In Haircare: Transforming Care for Textured Hair

For anyone with curls, Afro hair or highly textured hair, the situation will feel familiar: shelves packed with shampoos and treatments, yet very little that genuinely suits their needs. This is precisely the gap Rebecca Cathline and Didier Derozin set out to address. During lockdown, their idea developed into a credible beauty brand that is reshaping care for textured hair.

How frustration became a business idea

Around one fifth of people in France have Afro or highly textured hair. For years, however, mainstream beauty ideals focused almost entirely on straight hair. Many people had to find their own solutions, blending oils at home or using products never designed for their hair texture.

In 2015, Rebecca Cathline recognised that retail offered virtually no premium care products created specifically for textured hair. The entrepreneur, whose roots are in Guadeloupe and Côte d’Ivoire, knew this unmet need from personal experience. Rather than accepting it, she and her business partner Didier Derozin launched their first venture: an app called “Ma Coiffeuse Afro”.

Through the app, customers could book hairdressers who truly understood curly, coily and tightly curled hair, including appointments at home. Demand was strong, and the pair soon realised that the need extended beyond styling appointments. People wanted meaningful, long-term hair care support in their own bathrooms.

Launching In Haircare during lockdown

In 2020, when the first major lockdown brought daily life to a standstill, many people turned to self-care rituals. It was at this point that Rebecca and Didier introduced their second major venture: In Haircare.

The concept was natural, effective haircare and food supplement products intended to reduce breakage and encourage growth. While formulated around the needs of textured hair, the range is also suitable for other hair types.

From the outset, In Haircare focused on three clear priorities: clean ingredients, visible results and a direct relationship with its community.

To avoid making compromises, the founders selected a specialist cosmetics laboratory in France. Working closely with its team, they created their formulas, which they describe as 100 per cent natural-origin, vegan, cruelty-free and “made in France”.

Why food supplements play such an important part

Rebecca’s aim was not limited to selling shampoos and oils. She also wanted to support hair from within. The team therefore developed capsule food supplements designed to aid hair growth internally.

• Strengthening hair roots through targeted nutrient combinations
• Supporting people experiencing seasonal hair loss
• Providing support after periods of strain, including stress, illness or pregnancy
• Designed to be used alongside the brand’s topical haircare products

Rebecca receives a great deal of feedback from people experiencing hair loss after pregnancy, serious periods of stress or illness. For them, haircare becomes a matter of self-esteem rather than simply styling.

Seeing fuller hair in the mirror again often restores a piece of self-confidence – and that is exactly the feeling the brand wants to encourage.

From niche concept to an award for digital beauty

In Haircare attracted considerable attention in a short period, both from its community and from the beauty industry. Rebecca received Marie Claire’s “digital beauty excellence” award and was named among the ten influential “Digital Women” at an industry event.

The brand has now clearly moved beyond a purely online niche. In Haircare products are available through Nocibé, Mademoiselle Bio, Blissim, pharmacies and selected hair salons, among other outlets. This is helping to bring care for Afro and curly hair into the mainstream.

How In Haircare stands apart from conventional brands

Its success rests on more than marketing, with several distinct points of difference:

• Focus on textured hair: Coily, curly and wavy hair are treated not as a marginal category, but as the core audience.
• Community-led product development: User feedback influences new formulations.
• Clean beauty approach: Transparent ingredient lists and the exclusion of many controversial ingredients.
• Combining care and food supplements: External care and internal support are considered together.

The brand therefore presents itself as more than a product supplier. It aims to be a partner for people seeking to embrace and strengthen their natural hair, moving away from pressure to straighten it and towards healthy texture.

What the term “textured hair” means

The expression “textured hair” is appearing more often, although it is still unfamiliar to many people in German-speaking countries. It refers to hair with a clearly defined pattern, ranging from large curls to dense, coily Afro curls.

Several broad hair types can be identified:

Many haircare disappointments simply result from using products that do not match the hair’s texture. A shampoo for fine, oily hair is unlikely to work on dry Afro hair and, in the worst case, may increase breakage.

The founders’ growth plans and new ambitions

Rebecca and Didier intend to expand In Haircare significantly. Their first priority is broader coverage across France, followed by further markets. Their ambition is to provide products that reliably support growth and strength for people with curly and Afro hair, without the use of harsh chemicals.

At the same time, they continuously engage with their community. New product concepts often emerge from recurring questions: What helps with an itchy scalp beneath protective styles? How can breakage at the ends be reduced without having to trim hair constantly? These issues feed into research and development.

The brand uses social media not simply as an advertising channel, but as a real-time laboratory for needs, trends and criticism.

What consumers can take from this

For people in German-speaking countries facing similar challenges, the story of In Haircare offers several useful points of reference:

• Take your own hair seriously: Texture is not a “problem”, but the starting point for suitable care.
• Check ingredients: Short, understandable lists usually suggest more thoughtfully designed formulations.
• Think in combinations: External care and sufficient nutrients from within complement each other.
• Use the community: Other people’s experiences with similar hair textures can prevent a great deal of trial and error.

Anyone exploring their hair in more depth will quickly encounter terms such as “Low Poo”, “Co-Wash” and “Protective Styles”. These refer to practical techniques: gentle washing without harsh sulphates, cleansing with conditioner instead of shampoo, or protective hairstyles such as braids to safeguard the ends. Brands including In Haircare incorporate these routines and formulate products suited to them.

Over the long term, the approach taken by the founder and her partner could become a model for the cosmetics market as a whole: moving away from one-size-fits-all solutions and towards care concepts that take different hair textures, lived experiences and identities seriously – and see precisely that as their business model.