair types. (More info on the Crolles scale soon…)
Read the full Jouelzy blog post here.
—–
And finally, we found a writer who beautifully voices one of the more subtle, fundamental textured hair challenges that motivated the creation of Crolles.
Writer and social awareness advocate W.E. titles her piece “I Don’t Care How You “Prefer” My Afro-Textured Hair”. W.E. opens by acknowledging that the practice of regularly alternating hair styles common to people with textured hair brings both the joys of variety and versatility, and an undeniable burden: “people seem to always have an opinion”.
Full extract as follows:
“Earlier this year, when I rocked my natural curls in a twist-out after keeping them in two-strand twists for a couple of weeks, many people stated their preference for the twist-out over the two-strand twists because my hair apparently looked “better” loosened than in twists.
Then, when I switched from those curls to crochet braids, some people praised the color and the style and voiced their preference for this style instead.
When I straightened my hair a couple of months later, I received many compliments, especially from people who were quite vocal about their preference for my “real hair.” They couldn’t understand why I would keep my mid-back length hair hidden under “weave.” They advised me to wear my hair like this more often.
When I expressed the fact that how I wear my hair is my business and no one else’s, a colleague from work tried to reassure me that people were trying to compliment me, and it wasn’t a personal attack. The statements may not have had malicious intent, but they sure felt like backhanded compliments.
I’ve realized that regardless of how I style my hair, someone is always going to have an opinion, and I have one thing to say about that.
When it comes to my hair, the only person’s opinion that matters is my own.”
Whilst no hair product can magically dissolve all the social perceptions, opinions and judgments clinging to textured hair, we do believe that the Crolles bar – with its simple but powerful ability to clean, strengthen and nourish – is a step in the right direction. Its key values of quality and adaptability help to return a sense of choice and freedom to textured hair carers. And besides, it goes beyond the bar itself. To choose Crolles is also to choose a community committed to advocating for individual empowerment through self-expression, free from concerns of external judgement or opinion.