Sephora is adding braiding hair to its shelves — here are the Black-owned brands leading the way

Ruka Hair is making history at Sephora, opening the door for more Black entrepreneurs redefining braiding hair and protective styling.

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UnmutedNews
 Jul 20, 2026  0
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Sephora is adding braiding hair to its shelves — here are the Black-owned brands leading the way

Ruka Hair is making history at Sephora, opening the door for more Black entrepreneurs redefining braiding hair and protective styling.

For generations, shopping for braiding hair has been a cornerstone of Black women’s beauty routines. Now, for the first time in its 20-plus-year history in the US, Sephora is honoring that ritual with the upcoming launch of Ruka Hair in its stores.

“For the first time in 20 years, we’re relaunching a whole new category in Sephora,” Ruka founder Tendai Moyo wrote on Instagram. “Not only are we going to be the ONLY hair extensions brand available in Sephora, but we’re giving them *bioengineered* braiding hair everywhere from Harlem to Times Square.”

Moyo founded Ruka in 2020 on a mission to create an innovative and inclusive hair company that puts Black women at the center. Offering high-quality braiding hair made with lightweight bovine-collagen protein-based fiber that mimics human hair, Moyo always hoped to create an in-person shopping experience for her consumers. 

“When we started Ruka, hair extensions were never part of the mainstream conversation of beauty,” she said, recalling how many retailers turned her down. “This is the biggest moment in our history because accessibility has always been a fundamental aspect of the story. We’ve invested in the research and development so we can reach millions + now we’ll be able to do just that.” 

And just as the August 8th and 14th Sephora launch is a milestone for Ruka, it’s a milestone for Black entrepreneurs in beauty, particularly the hair extension world, because as Moyo shared, her brand’s success could pave the way for other Black-owned hair extension companies to join the physical and digital aisles of the mega beauty retailer. At a time when studies have shown the harmful effects that certain braiding hair can have on people’s health, there’s been a rise in Black-owned brands committed to creating healthy alternatives that allow women to achieve their desired styles without compromising their health. In addition to Ruka, here are five other Black-owned braiding hair companies reshaping the market. 

Rebundle

After one too many itchy scalps left her dreading her favorite protective styles, Ciara Imani May set out to reinvent braiding hair from the ground up, and skip the plastic entirely. Billed as the first plant-based braiding hair company in the U.S., Rebundle transforms naturally extracted banana fiber into its patented ReGen Hair Fiber, creating “braidbetter” extensions that are vegan, biodegradable, non-toxic, and gentler on both the scalp and the planet. Rebundle is also the first plant-based braiding hair company to be sold at Ulta Beauty.

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Dosso Beauty

Kadidja Dosso had braided hair for over 20 years when a severe allergic reaction to synthetic braiding hair pushed the West Philly native to build something safer. Launched in 2018, Dosso Beauty is a clinically tested, hypoallergenic braiding hair brand on a mission to make protective styling safer, more comfortable, and more accessible.

Slayyy Hair

After Diann Valentine spent years battling itching, scabbing, and breakage from her own protective styles, she poured two years and half a million dollars of her own money to develop Slayy Hair which uses a proprietary cleansing process that strips out the toxins and carcinogens linked to that discomfort. Launched in 2023, Slayyy Hair’s clean, non-toxic, itch-free braiding hair went on to make history as the first Black-owned braiding hair brand stocked at Target. 

Latched & Hooked

When her teenage daughter experienced intense itching and burning after getting her hair done, founder Tiffini Gatlin used that frustration to create Latched & Hooked, a Black woman-owned brand she established in 2016 to give women who wear protective styles a stress- and toxin-free alternative. Since then, her brand became the first Black-owned faux hair brand to launch on QVC in 2023. 

Chi’s Luxe Braiding Hair 

This Black-woman-owned brand is dedicated to helping people channel their main character energy with soft, tangle-free, lightweight hypoallergenic kanekalon hair that is free from harsh chemicals, making it gentle for sensitive scalps without having to do any pre-washing. 

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