THE PERFECT HAIR TARYN GILL
Start-up cost: My first loan was about R75000. Turnover: About R1 million a year.
Taryn has always been proud of her curlycoily ’fro, a look that was inspired by her mother’s mane of bright red curls. But she yearned for products that would nourish it instead of stripping away the natural moisture.
‘I was introduced to some haircare products from the US and I realised that these were definitely missing on South African shelves,’ Taryn says. So she set out to create a high-end haircare brand – and within 14 months, The Perfect Hair was born.
‘The perfect hair is #happyhealthyhair, which is why I had a team of biochemists and a trichologist help develop, design and formulate the range.’
Taryn’s background in media marketing gave her a real edge when she started The Perfect Hair. It’s one of three businesses she runs under her brand,
The Perfect Score, which focuses on marketing products to women. Thanks to social media, she knew there was a demand for her type of haircare products.
‘We built the audience before we built the product. We were guided by our social media family in terms of what they were looking for in a haircare range and what resonated with them.’
Taryn would like to change the way natural hair is described. ‘We have products for different hair textures, from wavy to kinky-coily. We want to de-racialise the way we speak about hair.’
The Perfect Hair has been around for only four years yet the brand has managed to establish itself in the natural-haircare market – 20 Edgars stores and 80 Clicks stores across SA, Namibia and Botswana now stock it.
‘I think we were successful in going to market early with very high-quality products that delivered in terms of moisture, anti-frizz, anti-shrinking and curl control. We provided solutions for hair textures that were previously ignored by the biggest brands.’
As with many start-ups, competing with more established businesses is an ongoing struggle.
‘It’s a real challenge for small businesses to break into big national retailers,’ Taryn says. ‘Competing in a mass market puts a lot of strain on your cash flow and can choke the business.’
The Perfect Hair features three ranges – The Perfect Wave, The Perfect Curl and The Perfect Kinky Coil – that all contain a unique blend of African botanicals.
‘We have certain ingredients that I’m proud to say no other product in the market has. We’re also the only local premium brand on the shelf with glass packaging. And the fact that so many of our products are made and designed in South Africa is also quite unique.’
The brand is also eco-friendly – return your empty jar and get R10 off your next purchase.
The Perfect Hairline Repair Serum is the most popular buy.
‘It’s primary objective is to grow and thicken the hair. We realised that the product needed to declog the scalp, stimulate growth at the follicle level and keep the scalp moisturised to maintain that growth. It’s by far our bestselling product, so much so that we’re extending the range around it.’
Her advice for anyone looking to start their own business? ‘Don’t get discouraged. You need to have resilience!’ www.theperfecthair.co.za; Facebook and Instagram: @theperfecthairofficial