Ruka Hair, A Biotech Beauty Brand Pioneering Lab-Grown Hair Extensions, Raises $4.5M In Funding – AfroTech
Ruka Hair has raised new funding to scale its mission of ensuring hair and beauty solutions work for the textured-hair community.
Ruka Hair
“I was a strategy consultant prior to this, and the industry hasn’t changed very much. It’s still really hard to find high-quality hair extensions that work for Black women. Success for us is about creating a brand that brings Black women joy,” Moyo said in the video. “For too long in this space, getting your hair done is painful. When you’re a kid, it comes with a lot of tears. It’s expensive, you’re spending money on products that don’t work, and oftentimes, you don’t really know what you’re doing because you haven’t had that expert access. So success is about bringing joy, it’s about bringing education and learning in a fun way, and it’s about treating Black women with the high value and respect that they deserve.”
Ruka Hair
Moyo wrote on LinkedIn that her dream is to create brands that target underserved consumers who look like her. Hair, which she describes as a vital part of her identity, is her starting point. In 2020, alongside Ugo Agbai (co-founder and chief strategy officer), she launched Ruka Hair, headquartered in London. It is a biotech beauty brand that carries premium, natural, ethical, and trichologist-developed human hair, according to its website. Additionally, it carries Synths 2, a patent-pending collagen-based lab-grown fiber that was “built on the feedback that made Synths 1 a community favourite,” and “without the environmental or ethical costs,” its website notes. The fiber is biodegradable, hypoallergenic, and looks and acts like real hair, and was designed for curls, coils, and kinks, according to a press release shared with AFROTECH™.
“Our community has always been at the centre of everything we do,” Moyo explained in the press release. “People shouldn’t have to choose between what looks good, what feels safe, and what aligns with their values. We’re building something that finally delivers on all three.”
Funding Round
Samyr Laine, co-founder and managing partner of Freedom Trail Capital, said in the press release:
“Ruka Hair exemplifies what we look for: founders solving a real problem with genuine commitment, building through community rather than hype. Tendai and Ugo built this brand during one of the most challenging periods for consumer businesses, scaled through an authentic community and are now pioneering biotech innovation that could reshape an entire category. At Freedom Trail, we back founders building enduring brands – not chasing viral moments. Ruka is on track to become a category-defining brand and a future household name for textured hair care products.”
