Bread Beauty Supply
I eat way too much bread. So a brand name that has become one of my beauty staples is not helping. I see the word now first thing in the morning when I go into the bathroom. Both the types of bread I am talking about are delicious. One is much better for my hair and my waistline. Let’s talk about that one. Bread Beauty Supply.
I enjoy my natural curl for up to 10 minutes after wetting my hair. I haven’t quite found the right products to make my curls pop and make me break up with my blow dryer or a slicked-back look. I`m determined to keep going and not settle in any area of my life. But hair first.
So I heard about Bread a little while ago. Long gone are the days of waiting for a product to drop in the UK after launching in the states or paying international shipping fees. Bread Beauty Supply finally launched in the UK on Cult Beauty. It's an Australian brand for textured hair and was founded by a Black woman and the packaging was just something I don’t think I`ve ever seen before on a physical beauty product. Everything changes when those at the head of or at a seat at the table or those creating their own table changes.
As it has been purposely made difficult for Black entrepreneurs to get funding to bring their products and services to the market, all these products and changes in the market are centuries overdue. We are still in the early stages, but more and more black entrepreneurs have been disrupting the beauty space and centering Black beauty into the mainstream in a way that we haven’t been able to see before. I wish my younger self could have had some of the things we see now. How different life would have been for me, my self-esteem and body image.
And along comes Bread. All the way from Australia, created by a Black female entrepreneur putting the images of Black hair and faces in our bathrooms (or wherever you keep your products) in such a beautiful way, upfront and centred
I procrastinated for way too long over whether I should spend that amount on shampoo and conditioner (£54). This was a hair cleanser and conditioner from a Black-owned business with Black women emblazoned on the packaging. What the F was I waiting for?
I thought about it for too long, as I do with most things. When I went back to place my order, they had sold out. I was annoyed at myself for more than one reason. As soon as they were back in stock, I ordered the Kit 1 Wash Kit to be delivered to me at work. I didn’t want any more messing about or a trip to the Post Office if I was not home when it turned up. I hate the Post Office.
Growing up, many of the products marketed at scale towards Black people were rarely created or owned by us. There is a meme of all the popular black hair brands and the owners of those brands, all white men. Surprising but not surprising.
It takes a lot of bread (yes I know how cheesy I am) to be able to bring a product to market, and capital is not something that has been made as accessible to Black folks as it has been to white folks. But change is happening. You can see it with the products on the market now and dominating. Representation matters and increases the bottom line that it's hard to keep the old narratives going over what is impactful and what sells.
I didn’t even think about beauty products as I do now. Before, it was just a means to an end. The result now it's more of an experience. I think this has much to do with listening to Brooke DeVard’s Naked Beauty podcast. As I listened to Maeva Heim, the founder of Bread, on this podcast, I related so much to her journey with her hair. I couldn’t wait to have my Bread experience.
As I sat at my desk and opened the package, I was excited. The slogan on top of the box read let’s get this bread. Yes, let's. My expectations for the look and feel of my hair after my bread experience were set high. They kept selling out, so the product must be amazing. Was I going to be like the women in the adverts that look like they are having an orgasm whilst washing their hair? I had my box, so I will soon learn about hair washing this Sunday. Maybe I shouldn’t have had so many expectations that a product would change my entire hair life.
After unboxing at home, I placed all the pouches in the bathroom like ornaments. Kakadu plum and star-flower! We have come a long way since sulphates, and all the other overly chemicalized hair products.
And then began my love affair with the hair oil. If I had my personal space in heaven to do with what I wanted, the scent would be Bread Hair Oil. It reminds me of something I can’t quite place from childhood. I think it may be something like a lip balm. I couldn’t get enough of the fragrance, and that was before I even knew how my hair would take to it. I have been treating it like sniffing salt to give myself a hit of something sweet and magical in the mornings. And all this before I even put it in my hair. This is now a feature on my bathroom shelf next. I wonder if I will ever get tired of the scent. Probably not.
The day I planned for my no-pressure Bread experience was a Sunday. This is my weekly hair wash day. I had already used the scrunchie and was ready to get into the kit. These pouches are so cute and unique, like nothing on the market right now. After doing my usual get-clean routine, I began with the shampoo/cleanser.
Now I like lather. It makes me feel that I am getting clean. This didn’t lather up that much, but it felt nice and milky. I considered giving it a second wash. When you are used to other products with a lot of shit chemicals in them, you can think that something is missing when you get something cleaner. Just maybe things are not meant to work so hard, including hair wash, so I gave it a rinse and moved on.
Mid-shower, when my hair is fully wet is when I always feel prettiest. No make-up, no clothes, and my natural curl pattern. Quick mirror check to see myself and to see how things were going. So far, so good. After a head nod, I returned to the task at hand.
I wanted the promise of cloud-like softness from the conditioning mask and for the Kakadu plum and star-flower oil to work some miracle magic. It was thick and just how I like it, and gave me the experience I wanted, so I slathered more on. I used about three times the recommended amount and kept it on for more than the recommended 10 minutes. I jumped out of the shower and found something else to occupy myself with for 30 minutes or more.
Was I imagining it and getting carried away with the marshmallow sensory experience (it smells divine), or was the texture of my hair feeling well just more than normal? It felt good, so I went back to the mirror. The curls looked like they had just been to the hair spa and had a refresh, but the real test is how refreshed it looks once it is dry.
I let my hair air dry a little, and then it was oil time. Some of the natural oils I use are quite flagrantly intense but necessary. I would probably use oil on my hair more regularly if the fragrance were as sweet as this. I added a generous amount of oil into each section and let it dry naturally in two plaits for the rest of the day.
The next morning after an early swim, I took my hair out. It felt good and was definitely a product that my hair took to well. The conditioning mask, I felt, gave it the deep condition that I liked and also that it needed. The oil was also a great product for me in that it wasn't too heavy or, for want of a better term, too oily. This one's a keeper and not a one-time thing. As for the hair cleanser and hair mask is also getting a replay and has made it onto my list of products I love.
Honestly, the packaging alone is enough to encourage you to make a purchase. That there is good stuff inside is a bonus. My hair isn't basic, so I should only use brands that elevate this sentiment.
Next is their scalp serum and hair cream, which are not yet on Cult Beauty. I am ready with my scrunchie to order more as soon as it is available.
Until then, I will keep going to their website to look at all the dreamy textured curls and products I can't yet order.
https://www.instagram.com/breadbeautysupply/?hl=en