Quality Afro clip

Aug 23, 2023

Curly extensions didn't enter my mind as a possibility as a teenager. Growing up in a predominantly white area, all my friends went clip-in mad around 15 but I don't think I put much thought into trying to find curly ones. I was just ruled out. Not that I would have found any if I had looked.

Quality human hair clip-ins for textured hair became more available in America as the natural hair movement grew in the 2010s, but in the UK we really are in the first few years. Curly & Wild sells 100% virgin human hair textured clip-ins, and was one of the earliest British brands to offer a clip-ins solution to Black shoppers.

It was founded by Becky McCormack in 2018 to meet the need she saw in her own life; "I saw within my own family how they struggled to wear their hair in its natural state, even though they wanted to. I noticed how having a bit more length and volume to their hair made the world of difference to their confidence." noted Becky; "Curly & Wild was created to inspire women to feel confident and at peace with wearing their hair in its natural state, to empower people to stay true to who they are and not feel pressured by society to conform."

Extensions are a common go-to for adding not just length but also volume for straight hair, allowing the wearer to give their own hair a boost. But for Black women, the confidence top-up of additional hair can mean relaxing their natural texture or tucking it away in order for it to blend. There's nothing wrong with doing either, but we want options people.

Antoinette Ale, founder of the platform Hair Crush, is an expert in all things Black hair and finally found clip-ins that work for her just last year. "If I wanted to have longer curly hair, I would just get a wig and would never consider clip-ins. Ruka's were the first time I felt like wow, these are going to seamlessly blend, and that was really exciting."

Which is exactly the gap Ruka launched to meet; "While the market was more mature in the US, with incumbent players like Mayvenn, in the UK there was no established player addressing the untapped market for high quality hair extensions for Black women," said Ruka's Innovation Lead, Sam Grisa.

Sam explained how salons closing during lockdown played a huge part in Ruka launching clip-ins and ponytails, products that women can install with ease at home. Unlike buying bundles, weaves and wigs, you don't need professionals or vast knowledge to style clip-ins. And why is that so key? Across much of the country, like for myself growing up, not having access to Black salons goes well beyond lockdowns.

I tried out Ruka's loosest texture offering, Spring Fling (pictured up top), to see if they really were as novice friendly as they seemed. I was blown away by the texture match, by how real they looked, that, yes, I could put them in myself; but most of all by how amazing it felt to see my very own hair seemingly falling past my shoulders for the first time in my life. 'Feeling myself' doesn't begin to cover it – pretty sure even my mirror was sick of the sight of me.

For my 3b/3c curls I’ll play with layers and clip-ins to perfectly blend where my own hair ends. With 4a coils, Antoinette finds doing a twist out or braid out on your hair and the extension together, helps the blend last all day despite shrinkage. She suggests tackling length and texture blend with a half up style, or by putting the lower layers into flat twists to clip the extensions onto, leaving out the top. They’re never going to be as effortless as clip-in ponytails with all your hair tucked away, but they offer something we’ve truly never had before; length without having to hide or conceal our natural hair.

The fact it took so long for quality curly and coily clip-ins to reach the market is yet another example of how hugely profitable areas of Black beauty go uncatered to by large corporations, often only served after independent brands by Black women, for Black women, launch to meet those needs and make the demand undeniable.

While it's easy to be frustrated at the wider industry not meeting these (profitable) needs in the first place, it's also a blessing in disguise. It allows Black founders to claim back some of the Black hair industry's vast worth, which largely goes to non Black-owned companies. The insight, understanding and care taken, means they can more than hold their own when big brands see success and follow suit.

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