Kazmaleje Launches Eye-Catching Hair Tools In Over 250 Target Doors

When Target revealed in February it brought in 40 beauty brands, Kazmaleje, which is pronounced “cosmology,” was one of them. The vibrant hair tools brand has launched its KurlsPlus Paddle Comb ($22.49), KurlsPlus Hair Comb ($18.99) and KurlsPlus Pick ($13.39) at over 250 Target doors and online.

“[Target] has done a lot to champion diverse brands and make sure that we saw ourselves on shelves,” says co-founder LaToya Stirrup. “It’s a great opportunity to reach new people who may not see us because we’re an emerging brand.”

Like countless beauty brands, Kazmaleje was created out of personal needs. After going natural in 2008 and figuring out the conditioners and styling products that were best for their curls, Stirrup and her sisters LaTasha and LaTrice still experienced significant breakage during the detangling process. “I had a lot of hair coming out, and I kept thinking, ‘How many more times can I detangle my hair before I have none left?'” recalls Stirrup. There were a ton of great curly haircare products on the market, but her wash day still felt tedious. She says, “It struck me, what if the hair tools are the missing link?”

In 2015, Stirrup enlisted a friend to sketch a two-dimensional rendering of a hair tool design she had in mind. She used a 3D printer to produce a prototype from the 2D rendering and performed a split-test on her hair to compare a wide-tooth comb with what would eventually become Kazmaleje’s Paddle Comb. Of the Paddle Comb, she says, “The results were amazing. My hair was detangled, and it was a fraction of the hair that came out with using our prototype.”

LaToya Stirrup, middle, pictured with her sisters LaTasha and LaTrice. The trio launched hair tools brand Kazmaleje in 2019. Lexey Swall

In 2018, Kazmaleje initiated a crowdfunding campaign on iFundWomen to assess the market for its hair tools and secure pre-orders. It raised over $30,000, and the Stirrup sisters built upon that amount with $55,ooo of their own money to start the brand. In 2019, they sent out pre-orders.

In 2020, Kazmaleje launched on HSN as part of programming tied to the network’s The Big Find competition. In 2021, it picked up a partnership with Urban Outfitters. Today, the brand’s wholesale business is outpacing its direct-to-consumer business. Specifically, wholesale is responsible for 60% of sales. Stirrup hopes to expand Kazmaleje’s retail distribution—the aim this year is to secure two more large brick-and-mortar accounts and explore international markets—while maintaining a healthy DTC enterprise.

On its website, Kazmalaje offers its three hair tools in three colors: cobalt, graphite and rose. Graphite was added as an option for male customers often using the brand’s hair tools to groom their beards. “One thing that works really well for us is shelf presence because we look so different and our colors are so different. So, when you see us, we stand out amongst the other items,” says Stirrup. “We tend to perform really, really well in retail for that reason because you can pick it up, you can see it, you can touch it, and you immediately notice the difference.”

Kazmaleje’s bestselling Paddle Comb can appear a bit intimidating for curly hair customers who generally stay away from tools with too many teeth for fear they will snag and pull their hair. However, the Paddle Comb is constructed to do the opposite. Stirrup explains its teeth are shaped similar to fingers to mimic gentle, but time-consuming finger-detangling methods.

She says, “The teeth are staggered, both in how they’re placed on the paddle as well as vertically so you are getting different sort of depths of combing while you’re going through your hair…The hair is able to kind of glide through the tools without any additional friction because curly hair is weakest where it bends, so anything that disrupts the comb through is what pops the hair.”

It’s hard for Kazmaleje to convince customers its products are effective simply with pictures. The brand relies on videos to demonstrate the tools in action. “The more that we’re able to showcase all of the things the hair tools can do and how it can work on long really dense hair and thick curly hair, the better because it helps to move people through the purchasing decision,” says Stirrup. Kazmaleje was featured in TikTok’s small Black initiative last year, and Stirrup plans to experiment with advertising on the platform later this year.

“The more that we’re able to showcase all of the things the hair tools can do, the better because it helps to move people through the purchasing decision.”

The brand paused ads after the pandemic hit in 2020 and saw an organic increase in sales. It’s achieved 1,400% revenue growth since 2019, according to Stirrup. “People couldn’t go to the beauty supply stores, and they couldn’t go to the salons, and a lot of women transitioned and became natural during that period, so we also had a lot of questions about what to do,” she says. To respond to the questions, she introduced a blog with posts covering tips for transitioning to natural hair, protecting curls in the winter and detangling.

Last year’s iOS update threw a wrench in most brands’ ad strategies, including Kazmaleje, which is rethinking its strategies. “It makes it more difficult to see your audience and target effectively,” she says. “So, now the shift is going to zero-party marketing where you’re bringing people into your own fold, and you’re not relying on these third-party websites to be the conduit to drive sales.”

One thing hasn’t changed for Kazmaleje. As it did from the beginning, it’s interested in producing tools that transform wash-day pain points into moments of self-care. “We want to develop new products that can truly be used to turn what you may hate about the experience into something that becomes something you love or, at the least, isn’t something you avoid or run away from,” she says. “That’s our sweet spot.”