Rihanna’s Fenty Hair Is Putting Bond Builders On The Map For Textured Tresses

Rihanna has built her name on being a game-changer. Especially when it comes to her $3B Fenty empire. Each launch has been lauded for its inclusivity, affordability and accessibility. Fenty Beauty not only marketed 40-something (now 50) shades to women of all hues, but made stores carry them IN-store while showcasing all of our diverse beauty in her marketing.

[SEE ALSO: Rihanna Isn’t The Only One Rocking Half-Done Hairstyles]

Fenty Skin celebrated skincare for all genders and ages, as well. Even Savage X Fenty served up fashion for all sizes. And, now Fenty Hair is opening up the market on how we approach haircare, especially for women of color. 

Of course, the nine-product launch is reflective of Rihanna’s own hair journey — and her need to repair hair with must-have gems to cleanse and condition our tresses after a braid take down, deep condition our under-there hair, lay our edges, and prevent heat damage while achieving a sleek ‘do. 

The lineup is vegan, sulfate-free, silicone-free, and DEA-free. gluten-free, and cruelty-free. It’s also not a simple white-labeled product with her face on it. Rihanna created Replenicore-5, a proprietary blend of amino acids, proteins and antioxidants, as part of her mission to “to repair in every step.”

And that’s where The Comeback Kid Instant Damage Repair Treatment Bond Builder shines as the launch’s true star. Before Fenty Hair, the only Black-owned brand that offered a true bond builder was NU Standard. While we swear by the professional bond-building system, it is only available to licensed hairstylists. And before them, there were no bond building systems that actually worked on all hair textures (meaning more than just straight). That meant many of us never even thought of adding bond builders to our hair regimen. 

And bond-building treatments are game changes in their own right for stressed curls and coils. We can find article after article on how our textured tresses tend to be dry, frizzy and thirsty for moisture. But we rarely talk about how bond builders are scientifically formulated to literally fill in the gaps in our heat- or chemical-damaged tresses with disulfide bonds. These bonds mend from the inside out to help smooth, strengthen and seal. 

Now Fenty Hair is filling a gap in the market as TikTok and YouTube University faves go wild over this hair treatment. Hair aficionados who are styling on a budget can buy professional-grade haircare at a fraction of the cost. They are also being introduced to alternative treatments to help repair and restore their hair. 

Much like with Fenty Beauty, this launch is likely to create a new “Fenty Effect,” with other brands moving to add bond builders in their offerings marketed to more diverse customers. While we’re not looking forward to the copycats, we are excited that hair treatments that were once not considered, let alone created, for kinks and curls are now becoming staples in our haircare regimens.

The Fenty Hair line retails from $18-$36 and is available online.