Innovation is booming in the multi-billion dollar textured hair sector, as a flurry of entrepreneurs seek to shake-up the formerly stagnant market with “wet” products like shampoos and conditioners and “dry” items such as wigs and extensions. In turn, retailers and investors are paying more attention to the natural hair segment, increasingly recognising its untapped potential — though there’s still work to be done.

“There’s this assumption that women of colour just know what to do with textured hair. That’s actually not the case,” said BoF correspondent Tamison O’Connor. “Social media has really helped with that, and on the company side its provided a direct line to consumers and a window into their needs.”

On the latest BoF Live, BoF’s O’Connor and Sheena Butler-Young and were joined by Isoken Igbinedion and Simone Kendle, co-founders of Parfait, a company that uses AI technology to provide consumers with custom wigs. Igbinedion and Kendle detail the white space they identified, and how they went from idea to execution and grew their brand.