Tracee Ellis Ross launch “Pattern” hair product.
The natural texture and curly hair care market has come on in leaps and bounds in recent years, but it hasn’t yet had it’s Fenty Beauty moment. That is, until Tracee Ellis Ross’s announcement that she will be unveiling a new range of haircare that caters specifically to ‘curly, coily and tight-textured hair’. This could well be that moment.
“I believe everyone should have access to their most beautiful selves in the bathroom,” she said of the founding principles of the brand, named Pattern, in an interview with WWD.
Pattern will launch with a shampoo, three targeted conditioners, two hair serums and a leave-in conditioner (priced between $9 and $42, or £7 and £34), all aimed at curls from 3b to 4c textures, on which she has tested the formulas. There will also be a microfibre towel (to protect and reduce frizz) and a rubber shower brush.
The aim is to infuse curls with all they need to be their best-looking and healthiest selves: “My curls do best, are their most poppin’, juicy and joyful when they are hydrated and nourished, when slippage occurs, clumping occurs and curls are activated,” she said.
“You think of Fenty Beauty and it’s a ‘duh, why has no one been making foundation for all skin tones before now?’” she said. “It’s not that those skin tones and hair types haven’t existed, but there hasn’t been a large space and understanding for it. That’s why it’s taken me so long to make these dreams happen.”
This is haircare born out of the struggles she has encountered growing up within a world that hasn’t catered to her – and so many others with natural textures’ – hair type. “You could chronicle my journey of self-acceptance over the years through my journey with my hair, which I don’t think is unique to me,” she said, relaying tales of weekly hair-relaxing treatments, sponge roller-sleeping and slicked back ponytails that would cause her headaches. And that was just in childhood.
Now, Ross is renowned for her big, bouncy curls, but it took a while to get there, and it took a lot of formulating her own products to keep her hair natural while also keeping it healthy and nourished. What was offered on the haircare market just wasn’t enough for her hair type. “Most of us in this community… have had to make our own things in our own bathrooms. So to be able to offer a selection of products that work together and support each other is important to me,” she said.
The sense of community she’s aiming to foster is not only important, it will also likely attract and retain a loyal consumer, given her 6.8 million strong following on Instagram and the fact her haircare offering (housed in sleek, chic packaging) is genuinely needed.
“Pattern is about products made by and for us. And it’s about creating a space for a community that exists, to celebrate our beauty and magic.” A positive message and a brand to watch.
Pattern is available from September 9.
