Bouncing around from The Netherlands to South America to the United States since she was a kid, Aziza El Wanni and her natural curly hair have experienced a lot of changes. Some were brought on by the weather, and others were brought on by hormones.
“My mom would always help me make little potions in her kitchen, hair products and skincare products,” recalls Los Angeles-based El Wanni, whose mother is Caribbean and father is Middle Eastern. “As I got older and my hair texture changed, I went back into the kitchen and played around with more ingredients. I started making my little potions again.”
After dabbling in DIY for 15 years, El Wanni decided to bring her formulas to market in 2021 by launching haircare brand The Potion Studio. She invested $50,000 from her savings to start the brand with four haircare products: $21 Confident Crown Conditioner, $32 Monoi Mango Moisturizer, $21 Satin Silk Shampoo and $32 Rose Bomb Leave-In Conditioning Spray. A treatment product is expected to enlarge The Potion Studio’s selection later this year.
Rose Bomb Leave-In Conditioning Spray is the brand’s hero product. “It’s light, it smells really good, really works well as a deodorizer,” says El Wanni. “It’s also great for after the gym if you don’t want to wash your hair too often.”
