I am the founder and CEO of IntrinsiCurly Me, a proudly South African professional haircare brand created specifically for wavy, curly and coily hair. I started it in 2017 and it now competes against multinationals and is expanding internationally.

My role has never fitted neatly into one box. I move between strategy, product development, marketing, sales, education, partnerships and international expansion. That suits me. I see connections quickly, I ask a lot of questions, and I work things out as I go.

What matters most to me is building something with substance. Our products do what they promise. I will only put my name behind a product that delivers real results. I want our customers to feel understood. I want the people who work with me to grow because they were part of this business.

IntrinsiCurly Me was built around something much deeper than hair. Curly hair is intrinsically part of who you are. Spend years suppressing it, straightening it or wishing it were something else, and you are suppressing a part of yourself. Learn to understand it, work with it and love it, and something shifts. It is confidence. It is self-acceptance. It is power.

That belief applies to curls, but it also shapes how I lead. People do not do their best work when they are made to feel smaller, less capable or afraid to get things wrong.

Leadership, for me, is not about having all the answers. It is about taking responsibility, creating direction and helping people see what they are capable of. It is about growing people.

I see my team as family — different people, different strengths, all moving towards a shared vision. My job is not simply to get the work done. It is to build people who become more confident, more capable, and more able to lead in their own right.

At 46, with no industry experience, I turned a vision into a brand and a movement. IntrinsiCurly Me has helped thousands of women discover the power of loving their curls — and themselves.

My vision for IntrinsiCurly Me is to become the definitive curl-care brand — a complete, trusted resource where no customer ever needs to look elsewhere. That means a full product range that solves every concern in the wavy, curly and coily space, and an education offering that trains stylists at every stage — from students just entering the industry to experienced professionals who want to work confidently with natural hair.

Internationally, I want IntrinsiCurly Me to be the name people reach for — a proudly South African brand that puts this country on the map as the home of salon-professional curl expertise. The goal is for stylists from around the world to come here to learn, the same way they currently look to other countries for that standard of education. I want us to set that standard.

For South Africa, my vision goes beyond jobs. I want to build a company where people grow — professionally and personally — and where the work they do genuinely matters. I want us to prove that a locally made, locally led brand can compete with multinationals on quality and efficacy, and win.
But the change I care most about runs deeper than haircare. When mothers and grandmothers embrace their natural hair, that acceptance flows down to their children. When we teach children that they are enough exactly as they are, something fundamental shifts. That belief doesn’t stay in the mirror — it follows them into the classroom, the boardroom and every space where they need to show up fully.

My vision for South Africa is a nation that feels enough. Not just about hair — about everything. People who feel enough make different choices. They leave situations that diminish them. They pursue opportunities they would otherwise have talked themselves out of. They show up fully, and they bring others with them.
That is what I want IntrinsiCurly Me to contribute to — one customer, one stylist, one child at a time. If we can change how people see themselves, we change how they show up. And if enough South Africans show up fully, we change what becomes possible for this country.

I’ve taken IntrinsiCurly Me onto the international stage, going up against huge brands.

We’ve exhibited at international shows. We’ve put samples into the hands of professional stylists and the buyers of major retail companies. The feedback has been incredible.

The registration process meant our formulations had to go through stringent international testing. That was frightening. You send your products off to be examined against standards set for the biggest companies in the world, and you wait. They all passed.

We’re now in advanced discussions with an international retailer with over 900 stores.

None of it happened because I felt ready. I don’t wait until I’m confident to take the step. I take it in spite of the fear.

Recreational activities

Reading, self-development, cooking, learning about AI, travelling, beach walks and gentle hiking.