Kinky, Curly Hair Deserves Luxurious Care—This Model Is Helping Make Strides

As someone with extremely textured hair, I've always had to choose function over fashion when it comes to the haircare and styling products I use. As appreciative as I am for how well my curls respond to formulas designed with only natural textures in mind, I tend to tuck them away under the sink for easy access instead of displaying them proudly with the other beauty products I love to see and use on my vanity. When I step into my bathroom, I want to feel as if every product on the shelf is a true reflection of the person that will benefit from the experience of using them.

With the success of celebrity brands like Beyonce's Cécred in March of this year and Pattern Beauty by Tracee Ellis Ross in 2019, I think we're definitely heading in the right direction for elevated haircare for kinks and curls. Two months ago, we saw the launch of a textured-haircare brand that's bound to shake things up a bit: Lobie. Founded by Surinamese Dutch model and businesswoman Anastasia Hing MacKay, the brand intends to fill the gap between function and fashion for those of us with curly hair. With its first release, the Peptide Leave-In Mask, the products we'll be seeing from the brand will be pleasing to the eye with clean formulas that support the health of textured tresses.

Below, Hing MacKay tells us about her experience as a curly girl, what inspired the creation of Lobie, and the importance of elevated textured haircare.

Elevating Textured Haircare With Lobie's Anastasia Hing MacKay

What is Lobie, and why did you feel inspired to launch a haircare brand dedicated to textured strands?

The name of the brand—Lobie—means "love" in Surinamese. Both of my parents are from Suriname, but I'm Dutch, born and raised. Even though it's a Surinamese word, the Dutch also use it. Growing up, hair was always a big part of my family and culture, and it brought me to New York City 13 years ago when I booked my first modeling job for a campaign with Dr. Miracle's.

It opened many doors for me, leading me to get signed to major modeling agencies and working with beauty brands across the hair and beauty space. But with the modeling jobs came a lot of damage from coloring, heat, and chemical relaxers, so my hair has been through it! When COVID happened, I finally took the time to rejuvenate my hair because I wasn't working, and I wanted to get my hair back to its healthiest state. I went shopping to do it and noticed how oversaturated the textured-hair industry [is] with products.

For me, what it really boils down to was that the aesthetically pleasing brands I resonate with are never tailored to textured hair and don't work for me. The ones that do don't always fit my shelfie. Lobie's mission is to "premiumize" and elevate the textured-hair space by merging luxury and texture-specific products together. We launched two months ago with the Peptide Leave-In Mask. I just had a baby five months ago, so this is kind of my second baby!

What was your relationship like with your hair growing up? Did you know how to care for it as a child, or was it something you learned later on?

Growing up, I didn't know how to treat my hair because it was always relaxed by my mom and aunties. I really started to embrace my curl pattern later on in my early 20s. I was very nervous to style it and always wore my curls air-dried but started to get compliments from friends who liked my hair in its natural state. I was still struggling with it when I came to New York, and every modeling job wanted my hair straight in the beginning.

It also helped to see other girls wearing their hair natural! When YouTube came, all of a sudden, there were hair tutorials by people who were wearing their curls, and there were a lot of textured-hair brands that were being released around the same time. I felt inspired to try to nourish and style my hair with the help of tutorials by OG influencers.

How did you decide how you wanted to market Lobie as an elevated textured-haircare brand?

My style is very minimalistic, simple, and clean, and I wanted to bring that into the packaging. The textured-haircare space can feel and look very busy, and I wasn't seeing the same clean, premium aesthetics I liked from other brands applied to textured products. I'm not inventing something new. I'm just addressing something that's missing in the natural-hair space.

I'm getting a lot of questions about why I only started with one product. The beauty industry is already so overwhelmed with products! I wanted to build a brand that offered something new. There's no Peptide Leave-In Mask, so I wanted to release it and focus on building the brand and its community. Peptide, as an ingredient, is very misunderstood and new, especially in the textured-hair space.

Why is having aesthetically pleasing, luxurious products designed specifically for textured hair important?

The "luxurious" brands that are out there don't work for [textured hair], so I'm always wondering, Why is there not something for us? I want to go in the shower and feel good about my hair, be proud of the products I've bought, and know that they'll work. I asked myself "Why not?" and wanted to create something us girlies can have on our shelves to have that experience with a product that actually works and isn't just there.

The product does work for all hair types, but I really wanted to develop a product that works for us. For our first product, I worked with a lab in California, sat with them every week for two years, and focused on finding the high-performing ingredients for clean formulas that are free from all the nasties. It was really fun to sit down with people who understand hair and science so we could put out heart and soul into something that works for textured hair.

Can you tell me more about Lobie's commitment to clean formulas?

It goes back to what I find important. Lobie is very personal to me, so I'll always do my best to make sure our products use clean ingredients in their formulas and the products are sustainably made. All of our packaging is also made of pure sugarcane, which is biodegradable. Over the past two years, I've working closely with our scientists and been vocal about what needs to happen in order to handpick the best safe ingredients. When I'm behind the brand, I want to make sure the ingredients are forever clean.

You told me about your own childhood, but has the experience of becoming a mother five months ago also contributed to your perception of curly hair?

It's a different time than when I grew up in, and I would never want her to feel forced to relax her curls. I've just started to see her texture coming in, and I've been told that, by six months, her hair may change again. Right now, her hair is straight, but I'm already learning so much about baby curls and how to treat them. You don't have to change the texture of your hair to be accepted, and I always want to be the example of that. I want her to see her mom with different styles and pick up from what I do.

What is next for Lobie now that we've been introduced to the brand's first product?

I'm really focusing on one product, brand awareness, and community, but I'm also planning on launching a hydration range. Someone asked me if I see Lobie being the only elevated textured-haircare brand, and I said no. … How great would it be to see old and new brands in the textured-hair space marketed with a luxury look and feel? The response has been so good! It's been overwhelming because I didn't know what to expect beyond going into it with an "I'm behind it" energy.

We also spent a lot of time on the Peptide Leave-In Mask's fragrance! Scent is a very personal thing, but we worked with a fragrance brand in Florida to help us decide on one. When I presented what I wanted, they told me my goal was very niche and that data showed people were after trendy scents. But I kept pushing for an elevated scent that matched my vision! I was a little nervous about what the response would be, but I'm glad I stuck with what I liked.

Lastly, I wanted to ask you what you do to keep your curls looking so full, bouncy, and shiny! Are there any special steps you taking to preserve your texture?

Honestly, it's simplicity. I don't use much. Even right now, I only have my mask in there with a little serum that defines my curls. Make sure you don't use too many products, keep your hair clean, don't forget to get your trims, and use the Lobie mask.

Shop Additional Elevated Haircare We Love

1. Cécred

2. Pattern Beauty

3. Adwoa Beauty