What was your
draw to natural hair?
I’ve always been drawn to natural hair. Over the years I’ve gone from synthetic hair extensions to texturizers
to finally purely natural hair. Now that
I’m getting married & soon to be starting a family, I want to be more aware
of what goes in & on my hair & body.
 |
| Althea Joseph, co-founder of CurlyCanadians™ |
Why did you
decide to go curlie?
I’d already begun to consider transitioning from texturized to natural last
summer. Then my aunt passed away from
cancer in the fall of 2011. After my
aunt’s passing, I decided right away to stop putting chemicals in my hair. Better yet, my fiancé, Jason Branton and I decided to
completely detox our home from harmful toxins.
Reading There’s Lead In Your
Lipstick by Gillian Deacon was also a powerful motivator to go natural.
At what point
did you think of creating a business that would promote healthy hair and sell
natural hair products?
After I made the
decision to go natural, I embarked on an extensive Google search for natural
hair care tips and products. I found
some great products yet they were not available in Canada. I wanted to find hair care tips for Canadians
and I couldn’t find much of that either.
My fiancé and I
were (and still are!) inspired to start CurlyCanadiansTM for naturally
curly people living in Canada. Our focus
is on natural hair care for straight, wavy & naturally curly styles for
people from all walks of life.
CurlyCanadiansTM was established on October 1,
2011.
What kind of feedback have you been receiving from Canadian Curlies and abroad and how does that make you feel?
We are completely astounded by the feedback we’ve been receiving from
across Canada & around the world! People are really excited about having a Canadian resource for curly
hair. Just this morning we received a
message from one of our Twitter followers in the United Kingdom commending us
for targeting a diverse customer base. Comments like this make us grateful for this opportunity & happy to
do what we do.
As a business
owner, what do you think on the Canadian natural community?
I believe the Canadian natural community is the most diverse on the
planet. There are people who want to live a more sustainable lifestyle. There are also people who are becoming
increasingly aware of harmful ingredients in their favourite personal care
products. One of our main goals at CurlyCanadiansTM
is to
provide the consumer with as much ingredient information as possible so they
are able to make an informed purchasing decision.
Secondly, I feel the natural community needs to join forces. Canada is so vast that we’re all doing great
things in every corner of the country without really knowing that our neighbor
down the road is also doing something great. The natural community needs to come together and work together
more. That’s why we are open to selling
Canadian-made “actual natural” hair care products & accessories from
Canadian artisans & manufacturers.
What are your
goals for CurlyCanadiansTM in the next five years?
Our main goal for CurlyCanadiansTM is to be Canada’s
foremost authority on naturally curly hair and natural hair care for all ages
and all walks of life. We want to show
the world how products sourced from nature can help you feel, look and be your
best without exposure to harmful toxins.
What new
products do Canadian Curlies have to look forward to from CurlyCanadiansTM?
Hair Love for starters! Hair Love
is our latest handmade product. Look for
hair care products from Strauss Herb Company (an amazing Canadian company),
handmade hair cleansers from McLeod Naturals and best of all: a new skin care
line called Althea Officinalis, which will debut this spring!
How can people
contact you?
We invite everyone to contact us via:
Twitter: @curlycanadians
Facebook: facebook.com/curlycanadians
Email: frisous@curlycanadians.ca
It's great to see this kind of start up in Canada. I look forward to the growth of the site, as well as the expansion of natural brands and products easily available.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it great to finally have a place to go on Canadian soil. It's all about supporting each other!
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