Porosity Over Pattern: A Journey in Growing Natural Hair

Following a call for photo and video submissions we hosted last week, we are so happy to spotlight Jennifer Oshikanlu and her healthy hair brand, Hair CraQ. Jennifer is truly rocking her #blackgirlmagic and setting a gleaming example of African Excellence by gracing us with her skill, talent, and care. Jen’s story really inspires us because she has truly taken her own personal struggles and thrown her solution-seeking expertise into the formulation of her game-changing product to improve the beauty and health landscape for all of us out there trying to be our best selves and live our best lives.

Hair CraQ’s journey to market began when Jen had thrown her hands in the air after struggling to find a solution to “unmanageable” and “non-growing” hair. She’s not the only one! There’s a reason black hair blogs, advice columns, books, brands, Instas, and YouTube channels are trending every single day; because there are a lot of struggles that have long-gone unsolved. Jen’s company takes a very interesting approach to accelerating natural hair beauty and maintenance, so more people can have tresses they’re proud to flaunt. Many black hair care products identify texture and curl pattern as the point of departure for finding a brand that works for you. Hair CraQ takes a different approach. Instead of first determining whether you have 3B, 4C, or 2A type of curl pattern in your hair, Hair CraQ asks that you identify the porosity of your hair.

What is that and how do I find that out? “Hair porosity reflects the relationship between your hair and how it receives moisture. The lower the porosity, the more prone it is to repel moisture.” For that reason, “many “current” natural products simply “sit” on top of the cuticle (the outer-most layer of the hair) and necessary nutrients do not reach the proper areas of the hair follicle leaving the hair in a weakened state and prone to damage.” This is not to say that other hair care products for black hair don’t work, they most certainly do; but it is evident that there are diminishing returns on the effectiveness of other products if your hair porosity does not fall into a certain range. This brand essentially augments the range of hair types to be serviced by black-owned hair care brands. You can determine the porosity of your hair in less than three minutes. Simply take a clean dry strand of your hair, pour a glass of water, and place the hair on the water’s surface. If your hair is still floating or sitting at the top of the water, your hair has a low porosity and this product would be great for you.

There are a lot of products out there that all claim to do relatively similar things. Some might say it would be more efficient if there were just a few companies out there that did just one thing really well, instead of a million companies doing the same thing in a different way. When prompted with this argument, Jen responded from a place of personal enlightenment and intrapersonal motivation: “Just because there are already companies that exist to serve a purpose doesn’t mean it’s properly servicing all of its intended users. Those who discourage [new companies from entering the market] or attempt to save you from failure may not see your vision. If you are pursuing a certain business, it is for a reason. Like Hair CraQ, maybe it’s because you represent a market whose needs are not being met by existing products. There is room at the table for you, but you have to create your seat. Hair CraQ is creating its own place at the table and is doing so without taking someone else’s chair.”

With her making waves in the hair care realm, Jen aims to bring Hair CraQ to West Africa and host networking events with other West African entrepreneurs who are making moves in fashion, tech, and energy solutions to further promote black excellence. According to an educated guess, she would approximate that over 90% of West Africans have low porosity hair. She gets energy from seeing others succeed and hopes Hair CraQ can be a vehicle for that by helping people gain the confidence to rock their natural hair. Besides being a successful entrepreneur, Jennifer is also a fitness instructor, engineer, and proud wife out here living her best life. She lives in Houston, TX.