Bozoma Saint John Is About to Revolutionize the Hair Extension Business

Bozoma Saint John wants no introduction, however her unimaginable accomplishments need to be rattled off. The seasoned govt has held the best advertising positions on the most influential firms—together with PepsiCo, Apple, Uber, Endeavor, and Netflix—making an indelible influence on every model. 

As her profession has soared, Saint John’s enterprise savvy has been acknowledged by probably the most prestigious publications and establishments world wide. In 2021, she secured the #1 spot on Forbes’ World’s Most Influential CMOs listing. That very same yr, Harvard Enterprise College printed a case examine about Saint John’s achievements titled “Bozoma Saint John: Main with Authenticity and Urgency.” In 2022, she was inducted into the American Advertising and marketing Affiliation Advertising and marketing Corridor of Fame, one of many grandest recognitions for these in her business.

Two years in the past, on the peak of her company profession, Saint John determined to take a sabbatical and give attention to different soul-stirring initiatives. She completed writing a memoir, The Pressing Life: My Story of Love, Loss, and Survival, and started engaged on her newest endeavor, Eve by Boz. The latter—an extension and hair care model—outcomes from her lifelong affinity for switching up her look and the evident gaps within the current market she observed. Forward, Saint John opens up her connection to her hair, the journey she’s been on as a magnificence founder, and what makes Eve by Boz distinctive. 

Are you able to share some perception into your hair journey?

“My household moved round loads throughout my childhood. We landed in Colorado Springs once I was 12, and there weren’t a number of locations to get your hair completed. Though my mom was a clothier by commerce, she was additionally our hairdresser. For her, the expression of our hair was actually necessary. It will have been straightforward to assimilate and water down our tradition to slot in, however my Ghanaian mother and father weren’t about that. My Blackness and whole acceptance of myself had been birthed at dwelling. I wore lengthy braids, cornrows, afro puffs, and so on as a toddler. In our family, our hair, make-up, nails, and trend had been celebrated.”

Did your relationship together with your hair change as you entered the company world? 

“Once I began entering into these company areas, I began feeling the stress. I used to be made to really feel like I wanted to tone it down—that I should not put on braids or coloured hair. I additionally acquired recommendation that I should not put on purple lipstick or purple nail polish. If you hear messages like that, it seeps inside, and for me, it quieted my total character. It was that type of suggestions that drove me completely off the ledge, although. I gave up. I simply determined to not pull my hair again anymore and to put on my purple nails and leopard shirts as a result of it feels good. If I wasn’t going to get promoted, so be it. Doing that allowed me to faucet into the fullness of myself and my creativity, and instantly, folks needed to know what I believed was cool or attention-grabbing.”

Was there an “aha” second that made you wish to launch Eve by Boz? 

“Once I began my sabbatical in February 2022 to complete writing my memoir, I believed I’d get one other CMO job elsewhere. I contemplated the sweetness business as a result of I had by no means completed that earlier than. Nevertheless, I additionally began making wigs throughout that point. I by no means discovered hair with a texture, density, or lace I actually preferred. Plus, once you order customized extensions or wigs, it takes eight to 10 weeks to get to you, and I am impatient. In the future, my pal was in Guangzhou, China, which is just like the capital of hair. He supplied to convey me again bundles, and whereas he was within the manufacturing facility, he gave the cellphone to somebody who labored there, and we began talking the language of hair to one another. My pal later advised me, ‘ method an excessive amount of to not be doing one thing with hair.’ That was music to my ears, and I purchased a ticket to Guangzhou.”

What did you be taught whereas in Guangzhou?

“Once I went to Guangzhou final July, the most important hair present on this planet occurred to be happening. At this occasion, hair producers from the Asia-Pacific market collect to wholesale their wigs, bundles, closures, frontals, and so on. I went there for 12 hours a day for 4 days and made so many buddies. I requested one vendor, “Why is the lace all the time white?’ They mentioned, ‘As a result of no person requested us for the rest.’ Whereas there, I noticed it was potential to realize totally different lace colours and textures. That is what actually opened this door for me and made me wish to create one thing intentional for us.”

What merchandise are you launching with?

“We have now wigs and closures in three lace colours (Chestnut, Hazelwood, and Mahogany) and bundles. Our hair is called deliberately as a result of I really feel the present choices in the marketplace are named inappropriately. 80% of the customers are Black or ladies of shade, so why are manufacturers utilizing phrases like ‘Burmese Curly’ or ‘Yaki Straight.’ As a marketer, I wish to do my greatest to vary the business, so I named my hair after individuals who embody these textures. We have now 5 textures to start out with, and our coily hair, for instance, is named Folake’s Coily Curls.”

Eve by Boz additionally features a hair care line. Why was it necessary to launch upkeep and styling merchandise as properly?

“Once I began this journey, I believed I’d launch wigs and extensions. Then, I noticed I wanted hair look after the hair. I labored with a Black chemist, Gerri Watson, to create the hair care line and personal the formulation. I needed to create merchandise that enhance the longevity of the hair and use substances from the African continent. We use shea butter, palm kernel, moringa, rosehip, and baobab. Of all of the merchandise, I’ve two crown jewels, the Hair Fragrance Oil and Goddess Paste.”

Are there different impactful touches you’ve got made to make sure Eve by Boz gives an elevated expertise?

“I needed the buying journey to really feel luxurious. Our images function lovely fashions, and once you hover over a product, you may see a video highlighting how the hair strikes. On prime of that, our hair is packaged in a bonnet. Ghana Textiles, the nation’s oldest textile firm, made the bonnet cloth.”

Along with launching a magnificence model, you are becoming a member of the solid of Actual Housewives of Beverly Hills this season. Will we see some behind-the-scenes footage of your journey with Eve by Boz on the present?

“Since I am new, I’ve to determine myself first. Nearly all of this season will give attention to attending to know me personally. I am fairly open about my life on social media, however I noticed whereas filming that I do not discuss a lot about my present day-to-day. Folks know my profession and previous however do not know me as a girl. So, I spent this season carving out house for this model of myself. You may catch sprinkles of my transition into entrepreneurship, although.”

What influence do you hope Eve by Boz makes on the business?

“I did not take a greenback from anybody to construct this model. I put my cash into this enterprise and each little bit of inventory I received from the businesses I’ve labored at as a result of I imagine in Eve by Boz. So, sure, I need this enterprise to achieve success, however greater than that, I need folks to acknowledge our purchasing energy issues. I’ll present the world that it is potential to construct an empire with Black ladies on the heart.”