Gabrielle Union Launches Black Women’s Hair Care Line ‘Flawless’

For black women, our hair is more than just strands atop our head that we style in a no-fuss, carefree manner. To us, our hair means so much more. It’s a deeply personal labor of love that shows the world who we are courtesy of every textured strand. Since the hair care marketplace is under-represented as it relates to black hair, it’s always nice when a new product line drops just for us and this time it comes from none other than Gabrielle Union.

In an exclusive interview with WWD (Women’s Wear Daily) Gabrielle Union discussed her new hair care line specifically for black women, called Flawless. The hair care line will launch exclusively at Ulta Beauty stores on April 16 and Union explains why this line was so important to her and to black women as a whole:
“I want women with textured hair to have great hair days.” In the past, she suffered to attain those joyful days and doesn’t believe that should have to be the case. “I went through a phase where I would leave my relaxer on so long, thinking the longer I leave this relaxer on, the straighter it’s going to be,” she recalled. “Cut to lesions, like open wounds in my scalp, trying to chase something that was unrealistic, and eventually probably in my mid- to late-20s I decided to give up my relaxer, and I went natural. By natural I mean underneath the weaves, extensions, clips and the hair color was my natural hair — thriving.”
Union also went into detail about how many perceive women who opt to rock weaves and extensions in favor of their own hair, and how that stigma has come to haunt many women who feel increasingly judged for their hair choices. She states:
“A lot of people like to think if you wear extensions or weaves, you’re full of self-hatred and, if you wear natural hairstyles, your sense of self and your sense of community and culture is at an all-time high. Sometimes that’s the case. Sometimes it’s not,” she said. “I just look at it as each person has their own hair journey, and they’re all amazing, valid, worthwhile and beautiful, no matter what.”
The Flawless line currently contains a stable of 10 products that range in price from $19 to $29 and will be available on the company website in March, over a month before its debut at Ulta. The hair products include: Moisturizing Shampoo, Moisturizing Conditioner, Smoothing Shampoo, Smoothing Conditioner, Hair Masque, Blow Dry Cream, Hair Protection Spray, Shine Spray, Oil Treatment and Edge Control Gel.
Surrounding the launch, Union also plans to visit select Ulta stores, tradeshows and other beauty events to promote the brand, which insiders estimate will make $6 million in revenue in its first year.
Congrats Gabrielle! In the meantime, you can catch her every week on BET’s hit show Being Mary Jane, which is currently airing its fourth season on Tuesday nights.