At nine months pregnant and during one of her last visits to the doctor’s office in preparation for birth, Cherly-Ann Makok excitingly expressed to her doctor that the one thing she needs to do is relax her hair as part of her birthing plan. After finding out about the dangers of chemicals in the relaxer, it gave birth to a business idea.
Makok says she decided to wear her hair naturally about 12 years ago.
“I went to the doctor for my last scan with my first son when I was pregnant and I explained to him how I needed to relax my hair because this baby was coming soon and I wanted my hair to look nice,” she says.
However, the doctor warned her the chemicals in the relaxer could be harmful to her and the baby. This changed her perspective and Makok was determined to create a brand that would be safe and organic.
“I was so shocked when I walked out of his office, and I decided then and there that I won’t relax my hair again,” she explains.
She decided to braid her hair and after eight months noticed how it was curling naturally.
Kitchen experiments pay off
“The problem was I couldn’t find a product in South Africa that did what I wanted it to do at the time, so I started experimenting in the kitchen with avocados, aloe, and coconut oils, mixing it all and I finally started going deeper into making butter,” she says.
Turning a personal project into a business, she started True Texture and Makok never looked back; embracing her natural hair and proudly producing a product that she sells out of her own home today.
“I started making for friends and then I made for family, and they paid for it and the word went out and other people approached me,” she says.
Start-up costs and current products
Though True Texture is a side hustle, Makok covered the initial costs from her salary and reinvested the profits into the business, ending up with a variety of products today.
“At the moment I have four products where the hair butter cups are in different sizes. I also have a hair tea spritzer, growth oil, and a clay wash. Most of my products are herbal,” she explains.
The main ingredient in her magical product is 100% shea butter and alvera juice, and in her oils, she adds some Indian herbs.
But that’s not all, Makok does hair assessments as well as a service to be able to determine what a client’s hair health is.
Extra service as a bonus
“I do hair assessments where I assess the hair, look at the scalp, and perform a porosity test so that I can help them in that way.”
She works out an entirely new hair routine for clients and the results have been great to grow their hair healthier. “I supply everywhere in South Africa,” she adds.
Her husband, Griffin Makok, is still her greatest supporter.
“Teamwork makes the dream work here. My husband did the website by himself, and we wanted to redirect people through the website.”
Five lessons learnt
According to Griffin, the five lessons that they learnt as a team to have a successful business, are the following:
- Start something (ideas, visions, research).
- Use social media to your advantage.
- Failure allows you to start again with experience.
- Never give up, work hard, and persevere.
- Go each day and fight 100%, give it all you got.
ALSO READ: Agripreneur 101: Parker in gardening paradise
Get Stories of Change: Inspirational stories from the people that feed Mzansi.
