Taraji P. Henson comes by her knowledge and love of hair honestly. “My mother was really good with hair,” she tells ESSENCE. “She used to braid my hair, she used to cut it, that’s how I grew up.”
But once the actress moved to Los Angeles to kickstart her acting career, her hair health took a hit, and the constant pressures to wear her hair in straight weaves compromised her natural texture.
“So I just cut it off,” she says. “I wanted all of my head to have the same curl pattern. I didn’t want the roots to be curly, and fried and straight at the end. Plus, that was around the time that the lace front wig was made available to everybody, and became affordable. So I was able to put my hair away and not have to worry.”
It was while Henson’s hair was tucked away that she began to realize the importance of scalp health.
“What happens when your hair is healthy? It grows,” she says. “There’s no magical serum that will grow your hair overnight. Instead, the education is in taking care of your scalp.”
So when conceptualizing TPH By Taraji, her now one-year-old haircare brand, there was one thing at the front of mind: scalp health. Launching with an initial 17 products, the line is now expanding with four more SKUs continuing to focus on hydration and now, styling.
The new Intense Moisture + Care product line, available at Target, both in stores and online, as well as on the TPH By Taraji website includes: Mask On, a moisturizing conditioning mask, Curls 4 Days, an intense moisture rich curl creme, Twist & Set, a moisture-rich twisting cream, and Keep Shining. a lightweight dry oil mist, ranging from $13 to $18.
“I used to hear women say, ‘Girl my hair is in a weave, I don’t have to anything to it,'” Henson says. “But that’s not true. You have to do even more work to take care of your hair while it’s in the install, and that’s why I’ll continue to grow and expand TPH By Taraji. It’s filling the voids.”