The UK's hair & self care oasis for afro girls

Aim

The Spring aims to be the source for quality, ethical hair and self-care products and practices for afro girls in the UK

What is The Spring?

An online shop launching in December, that will be selling a selection of beautifully packaged hair care products for afro and curly hair. All of our products are plant based, toxic-free and cruelty-free from brands that are aiming to be as sustainably produced and packaged as possible. Some products are also vegan and organic and the hair care companies we choose to stock, make their products within the UK.

The goal

We'd like to raise £1,250 to 

• Broaden our product range because self care is more than just hair, we'd like to expand in to ethical skin care and hygiene products as well as journals, books, homeware and more items that may facilitate your self-care routine. 
• Develop The Spring in to a platform that connects you with wellness practitioners (for your mental & physical health), certified specialists such as trichologists and listings for stylists, product brands and events. We'd start to build a directory for your health, hair and wellness needs within the UK.
• And we also want to make our website even more user-friendly!
• We'd like to build communities around the UK and create fun, collaborative, experiential events around wellness, beauty and exploring self care and other topics. So if we surpass the target, we can start planning these events.

Why?

Because we think it's important to prioritise black women's wellness from a holistic standpoint. Our hair is very important to us and we deserve quality products that won't harm our bodies, but self-care also extends to mind and body wellness and access to the right information.
We want to be more than just another online shop selling hair products. We believe it's important to have a dedicated, holistic wellbeing platform for the underrepresented black woman, delivered with quality throughout.

What makes The Spring different?

• We're aiming to be a wellness platform that caters to all aspects of black women's self-care
• Every product in our shop is from brands that are aiming to be as ethical as they can
• We champion the best black-British brands, especially in hair care 
• All of our orders are packaged beautifully, like a gift using recyclable and recycled materials.

Behind the brand

The Spring was started by Marsha Nsiah, an advocate of Afro hair care & representation. HAIRDITORIAL is where she shares her hair tips & inspiration. She is passionate about increasing the visibility of darker skinned, Black women with type 4 hair within the media because these women are still largely ignored. She believes in and supports Black women creating their own tables and new narratives.

Marsha is currently working on a photo book project called 'Afros in London'.

The Spring's story

The Spring was started as a solution to the dingy hair shops owned by Asian men, who are unknowledgeable about afro and curly hair, provide poor service and mainly stock products with toxic ingredients imported from the US.
Marsha was inspired by all the new hair product brands that were cropping up, owned by black women taking their health and beauty in to their own hands. In recent years, there's been more studies highlighting the high levels of endocrine disrupting chemicals in the products marketed towards black women. And articles showing that black women spend 6x more on hair products than anyone else and £900m annually.
So it was also inspiring to learn of some of the new black owned online hair shops, subscription boxes, few physical stores and events and festivals that have been taking place.

Marsha thought that there needs to be a permanent space, an "oasis in the city", dedicated to black women's hair and self care needs. A beautifully designed retail and social space that doubles as an event space, that is run by knowledgable black women providing the best service and access to professionals.

That is the bigger goal, along with opening more locations in different countries. For now, we are increasing awareness of The Spring, providing quality ethical products and reliable information.

How the funding will be spent

• 10% on fees
• 15% on moving products to a warehouse
• 15% on the rewards
• 20% on improving the website's front end
• 40% on more hair and self care products & accessories

Any extra funding will go towards planning a fun, free wellness event that will take place in London!

Rewards

As a thank you for your support, you can receive: 

• A "thank you" shoutout on our social accounts
• A limited edition canvas tote bag
• A chance to sponsor our launch event
• A goody box filled with ethical goodies, included in the box is:

- foundation samples
- face roller
- dried lavender bag
- journal
- scalp massager
- bamboo edges brush
- magazine
- plant seeds
- mini candle
- conditioner sample
- organic tampons

Get in touch:
Email: [email protected]
Tweet @thespringlondon
Follow @thespringlondon on Instagram

This project successfully funded on 23rd December 2019