Taraji P. Henson is determined to take back laundry day.
While isolating at home at the beginning of the 2020 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, she noticed that more and more people were struggling with their mental health and sense of well-being. I did. She didn’t want washing her hair to be a multi-step chore, but rather an opportunity to slow down and love herself.
“We had to love ourselves or we were doomed. There was no other choice,” Henson said of the process. “We were disgusted with ourselves all day every day, and that’s when we realized, ‘Wow, we’re really taking this as a chore.'” And now, self-care is more important than ever. …Maybe now is a good time to try changing that narrative. ”
The Oscar-nominated actor never expected to launch a hair care line.Best known for her roles in the movies Baby Boy, Hustle and Flow, Hidden Figures and the popular TV show Empire, she was born in 2018. Boris Lawrence Henson Foundationan organization focused on destigmatizing mental illness and increasing access to care in the Black community.
In 2020, Henson shares her decades-long passion for hair. TPH by Taraji — A vegan haircare line focused on scalp health and all hair textures. Today, TPH is a staple in black women’s bathrooms, including shampoos, conditioners, edge control gels, curl creams, hair oils, and mist bottles.
Taraji P. Henson said it’s gratifying to see Black women entering the hair care market and demonstrating “the deep economic power that we have as Black women.”
(Jason Almond/Los Angeles Times)
Henson is one of several black women in Hollywood to launch hair care products in recent years. Her other works include Pattern by Tracee Ellis Ross, Sienna Naturals by Issa Rae and Hannah Diop, Flawless by Gabrielle Union, and Her 4U by Tia Mowry. This is part of a boom in the beauty industry, which has often benefited from black purchasing power, but only a minority of black business owners have been successful.
In 2021, Black consumers spent $6.6 billion on beauty products. This equates to her 11.1% of the total US beauty market. — However, a 2022 study found that they still faced a frustrating shopping experience with fewer product choices. McKinsey report About representation in the industry.
According to the report, only 4% to 7% of beauty brands carried in stores are black-owned. According to the report, Black-owned or founded brands contributed just 2.5% of industry revenue and the median amount of venture capital funding raised was $13 million, compared to $20 million for non-Black brands. That’s what it means.
Henson said she had big ideas about hairstyles and couldn’t “sit down” growing up and rely on her mother to style her hair. Her Henson was sensitive, and her sensitivity often irritated her mother, making her “dramatic” in the process. By the time she was in ninth grade, Ms. Henson had cut her hair drastically and her mother told her not to continue styling her hair. But Henson said that was her intention all along.
She described her mother as a fly-on-the-wall woman who would put on makeup, eyeshadow and eyeliner and watch her go to work or go out with her girlfriends.
“I started doing it because I wanted to do that and be girly and wear makeup and perfume and all that,” Henson said. “She was my inspiration.”
Henson started getting perms when she was 6 years old, but as she grew older, she became more conscious of keeping her hair healthy. She tries not to overprocess her hair when using relaxers, and sometimes she would wait six weeks or she would wait two months before getting her retouch. When she moved to Los Angeles, one of the first things she did was look for someone to give her a perm.
Taraji P. Henson poses for a portrait at home.
(Jason Almond/Los Angeles Times)
During the filming of Baby Boy, Henson said she was embarrassed to have her hair stylist see her roots because she didn’t touch up her makeup. However, the stylist assured her that her hair was beautiful and convinced her to start growing out her natural hair without a relaxer. She said Ms. Henson still held her hair back and it wasn’t until she was 30 that she wore it her natural hair, including curls. At the time, she hated her natural hair and thought it was “unmanageable”.
“I’ll never forget the first time I had to do my own hair,” Henson said. “I was crying in front of the mirror. The brush and comb got stuck in my hair.”
Another Hollywood stylist told Henson to go to her salon. Henson said her experience “set her free.” She received a kit of natural hair products for her use. That’s how she fell in love with styling her natural hair. Currently, she refuses to put chemicals in her hair or dye her hair. She loves the curl pattern and curls.
“I love my hair. The tighter and stronger the curls, the better the twist-outs,” Henson said with a laugh. “I mean, I have a girlfriend who has loose curls and she can’t do twist-outs and she’s like, ‘You can’t do that with my hair,’ and I’m like, ‘I get it.'”
Kim Kimble, a hairstylist who has worked with Hollywood stars such as Henson, Union, Vanessa Williams, Kerry Washington, Garcelle Beauvais and Zendaya, says relaxers were popular at the beginning of her career. Lately, she has been looking at a combination of natural hairstyles and wigs. She said she’s not surprised that Henson developed her own hair products because she “definitely believes in taking care of herself and taking care of her hair.” Working with his customers, Kimble began creating hair care products not found on the market and eventually launched his own line.
While the use of natural hair products was on the rise before the pandemic, many salons were unable to offer remote services or went out of business completely during the pandemic. Because of this, clients had to figure out how to care for their natural hair and find protective styles such as wigs.
“I think we’ve always been creative with hair, depending on the hair type,” Kimble said. “I feel like we had to find options and things to do. I think the natural hair movement has taken a big step forward in some ways. I really love that movement.”
She said there are several reasons why Black Hollywood has changed the way it looks at hair, including the rise of natural hair influencers on YouTube and social media, the increase in products available, and the impact of relaxants on long-term health. He said there were concerns about this.
Kimble said a new generation of Hollywood stars are entering the industry hoping to embrace their natural hair and are similarly bothered by having to straighten their hair or wear it a certain way. No, he said. She said more TV stations are allowing stars to wear their natural hair and are aware of the potential backlash when Black people try to decide how their hair should be styled. .
“I think we now see ourselves in a different way, seeing ourselves as beautiful, having beautiful skin and beautiful hair,” said Kimble, head of hair on HBO’s “Euphoria.” “Now you can see people who know how to handle it and are actually doing it, and I think it’s becoming popular.”
Henson marvels at how far hair’s natural movement has come. Gone are the days when you could only choose from a few types of shampoo. Black girls and women now have entire aisles of products owned or created by Black people.
“We have proven our power in the economy because we were forgotten and because we started inventing things like slaves. That’s why someone said, ‘The black people invented it.’ I’m never surprised,” Henson said. “No one cared about our hair but us, and now all of a sudden we have all these big name brands and now they’re natural.” [hair] commercial. ”
Henson said she’s happy to see Black women entering the hair care industry and demonstrating “the deep economic power that we have as Black women.” Don’t move without us. ”
“If there’s a space for L’Oréal, Maybelline and CoverGirl to exist, why can’t we all coexist?” Henson said. “I love watching videos. They feature my products, Mielle, Patterns, Carol’s daughter, Miss Jessie’s products. There’s space for all of us, so I love watching it. I love it.”
Henson’s hair care products, including shampoos, scalp masks, and curl creams, are made without parabens, sulfates, and mineral oil. New products include a hair strengthening collection with biotin and Jamaican castor oil, and a wig care collection with apple cider vinegar to remove build-up from wigs and wigs. Henson products are sold at Walmart, Sally Beauty, Target, CVS, and Walgreens.
Henson also launched Body by TPH in 2022, which includes a body scrub with shea butter, body oil, and essential oils.
Henson was inspired to create her own hair care products after having trouble finding products to help cleanse her scalp while braiding to protect her natural hair.
“I understood from an early age that the scalp is foundational,” Henson said. “For hair to grow, it has to be healthy. But now I have this weave and everything, how do I clean my scalp? It’s true for me I have to find a solution. It was a problem, but I never thought I’d start a hair care product line. It was literally out of my own necessity.”
“We’re not the same shade. Our hair isn’t in the same direction,” Taraji P. Henson said. “We want to be a brand where anyone can come and find something.”
(Jason Almond/Los Angeles Times)
She created her own scalp care formula, which eventually became TPH’s Master Cleanse Scalp Wash. Henson was on vacation with her friend and her daughter, who both told her that their scalps were itching under her protective style, she said. One of them had braids and the other had braids. When Henson shared her work, people enthusiastically told her their scalps felt better and asked where they could get more results. That was the moment Henson knew she was going to do something.
Henson went down the Instagram rabbit hole by observing how black women style their hair and what they think healthy hair looks like. he said. She noticed a lack of education about the importance of scalp care. She saw a video of a woman who had been braiding for 6 months and she had acne on her face, probably because her scalp wasn’t clean or because of the oil on her scalp and pillows. That’s what she remembered thinking.
“I would see women with their braids stretched out. Their hair was fully grown and long, but it looked dry and brittle,” Henson said. “They don’t understand that. Just because your hair is long, just because it’s long doesn’t mean it’s healthy.”
Looking ahead, Henson said she hopes TPH will offer more conditioning and styling products for those with thick, curly 4C hair, “because there’s still a huge shortage in this area.” , said they are responsible for including all hair textures.
“We’re not the same shade. Our hair isn’t in the same direction either,” Henson said. “I want to be a brand where everyone can come and find something. It may not be everything, but I want to be a brand where everyone can come and find something, but it’s like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t live without this TPH.’ Something like that.”
This line is part of Henson’s constant drive to share his expertise and passion for making others happy. Her hair care products are long-lasting and not a “get-rich-quick scam.”
“When I hear people say, ‘Oh my gosh, my hair is so much better,’ or ‘My scalp has never been this healthy,’ it’s incredible,” Henson said. . “I have a girlfriend who rave about my hair products. She’s like, ‘Girl, my hair is the healthiest it’s ever been and the curl pattern is the prettiest.’ But I… I’m like, ‘I understand, girl.'” Now I don’t put my name on junk. ”
