TURNING DOWN THE HEAT

Doaa Gawish, Founder of The Hair Addict, has built a thriving community as well as a successful business. As she expands her products across the GCC, she's also educating consumers on how to love and embrace their natural and curly hair.

- LAYAN ABO SHKIER

Egyptian engineer Doaa Gawish has always had naturally thick, vibrant, curly hair, but before founding her “The Hair Addict” community six years ago, she spent much of her time and money on hiding it. “I planned my entire week around my trips to the hairdresser. We did not think much about the label that was put on us. We did not think much about fighting it,” she remembers, speaking on behalf of the thousands of women in the community that used to do the same. “You just had to do something about your hair. You had to iron it.”

Today, The Hair Addict is a thriving small business selling products for all types of natural hair that focus on embracing and nourishing curly and textured hair rather than heating and straightening it. Having been totally self-funded so far, it has two branches in Egypt and the U.A.E., 24 employees, and an online community on Facebook and Instagram connecting to over 570,000 people.