Taking care of the hair on your head is something sacred. It’s one of the first things that get noticed and you want it there for as long as possible, so it’s important to treat it with care. This is something that Yve-Car Momperousse, creator of Kreyòl Essence, believes in whole-heartedly, which is why she’s bringing it to the rest of the world.
Kreyòl Essence is a naturally and ethically made beauty products company. Using indigenous ingredients from Caribbean farms, their eco-friendly formulations are made from pure and natural ingredients with a special focus on dry hair and skin. Yve-Car got the company where it is today, stemming from a hair catastrophe she suffered from excessive heat used to straighten her hair.
Miracle Worker
“She always used to wear her hair in its natural state, but she straightened her hair for an event and because of the excessive heat, she experienced some hair loss,” Stephane Jeanbaptiste, co-owner of Kreyòl Essence, said. “Her mother helped her regrow her hair using Haitian Black Castor Oil.”
Hatian Black Castor Oil is at the heart of Kreyòl Essence’s product line. This marvel oil is proven to help those with dry hair, dry skin, and textured hair like no other beauty oil. Extracted by hand, Kreyòl Essence provides the only 100 percent natural and luxury Haitian Black Castor Oil on the mainstream market.
“Haitian Black Castor Oil is something that is so ingrained in the culture, we had to find it, but we couldn’t in the U.S.,” Jeanbaptiste said. “Yve-Car’s mom sent us a bottle wrapped up in a Haitian rum bottle. Jokingly, she said to her mom to import the stuff and start a business with it. We were both pretty busy at the time, but we saw the opportunity to help stimulate the economy in Haiti and help farmers get back into business.”
Bringing Sustainable Jobs to Haitian Farmers
Haitian Black Castor Oil is traditionally done by women, and Yve-Car and Jeanbaptiste saw this business opportunity as a way to give women permanent work. It’s a great way to promote community empowerment and engagement, but it’s also a great way to create work and give back to the community in Haiti.
The castor oil is the signature ingredient sourced from Haiti, but Kreyòl Essence also sources other products from the country. The company personally works with local farmers to source their ingredients, which creates a wonderful opportunity to bring in other botanical products into their already extensive line.
Women Empowerment
Women are the backbone of Haiti, but they are also victims of gender-based violence and extreme poverty due to high unemployment. Kreyòl Essence wants to bring more than hope to these women. Through slow and consistent growth, the company will create economic opportunities for more women. To date, the company has provided over half a million dollars in income for over 300 farmers and women in Haiti.
“We decided to take a business approach of a social enterprise to focus more on sustainability as opposed to job creation,” Jeanbaptiste said. “We were looking and surveyed a lot of staff in Haiti, and they just want sustainable work. We often found that non-profit organizations working there are just a temporary fix. The advice we got from the staff is if we can establish something for every day, women and farmers can send their kids to school and help to support that supply chain.”
Yve-Car, was recently named the Top Conscious Leader in 2018 by Conscious Media Company and was recognized by Sephora as a Next Generation Beauty Industry Leader.
Natural With A Purpose
Kreyòl Essence has captured the lush plant life of Haiti with its gorgeous collection of natural luxuries for hair, face, and body care. Their most popular product is the Original Haitian Black Castor Oil, which can be used for the skin, eyebrows, eyelashes, hair, and any DIY regimens. All Kreyòl Essence hair, skin, and body products are infused with a proprietary blend of premium black castor oil. To view their product line, visit kreyolessence.com.