Southern Charm: These Reality TV Sisters Are Taking The Drama Out Of Natural Hair Care

SBBG: When we think of natural hair care, we often think of all-day wash days and even longer drying times. How does this address that process?
IONE: The whole four-step system really works together to shorten that time and make the hair more manageable. Everyone says that it shortens their wash and styling time in half. [With] the conditioner, your hair combs out so easily. It just helps the comb-out process in doing your hair. People tell us ‘I can’t comb out my hair, but when I use the conditioner, it combs out so easily’. And, the Therapy Heat Protectant really seals the hair and just helps it to blow out easier.

SBBG: What is your favorite product from the line?
IONE: Our conditioner is a favorite. It’s so moisturizing. All of them are really great, to be honest. But, a lot of our customers, will just order the conditioner.

SBBG: Is your own hair natural?
ELLEN: We have been both natural for twenty years. Meaning no relaxers, no texturizers. None of that!

SBBG: How did your mom influence your love for natural hair?
IONE: Our mother was always into the natural hair craze before I guess it was even a trend. Growing up, she wouldn’t allow us to get relaxers back then which was kind of unheard of because we had really thick hair and we were cheerleaders and were very active. My father’s hobby and my grandfather’s hobby were farming, so [she] would always use natural ingredients to put in our hair — like olive oils, mayonnaise, avocado, eggs. Just different concoctions out of my dad’s garden and out of the kitchen to moisturize and help our hair to grow and to stay healthy.

SBBG: What do you say to those who question naturalistas that straighten, blow out their hair?
SBBG: You can be natural and still put heat on your hair, still want a little color every once in a while, and still wear weaves. We want our products to appeal to all of [those women]. We really strive to make premium products, but we want to make sure that those natural girls that like to do a little bit of direct heat every once in a while we want to make sure that we provide them with a protectant while doing so.

SBBG: We’re hearing more and more about Black women’s products being the most toxic. Where does your hair care line fit in?
IONE: We’re 100% vegan. We have no sulfates, no parabens, no artificial colors, no petroleums.

ELLEN: We have natural products, we believe in natural ingredients. That’s what our smoothing system is: it’s a natural product. Our cleansing agent is coconut-derived. We covered all of the bases on it and we have found that it works amazing on all different types of hair.

You’ve been building buzz on this blow-out system and expanding with an Edge Tamer and Scalp & Skin Antiseptic. You even had your products on Good Morning America! What should we look forward to next?
ELLEN: We’re coming out with a curly hair line in the next month. [It will include a] curl pudding, leave-in conditioner, and a styling foam. ‘We worked really hard to get the formula right for that, so we’re really excited.

You can find Rucker Roots online and in stores in select states, including Los Angeles, Michigan and North Carolina. For more information and locations, visit ruckerroots.com.

This article originally appeared in Hype Hair.