Our Story

Hello, Rachael & Joycelyn here! 

We started Afrocenchix after meeting at university as teenagers bonding over shared problems with alopecia, skin irritation and ineffective hair care products. Rachael suffers from eczema and a range of allergies so was particularly fed up with the artificial fragrance filled bottles on the market.

Joycelyn studied Sociology and Rachael, Law, so the last thing we imagined is that we'd start the first afro hair care brand to launch in Whole Foods UK!

• We have over 20 combined years of industry experience. Rachael studied as a postgrad at the Institute of Trichologists and holds an MSc. Joycelyn wrote a thesis on the social and historical impact of attitudes to afro hair on society and particularly black women.
• This campaign will allow us to: complete our safe, cruelty-free, natural and effective product range; to supply our overwhelming demand; and to grow our team.
• By supporting us you're helping to create a world where the health and beauty needs of black families are met without it being a big deal, a world where "normal" no longer means "white" and where retail is inclusive.

What We Need & What You Get

With £25,000 we will:

• Scale up our manufacturing so you get products faster
• Update packaging across the range for better function and aesthetic
• Launch Spring, our 100% natural styling butter
• Complete research and development and cosmetic testing for Swirl, our silicone-free conditioner 

Supporters will be first to receive Spring & Swirl and to try our new subscription service with a few little surprises thrown in.

Perks will be shipped by Autumn 2018: we'll keep you updated so you'll have a precise date as soon as we do.

The Stars of the Show

When we started Afrocenchix, products for afro hair just weren't good enough. Partly because the unique properties of our kinky, curly, coily hair were ignored by major brands, leading to shelves full of products that just didn't work.

Two of the hardest things to formulate with cruelty-free natural ingredients are also two of the most in demand products: conditioner and styling products.

We're pleased to announce Spring, our 100% natural formula enriched with Mango butter and Avocado oil is trialed, tested, vegan certified and ready to launch! It's perfect for twist outs, braid outs and protective styles. Spring provides hold and definition whilst keeping your hair soft and bouncy for days! 

Swirl, our silicone free conditioner, is still under development. We're testing new botanical active ingredients and plant extracts that give a similar silky texture to silicones.

Artificial ingredients such as silicones are effective in conditioning the hair. The problem is that some silicones are bad for our health and many are damaging to the environment, so most naturals choose to avoid them. We've been trying out new silicon-like materials made from shea butter, these esters work in a similar way to artificial silicones and offer great conditioning properties particularly for afro hair. We're almost there! With your support we aim to launch our Swirl trial by the summer.

Our Impact

Your contribution will make a huge difference:

• We are revolutionising the black hair industry. Moving it away from profiting on the insecurities of black women by selling us billions of pounds worth of toxic, ineffective products each year. We're changing the industry into one that truly cares and serves, one bottle at a time.
• We've sold thousands of products to hundreds of people all over the globe, we were the first brand for afro hair to launch in Whole Foods UK (after years of searching by the Beauty Buyer) and in 2018 we were awarded BEST NATURAL HAIR BRAND in the BBFAs.
• Afrocenchix has been featured by Buzzfeed, Black Hair Magazine, the BBC, Huff Post, the Voice, London Live,Spell Magazine, the Telegraph & other publications.

Testimonials

Risks & Challenges

Risks are very low as most of the risk has been dealt with in our first 5 years of research and development and our last 4 years of trading. We've delivered our products to customers worldwide for years and now it's time to complete our range increase our supply to meet the needs of more families.

Our current range is tested & compliant with EU Regulation 1223/2009 (Cosmetics Regulation) we comply with Good Manufacturing Practice standards and we're registered with the Vegan Society.

Spring, our new styling product, is already prototyped, tested and ready for production. Swirl is 80% there and with this campaign we'll be able to launch it by summer 2018.

We will deliver the same level of quality products, advice and customer service as we have become known for, but faster as we grow our team

Other Ways You Can Help

We understand that some people just can't contribute, but if you've read this far we know you care and want to help. Here's how:

• Get the word out and make some noise about our campaign by emailing, texting and telling your friends and family
• Use the Indiegogo share tools to spread the word on social media