The Hair Lab

This week, Winnie Awa is joined by Dr Amy McMichael, Professor in the Department of Dermatology at Wake Forest School of Medicine in North Carolina.  Dr Amy McMichale is a bonafide medical leader, having held significant roles such as the President of Skin of Color Society, Vice President of the Women's Dermatology Society and Treasurer of the North American Alopecia Research Society. In this episode, they explore Dr Amy's her clinical and research interest areas, de-mystifying hair and scalp disorders as related to the textured hair consumer.For more information:W: carra.co & carra.co/labs IG: @heycarrahttp://thetexturegap.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-mcmichael-365b1036

This week, Winnie Awa is joined by Karlee Oz, co-founder of Hello Klean, a line of multi-functional shower essentials offering innovative solutions to combat hard water. Karlee is a self-professed shower addict and frequent traveller, having worked all over the world from China to UAE to NYC.  In this episode, they dive into why hard water is wreaking hard water on our skin and hair and how Karlee's travel experiences led her to creating Hello Klean, a first-of-its-kind shower care brand. For more information:W: carra.co & carra.co/labs IG: @heycarraW: helloklean.comIG: @helloklean

This week takes a slightly different format - Winnie Awa is joined by Soraya Hausl, her Co-founder & Chief Data Scientist at Carra.  Soraya has over 10 years experience of building machine learning, data and personalisation platforms, focusing on ranking and recommender systems. In this episode, they dive into the world of AI, machine learning, natural language processing and most importantly what these technologies have got to do with the Textured Hair category.For more information:W: carra.co & carra.co/labs IG: @heycarrahttp://thetexturegap.com/LinkedIN - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sorayahausl?originalSubdomain=nl

This week, Winnie Awa is joined by Joëlle Andely, co-founder of Telika Beauty.  Having held several brand management roles at Proctor & Gamble, Coty, L'Occitane and L'Oreal, Joëlle is a beauty junkie, obsessed with building beauty brands and translating consumer insight  into new concepts, especially in the emerging markets and multicultural beauty space. In this episode, they explore Joëlle's ambitions of building the Sephora of Africa, starting with her Beauty Concept Store in Brazzaville, Congo.For more information:W: carra.co & carra.co/labs IG: @heycarrahttp://thetexturegap.com/LinkedIN - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jo%C3%ABlle-andely-a8363551/

This week, Winnie Awa is joined by Dr Crystal Porter, Ph.D, a hair scientist and founder of Mane Insights, a company that studies the hair and scalp of people of African descent. As a former cosmetic scientist at Unilever and L'Oreal, Dr Porter was known for her research into the biophysical characteristics of air in pigmented populations. She has also contributed deeply to the scientific community, authoring scientific papers, book chapters and delivering presentations on textured hair. In this episode, they discuss the limitations around hair testing as part of the new product development process and how it impacts people with textured hair. For more information:W: carra.co & carra.co/labs IG: @heycarraW - https://www.maneinsights.com/home/LinkedIN - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hairscientistdrcrystal

This week, Winnie Awa is joined by Iain Sallis, a renowned UK Trichologist and Founder of Hair Medic UK specialising in personalised hair and scalp solutions. Iain is the co-founder of The International Trichology Congress, director of the College ofTrichological Science and current chair of the Trichology ProfessionalDevelopment programme.In this episode, they discuss the state of trichology today and how it must evolve to better meet the needs of all consumers. For more information:TheTextureGap.comW: carra.co & carra.co/labs IG: @heycarraW - https://hairmedic.co.uk/IG: @hairmedic_uk

This week, Winnie Awa is joined by Arnita Wofford, Global Marketing & Technical Director at Univar Solutions, a global distributor for specialty ingredients and innovative raw materials. With over 18 years in the beauty industry, Arnita has successfully launched new technologies, managed several brands and integrated marketing approaches in the face of the new media landscape. Her belief is that the beauty industry has a responsibility to create positive change.  In this episode, they discuss future trends in hair care through the lens of the consumer and climate. For more information:TheTextureGap.comW: carra.co & carra.co/labs IG: @heycarraW - https://www.univarsolutions.co.uk/LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/arnita-wofford/?originalSubdomain=fr

This week, Winnie Awa is joined by Mark Blake, internationally recognised Harley Street Trichologist and founder of Trichology Tablets, a nutraceutical supplement for healthy haircare. With over 40 years experience in his personal practice and as a global haircare ambassador for Nioxin, L’Oreal, Wella and Dyson, Mark has looked after over 250,000 heads of hair - meaning he instinctively knows how hair should look and feel. In this episode, they discuss holistic hair care, why our diet is crucial for healthy hair care and the right way to supplement our diets for our best hair yet. For more information:W: carra.co & carra.co/labs IG: @heycarraW - markblake.co.ukIG - @markblakehair 

This week, Winnie Awa is joined by Dr Sharon Belmo, UK-trained consultant dermatologist with specialist interests in skin of colour and hair loss. Dr Belmo is the co-founder and clinical lead of the Centre of Evidence Based Dermatology Skin of Colour Resource. A passionate advocate for diversity in medicine, Dr Belmo wrote  first skin of colour syllabus for UK dermatology specialists, setting a precedence for future dermatologists’ training on darker skin tones.  In this episode, they discuss inclusivity in dermatology, the truth about hair loss (especially for black women) and the latest advancements in managing hair loss and scalp disorders. For more information:W: carra.co & carra.co/labs IG: @heycarraW - drsharonbelmo.comIG - @drsharonbelmo

This week, Winnie Awa is joined by one of fashion's most sought after hair stylist: Cyndia Harvey, International Hair Engineer and Founder of THOM, an award-winning scalp care brand.  Cyndia  is one of the most exciting talents of her generation, renowned for her bold creations and diverse skillset. Her vision for inclusive beauty has garnered the attention of world-famous names, including FKA Twigs, Naomi Campbell, Kendrick Lamar, and Frank Ocean. In this episode, they discuss how Cyndia's background shaped her career, why it is inconceivable to create a modern brand today without true inclusivity and her mission of creating well thought out products that celebrate texture-rich hair.For more information:W: carra.co & carra.co/labs IG: @heycarraW - thishairofmine.worldIG - @thishairofmine