These Black Women Just Raised $2.5M To Make Hair Extensions From Plants

Black-owned fiber and material science firm Aja Labs has raised $2.5 million to commercialize its first product, hair extensions made from plant material.

The seed funding round, led by Impact America Fund, included Better Ventures, SOSV’s IndieBi, and a range of leaders across different sectors, including public health, cosmetics, business, and beauty. 

Aja Labs, co-founded by Osahon Ojeaga and Mary Moore, is an innovative company is working to build a better-for-you and better-for-the-planet product focusing on sustainability and human wellness. 

Their patent-pending hair extensions will be sold under the consumer brand Nourie and will include a function that allows nutrients to be delivered to the hair over time.

“Black women, in particular, have been subjected to some of the lowest quality materials by way of fashion and beauty products, leading to irritation, contamination, and disease,” said co-founder Ojeaga. 

“We are championing a new future in which sustainability and wellness are paramount. From both an economic and a cultural perspective, better-made hair extensions are a meaningful flagship endeavor for us.” 

Aja Labs is on an exciting new path by inviting Black women into the biomaterial revolution, where women can look and feel good without damaging the environment or compromising their health.

With the global hair extension industry worth an estimated $6 billion in 2021 – with little sign of slowing – Aja Labs couldn’t have come at a better time.