New PHyre Black Haircare Products Great for pH-Balance
After Suffering from Postpartum Hair Loss, the Atlanta-based Entrepreneur Whips Up Her Own Haircare Products
Rising haircare guru, Tina Fobbs is a native of Washington, D.C. and reared in Richmond, VA. In 2012, Tina moved to Atlanta, GA with her husband. She and her husband own a film production studio in Decatur, GA. Around 2014, Tina started developing formulas for her own hair care products. By 2015, inquiries for her products from family and friends increased. This year pHyre Hair Co. was born. Her company provides all-natural hair products derived from a vegan based formula to hydrate and heal hair from root to end.
I’m a former publicist and my job is to get people’s brand out there. And so, I really didn’t feel comfortable doing anything for myself, because I was scared of what I would get – as far as getting media. I get media. So, I was scared of getting media and my clients say, ‘well, you’re focused on yourself, you can’t focus on me.’ That was my main reason for not putting it out there until this year when I pretty much quit public relations and said – I gotta do this for myself. So here we are.
Now that she can focus solely on her brand and enhancing her products, Tina spreading the word about her new business and dope products. She admits she does not have a full team, however, her support system, which includes her husband, close family and friends, help her grow her business.
In May of 2019, I was still working in public relations – with a firm. I was having a hard time letting go. Me wanting to leave, I was having such a hard time. It was so difficult. In August, I felt like I was physically getting sick not doing what I really wanted to do. I had already started testing out the products. Not just the hair oil – I already knew it was fire – LOL! I tested all the shampoos, conditions – I tested on everybody I could think of. So when the time came, I said I gotta go. I really launched this thing in May of 2020.
When I say everything that has happened in these last few months have been great. I never would have thought it would turn out this way so quickly, but I’m a very faithful and spiritual person so I could say I’m kind of surprised, but then I’m not. LOL. It has been an amazing journey. I’m so glad I took the chance on myself.
Even though, cliché, 2020 is truly the year of the awakening. Just like Tina, many people have taken the opportunity to do something they have always wanted to do or have been putting off. If we’ve learned anything this year, it’s been that life is short, time is waiting for no one. We gotta get up and go for what we want. There’s truly no time like the present to build for the future.
I know we do a lot, but I want to do more. I don’t want to live life scare of anything. I want to do it all! Don’t be afraid to reach out and ask people. You’ll have a handful of people that don’t want to tell you anything at all. But you may find a person that is fully willing to help you on everything. So don’t be afraid to ask for help. I just randomly reached out to my friend Bella and she has helped me every step of the way. Like some of this stuff, I would have been looking for years. I had no idea about manufacturers. I thought everybody just went to Ali Baba, but I didn’t want just some regular stuff.
I’m big on ingredients. That’s why its PHYRE HAIR, because the pH-balance is very important to me. All of the ingredients are very important to me. I told her [Bella] what was important to me and she was able to help me find a manufacturer. They kept sending me stuff and I was like, no that’s not it. I like this, but let’s tweak this. This wasn’t good for my hair, this one’s not good for 4C hair – I was able to go through the process and she helped me. There’s somebody out there that is willing to help you. Don’t be discouraged by the people who won’t.
From the beginning, Tina was dedicated to finding the right mix of ingredients to help grow and strengthen black hair. Tina suffered significant hair loss due to postpartum. She basically tried everything to get her hair to grow back. She even tried protective hairstyles, but nothing seemed to work. After trying way more products than she cares to recall, she finally decided it was time to create her own. The journey began with her hair oil.
My hair was thinning. I didn’t know what the heck was going on. My hair was not growing back. I was trying all this stuff. Everybody was saying, ‘coconut oil, coconut oil.’ It just wasn’t working for me. I said, I’m going to make my own stuff. Going through that process, you have to talk to the experts – called Trichologist. You have to talk to people who actually know hair. And that’s what I did. I did the same thing in making shampoo and conditioner. I studied it myself. I genuinely look at all of the ingredients. Some stuff adds shine. Some adds moisture. Some stuff helps dandruff. I have to see it and know what’s good. I had the people and the experts in my corner. I had people who’ve been in the beauty industry for ten plus years in my corner. Had I not, I would have the basic products that you see on the shelves.
Tina tested her products on friends and family gathering as much information as she could to properly enhance and perfect her products’ formulas. Paying close attention to the ingredients in her products helped her develop a full haircare kit. Because everybody’s hair is different, it was especially important to be able to fuse ingredients that would naturally flow with a person’s pH-Balance.
So, here’s exactly what I do. I wash my hair and conditioning it. I go back and forth, using the Lavender Mint or the Moroccan Sunrise. The Lavender Mint makes your hair tingle. The Moroccan Sunrise smells heavenly. Either way, I was it and condition it. I’ll leave the conditioner in to use as a detangler. I’ll also use a product that I haven’t released yet called Moisture Lock. I’m a curly girl, so I’ll put in the mousse and go on about my business LOL!
The entire product line is produced from a plant based formula making it a paraben and cruelty free alternative to effectively cleanse, condition, moisturize and strengthen hair that is prone to breakage and dryness.
As she continues to develop her haircare line, Tina is testing a new curl crème product. The product is currently being tweaked to perfection as she has received numerous inquiries on a new curl product. As a natural curly head, myself, I can’t wait to see how well this product works!
The global hair care market values at approximately $89 billion. As a rising natural hair care product developer, Tina is already receiving recognition for her amazing new line of hair care products. PHyre Hair Co. was recently featured on HelloBeautiful and Yahoo! and praised as a Black hair product that works!
It’s just very humbling. It’s a shocker! LOL! It was surprising. Those moments let you know that you just have to keep going. Whenever people you don’t know say something to you or give you an encouraging word in your inbox – I’m just so glad I put it out there.
My first goal was to touch people through more than just hair care. It was meant to be inspiration. I think I’m half-way there. The second was to help people who have suffered through postpartum hair loss. I’ve been able to reach people with alopecia and lupus. My overall goal is to build and empire and create financial security. Even if we close the production studio – we’ll be just fine. Of course, being able to give back without worrying about not having.
Just from our conversation and how dedicated Tina is with producing fire hair products, I’m totally looking forward to seeing PHyre Hair Co. at the Essence Festival and Coachella. This is the era that we’re in. Black women have become more and more unapologetically accepting of their beautiful hair and variety of textures. We are all about buying Black and supporting products that are uniquely created for our hair types by people who know our hair types.
But look, you don’t have to take my word for it. Support by trying out these fire products for yourself! From the hair growth kit to strengthen serum – I’m certain you’ll find a product that works great for you.
