Business

Woman innovator: Tracee Ellis Ross 

The actress and businesswoman uses her brand to celebrate Black beauty.

Daughter of the powerhouse singer Diana Ross, Tracee Ellis Ross has made a name for herself in the acting world. She’s acted in main roles in successful series like Girlfriends and Black-ish. In 2019, she became a businesswoman when she launched her product line, Pattern Beauty. Ellis Ross has said she’s been building this brand since her days in Girlfriends

Let’s be clear: neither hair products nor curly hair-specific products are new (the term curly is being used as an umbrella term for all curly, coily and tightly textured hair). Ellis Ross’ sense of innovation is what makes her products unique. From making things in her bathroom to becoming a product expert, her perspective inspires her to create various products that work together.

Every article on this company shows that Ellis Ross has a heart for her hair and every person with curly hair like her. The brand’s website quotes Ellis Ross as saying, “I wanted to create a line of products that gave our hair the support it needed to be its true self.” Pattern Beauty is now award-winning and well-loved. 


Getting to the launch 

It took around two years for Ellis Ross to develop her brand by working with chemists. During the creation process, Ellis Ross realized that successful products would be the ones that worked on straight hair, but she’s not making products for straight hair. She pointed out how chemists have a blind spot when it comes to curly hair and the different types of textures and features that it comes with. The formulation Ellis Ross strove for was one that moisturizes and nourishes curly hair.

She ended up testing about 74 samples. Ellis Ross was clearly invested in ensuring her products delivered exactly what she wanted. The site’s filter option shows that the products are paraben-free, free of SLS/SLES, colour-safe, free of cyclic silicones, and phthalate-free (the website’s blog expands on this). Many curly-haired people try to avoid these harsh ingredients. It makes sense that Ellis Ross would develop her products without these ingredients as she actively works towards healthy, bouncy hair. 


Heat and curly hair 

Many curly-haired people are cautious about using heat on their hair, whether through a blow dryer, flat iron, curling iron or any other heat styling tool. Under heat, the natural shape of curly hair can become damaged and stop holding its form. This is known as heat damage. It can also cause split ends, make hair difficult to style, and even make it difficult to detangle.  

Ellis Ross has described her relationship with heat like this: “Like all of us, I have a relationship with heat that started as not a good one for my curl pattern, whether it was the physical pain of heat or the emotional pain of losing my curl pattern.” She had her own experience with heat damage while filming Girlfriends when a stylist used a hot comb to straighten her hair. Her curls never bounced back. Under the influence of this experience, Ellis Ross’ created the Pattern blow dryer that she released in 2023.   

When watching Ellis Ross’ video on the blow dryer, it appears she has given the product details a lot of thought. She worked for two years to help develop a product that would reshape the curly-haired community’s thoughts around heat. Heat is a tool that, when used effectively, can create many different hairstyles for curly hair, and Ellis Ross wanted to make those styles possible.  

She has made a lightweight blow dryer that anyone can use in their bathrooms or wherever they style their hair. Ellis Ross addresses problems like the blow dryer not getting hot or the attachments falling off too easily with this device.


Product additions and straight-to-stylist launch 

Since Pattern’s launch, the company has released over 50 products, including hair products and styling tools. Newer lines include a Palo Santo line, curling/styling creams, heat-protecting products and hair masks.  

Pattern has also expanded distribution to hair salons. While this brings in a different kind of customer for Ellis Ross, she still maintains a close connection with the curly hair that she has built the brand to serve. This move offers salons up to 40 per cent off on over 50 products that cater to curly hair. 


The community’s response 

One reviewer claimed that they would never use another brand after trying Pattern. Jasmine Cubillan tried Pattern’s treatment mask, the clarifying shampoo, the hydrating mist, and the hair custard. Cubillan’s Afro-Latina 3C curls (curls that are loose and have a flexible S-pattern that turn, twirl and twist into a two-step) seemed to bounce back to life after looking quite dehydrated. She was satisfied and planned to continue using Pattern.

Another reviewer on the Curl Maven website tried the leave-in conditioner, curl gel, strong hold gel, hydrating mist and the brand’s microfiber hair towel. The overall feel is that the products worked even better than expected.  

The Sephora Canada website shows how well these products are doing for other customers. Many of the products have been given four stars and up (yes, even the non-incentivized reviews are that high).  

It’s positive to see that a business made for curly-haired people by someone with curly hair is doing so well. It’s also good to see that actress-turned-CEO Tracee Ellis Ross is so active in working to innovate products that are a solution to the problems she saw within the curly-haired community. 

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