This Black-Women-Owned Hair Brand Is An Instant Add-To-Cart

Don't be fooled by the playful, 90's hip-hop-centric product names — The Doux is serious when it comes to hair care. We've said it once, and we'll say it again: This Black-women-owned, award-winning beauty brand provides the masses with luxe coily-friendly hair essentials on the daily at mystifyingly affordable prices. I was lucky enough to attend a lovely virtual presentation by CEO and founder Maya Smith and got all the deets on what makes the brand tick. Prepare for some thoughtful product recs, customer reviews, and new launches, and stock up on a few of Smith's signature “SUCKA FREE” formulas without even opening a single new tab, below.

In short, The Doux is a Black-woman-owned hair care brand featuring "products backed by evidence," meaning Smith pours her years of professional cosmetology experience into her inventory. You can find the brand's tried and true classics at Target, but the whole shebang (handy tools, new drops, etc.) can be found on The Doux's site.

I witnessed this extensive knowledge firsthand as she waxed poetic in her rectangular Zoom box about the science behind her new line, Bee Girl, which uses electronically-charged “cationic” honey as its key ingredient. "I wanted something that was more hydrating to the hair," Smith says. "And the science behind cationic honey is something that I started to study. I wanted a naturally-derived humectant which is made from pure honey that's given a positive charge. [The current] takes the stickiness out of the honey, but we are still able to take advantage of its moisturizing properties."

Needless to say, in Smith's hair care game we trust. And we respect the dedication to keeping prices low. "It's really important to me that our girl is able to access the products that we have," Smith mentions. "I worked really hard to make sure the prices were accessible...most of our time developing went into finding ingredients and packaging that were sustainable, made sense, and that actually did improve the performance of the product. There's nothing in our products that doesn't need to be there.”

Meet five of the brand's hall-o-famers: MOUSSE DEF Texture Foam, Big POPPA Define Curl Gel, Twist Curl Cream, One Love Co-Wash All-In-One Shampoo Deep Conditioner Treatment, and a Boombox Shampoo & Conditioner bundle. Many of The Doux's products are multi-faceted and cater to all curls, from 2B waves to 4C 'fros. So whether you like a tight, coily twist out or prefer to stretch out your spirals to the heavens, The Doux's got you covered.

The famous MOUSSE DEF Texture Foam, for example, can define curls or create the perfect sleek ponytail thanks to its natural humectants and anti-humidity silk protein ingredients. Meanwhile, per the site's description, the much-loved C.R.E.A.M. Twist Curl Cream "[keeps] curls alive" day by day minus any shrinkage (but with a whole lot of moisture balance). We can't ignore the extravagantly named, all-encompassing gift that is the ONE LOVE Co-Wash All-In-One Shampoo Deep Conditioner Treatment — let's just say it's your wash day in a bottle. Pop it into your cart and enjoy gentle cleanses, easily detangling, zero build-up, and effortless styling.

Word on the street is The Doux's formulas do the trick. With 4.9 out of 5 stars and 36 reviews, the bundled-up Boombox is a worthy buy. A huge selling point? According to Target reviewer Kouture Koomie this combo "[keeps her] natural hair routine simple" and is "literally all you need." (The Boombox includes SUCKA FREE Moisturizing Shampoo, FRESH RINSE Moisturizing Conditioner, MOUSSE DEF Texture Foam, and the D-TAIL Smoothing Comb.) As for the Define Curl Gel and its 4 out of 5-star rating and 76 reviews, we think the proof is, per Target Reviewer KMama, in the "curl popping" results. Target customer Ashley CB also approves: "Curl type: poppin'. Porosity: high. Absolutely love this for my Wash and Sets (Go’s)."