Ruka Hair, a biotech beauty brand pioneering lab-grown hair extensions, is hitting the shelves of a leading beauty retailer.
The company was founded in 2020 by Tendai Moyo, who struggled to find high-quality hair extensions. She wanted to change that in a way that was meaningful and that ensured Black women felt seen and valued, as AFROTECH™ previously reported.
Ruka Hair offers a patent-pending, collagen-based lab-grown fiber called Synths 2. According to the information shared, its performance mirrors that of real hair and was designed for curls, coils, and kinks. Options include bone-straight, braided, and kinky afro hair.
Ruka Hair is backed by $4.5 million in funding, co-led by Freedom Trail Capital and Henkel Ventures. It’s also on track to reach 101% year-over-year revenue growth by April 2027, according to information shared with AFROTECH™.
Its latest milestone is an upcoming launch at Sephora North America.
“When we started Ruka, hair extensions weren’t part of the mainstream beauty conversation. But this was always about more. I wanted to build a fibre technology company. When retailers told us we could only launch online, I said absolutely not. Our customers need to experience hair in person, with a premium experience. Many said no,” Moyo wrote on LinkedIn.
“For the first time in 20 years, we’re relaunching a whole new category in Sephora. We’ll be the ONLY hair extensions brand in Sephora, bringing bio-engineered fibres everywhere from Harlem to Times Square. The first-ever braiding hair in Sephora. This is the biggest moment in our history because accessibility has always been fundamental to the store. We invested in the R&D to reach millions, and now we can. But as we know, the hard work begins here. Retail isn’t a saving grace. It’s an opportunity to keep building bigger,” she continued in the post.
