Issa Rae and Hannah Diop's brand Sienna Naturals has been making clean, natural hair care products since 2012. The brand's products are for all hair types, but are specifically formulated with textured hair in mind.

Diop, Rae's sister-in-law, says the inspiration for Siena Naturals comes from her own upbringing. She grew up in a family that favored health-conscious, natural products, but struggled to find items that met her own ingredient standards and fit her curl pattern. She was not alone. [Almost everyone in the world has textured hair. And by doing so, we can create something new and better.”

Fewer shoppers face the same hair care dilemma that Diop experienced in her childhood; on July 16, Sienna Naturals officially became available for online shopping at Sephora.

Being on Sephora's (virtual) shelves is a bucket list moment and legitimization for any beauty brand. In fact, Diop and Rye say they achieved this milestone years ago with their vegan shampoos, oils, and hair masks.

“I was scrolling through my phone the other day and found a text message between myself and Issa from a screenshot I took in 2018, in which I was like, ‘We're taking this to Sephora,’ and she was like, ‘Let's go,’” Diop says.

Reach is not everything. Siena Naturals was previously selected as Sephora's Accelerate Brand Incubator. Diop explains, “Sephora has a track record of supporting brands with female founders from an early stage and growing them into global, iconic brands.”

“In that respect, Sephora operates really differently than many other retailers, and that's their secret sauce.”

The co-founders of Siena Naturals hope that the retailer's nationwide expansion will fill shoppers' carts and educate more shoppers about natural hair care. Rae, in particular, doesn't want to sugarcoat hair care.

“I think there's a place, especially in the marketing world, where we kind of sugarcoat the fact that it's hard to take care of your hair. For me, my actual journey absolutely reflected that,” she says. For example, when she had to cut all of her hair and start all over again. By testing her brand's products, Rae was able to “get back to the literal roots of my hair.”

Now that Sienna Naturals is on the shelves of major retailers, “We want to start people on their journey with hair care and awareness of what they put on their hair,” says Lai. Says Rae, “We want to be at the start of people's journey by taking care of their hair and being aware of what they put on their hair.”

Sienna Naturals' 11 SKUS in Sephora include traditional hair products like shampoo and conditioner, plus targeted treatments like anti-frizz curl elixir, scalp oil, and split end treatment. Each is vigorously tested and researched. Not only do we want to create products that are safe for your hair, scalp, skin, and body - because, of course, everything you put on your hair goes into your body - but we also want to make products that are safe for your hair, your scalp, your skin, and your body.”

They match the texture of your hair so well that you may feel as if you have created the product yourself. Take a look at more of the brand's clean, curl-friendly products currently available at Sephora.