Ruka Hair Extensions First to Launch in Sephora in Over 20 Years

A Black-owned hair extension brand that raised the scale with beauty solutions is debuting in Sephora, and it is pretty historic.

Ruka Hair, a Black-owned biotech and beauty company that creates high-quality hair extensions, wigs and braiding hair, announced on Wednesday that it will launch in Sephora. They are the first hair extension brand in over 20 years to land in the beauty franchise chain.

“Ruka is not only the first hair extensions, period, in a 20-year history to enter Sephora stores. We’re the first braiding hair and alternative-fiber brand to ever reach a Sephora shelf,” a post from Tendai Moyo, CEO and co-founder of Ruka Hair, said in a social media post.

The hair brand, founded by Moyo and Ugo Agbai, was built during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown and officially launched its first products in 2021. Based in London, the brand is best known for it’s innovation in developing patent collogen and human hair blends that mimic natural Black hair textures through biotechnology.

According to Ruka Hair’s website, the brand “carries premium, natural, ethical, and trichologist-developed human hair” and is made without “environmental or ethical costs” and “looks and acts like real hair, and was designed for curls, coils, and kinks.”

In May, Ruka Hair was able to raise $4.5 million in a funding round to help further fuel their company production and expansion to the United States.

“This is the biggest moment in our history because accessibility has always been a fundamental aspect of the story,” Moyo said in her Instagram caption, “We’ve invested in the research and development so we can reach millions and now we’ll be able to do just that.”

So far, there has been no date on when Ruka Hair will officially hit shelves.