There’s a reason why it’s called a ‘haircare journey’. Anyone with textured hair has their own experience of learning to understand how their hair reacts to certain products, and this is no different for CURLiD co-founder Rachel Marcelin, whose online trichology platform is providing education for those with all curl types.
Here, Rachel tells us about her own haircare journey, the shock of post-partum hair loss and when to seek the help of a trichologist.
What made you start your hair journey?
I guess you could say the journey started the day I took the brush from my mum and said I wanted to do my own hair. Before then the learning began from watching my mum, grandma and aunts do their hair. I am always fascinated by my mum’s hands when she used to canerow and it’s through watching her I picked up the techniques to use myself. I loved watching hair being parted and the back of the comb used to apply oil to the scalp – it looked skilful.
I was so happy the day my mum asked me to do her hair. Culturally that’s what’s always been done. It’s only now I’m learning what’s good for hair health.
I do believe the day I met Samantha (Stewart MIT) I have become more conscious about how I manage my hair. I‘ve learnt so much from her when we were putting together our ‘back to basics’ tutorials. I hadn’t realised in all that time I had been washing and brushing my hair incorrectly. I was always quite rough with my hair. I looked after it but I didn’t handle it with care. Now I am much gentler, I take more time and consider that my hair type is fragile so being rough isn’t an option anymore.
“Part of a perfect hair care routine is first having realistic expectations.”
What does it take to master the perfect hair care routine?
CURLiD! That’s going to sound so biased but it’s the truth. I looked for so much inspiration and information online and never really felt like I had a true understanding of my hair. I now realise, it’s because I was aiming to achieve the same results as people who just had completely different hair to me. Part of a perfect hair care routine is first having realistic expectations and that’s what I got from my hair analysis. Samantha was able to tell me what I could and couldn’t achieve and that stopped me searching and wasting my time on all the wrong things. I am now content with what my hair will achieve, and I work with a routine that is right for me and my curls, no one else’s. Taking the guesswork out of it was the best way to master it. There’s nothing better than understanding the hair that is on my head.
What was the inspiration behind CURLiD?
The main driver was seeing too many hair products on the market. The shelves are flooded. My experience would be going into Pak’s to pick up a few things and coming out three hours later with nothing that worked in my hair. It was frustrating. Also, CURLiD I’m a mum of four so the idea of having to buy, try and waste time and money on products that wasn’t right for them, sparked the idea. I thought to myself, ‘There must be another way to find the right products for me’.
Testing a sample of hair and matching it with suitable products was the first thing that popped into my head. That was the idea in its most basic form. And it was a great idea, but like many ideas they can easily get shelved and go nowhere, they always seem too big to achieve. However, I was determined so looked for someone who would know a lot about hair science That’s when I found Samantha. I looked down the list of trichologists at the Institute of Trichologists, picked up the phone and called her.
Since then, it’s grown and so has the inspiration. Jasmine (our third founder) joined us in August 2022. She had experienced a huge identity issue with her hair growing up. As a mixed raced girl living in a predominately Caucasian area, her hair used to stand out and make her feel so different that she resorted to relaxing her hair. Since joining CURLiD she has found confidence in her curls and now she wants to help others do the same. Our mission statement: ‘Created by people with curly hair, for people with curly hair’ is a mix of our stories that inspires what CURLiD is today.
“If we only find confidence in having perfect hair, we would all be destined to lose that confidence someday.”
What’s a good hair day for you?
If the products I use give me good definition and a hold that lasts all day, that feels great! But in reality knowing my hair is healthy and that I’m looking after it properly is a good hair day. The right brush, the right products, hair bonnet to bed, lots of hydration, as Jasmine would say ‘a good hair day is healthy hair!’
As a mum of four how did you tackle post-partum hair loss?
My first three pregnancies resulted in shedding, but it wasn’t that noticeable. The fourth pregnancy was a huge shock. I hadn’t noticed the hair loss until I was out with my sister one day and she pointed out that my centre parting was wider than usual. When I looked in the mirror (through the postpartum fog), I saw a bald patch at the front of my hairline and in that moment, I had to laugh. It felt weird and a bit scary as I’d never dealt with that before. Luckily, I take a lot of things in my stride, but I can imagine for many other women that would set a panic button off. Our hair is such a huge part of our image. My hair is important but in those moments it’s better for my mental health to be able to detach from it and not put too much of a focus on it, otherwise I could feel insecure.
In terms of your diet, what do you eat to promote healthy strong hair?
We’ve just done a great article on the importance of nutrition when it comes to hair health with Sports Nutritionist Ruben Tabares and Samantha. If I’m honest, I try to eat healthy but sometimes a busy day means I can really slack on my diet. I was so happy to have Ruben and Samantha discuss the right foods for hair health because it put it back on my radar. I’m looking forward to eating the best foods for my body and hair again, I’ve missed it.
At what stage should someone seek the help or advice of a trichologist?
I’ve listened to Samantha enough now to know that if you’re experiencing any exaggerated hair shedding, pain, severe itching, or any type of discomfort that’s a good time to go.
Hair is intrinsic to self-confidence. What advice can you offer to someone experiencing some type of hair loss?
This is a big question as there are different types of hair loss. From a postpartum perspective, keep calm and just embrace it as one of the many bodily changes we experience from bringing beautiful life into the world. It will grow back! For supplements, I can testify to the Hair Gain Mask and vitamins. The science behind the formulation is brilliant and it works. So, there is a solution sometimes. However, there are some types of hair loss that can’t grow back. It’s like parts of our body’s that grow older, greyer, slower, or even lose hair – a part of us must gracefully accept these things. It’s a devastating thing seeing bundles of hair come out in the shower. I have heard about many post relaxer experiences like this. I won’t say that that’s easy. But if we only find confidence in having perfect hair, we would all be destined to lose that confidence someday. I would encourage people to work towards a real authentic inner confidence that shines through your outer appearance. That can’t be taken away from you.
What are the benefits of seeing a black female trichologist and why are more needed in the field?
It was a huge benefit seeing Samantha because she has 30 years’ experience dealing with textured hair. You experience that instantly when you talk to her. Her knowledge of textured hair is incredible. I believe more trichologists with experience working with textured hair is needed and textured hair spans all colours and cultures. So, experts who specialise in this certain hair type are invaluable.
“We’ve made advice for healthy hair accessible; people can do it from the comfort of their own home.”
We love the fact CurliD is building an online community. What can we expect to see in the future?
We just had our soft launch and for me that was a snapshot of what’s to come. A room filled with genuine, warm, encouraging people all connected by the same interest, textured hair. That’s what we will continue to grow online. We share expert knowledge on our social media to make sure our community is getting the right information as that’s important to us. If someone really wants to take that step towards healthier hair, they can purchase our Hair Analysis Kit online. We’ve made advice for healthy hair accessible; people can do it from the comfort of their own home. The goal is to encourage healthy curls globally. Moving people away from following the misinformation that is spread online and towards science-based hair care that is personalised and factual.
