At the intersection of beauty, innovation, and sustainability, Oluremi Martins is blending science and style to redefine hair for Black women across the globe.
Once in a while, you come across women whose determination and work ethic deeply inspire you. Oluremi Martins is one of those people, and when I met her years ago at a pop-up sale, I saw an unstoppable woman.
In many industries, a few set trends that many follow. The beauty world is no different; trends rise daily, but trendsetters are rarely seen. Oluremi Martins has always built her own world by solving problems. What began as a personal frustration — the lack of quick hair solutions for textured hair — has grown into a global enterprise. Today, she’s the founder of Regirl, a hair brand with products made solely with lab-made hair, and Texture Science Labs, Nigeria’s first-ever hair laboratory, where science meets ethical beauty. To say I am proud of Remi is an understatement.
Before her journey to being a pioneer in the hair industry, Oluremi Martins managed an online community of textured hair-lovers. That community evolved into Natural Girl Wigs, and now, Regirl, a brand that promotes ethical, effortless and elevated beauty. At the heart of Regirl is ReXI™, a fibre technology that offers the feel and performance of human hair without the environmental or sourcing concerns. This technology was developed by Texture Science Labs (TSL).
Remi’s story isn’t just about innovation, but shaping perceptions and the culture of beauty. By going human-hair free to create sustainable, inclusive and science-backed extensions, she’s redefining what beauty means to Black women globally. She has built an entire production pipeline from scratch and launched educational town halls for her community. This thoughtful and revolutionary approach shows us the potential of the industry. A truly remarkable feat that cannot be overlooked.
In this edition of The Woman Behind The Brand, Oluremi gets real about founding a lab, surviving two rebrands, scaling across over 70 countries and what it truly means to “do hard things”.
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Founding vision & entrepreneurial journey
What personal experiences or gaps in the market inspired you to transition from managing an Instagram community to founding Natural Girl Wigs years ago?
I wanted hairstyling options that got me ready for work quickly. My go-to hairstyle at the time was clip-ins that matched my 4A hair, but I couldn’t buy any good ones locally except through brands in the US. I began to realise there were likely other women in Nigeria with similar needs—looking for more than just clip-ins but instant styles for textured hair. I started Brown Girl NG (The Blog) to validate the idea, and then we became a business with Natural Girl Wigs.
That brand has now gone through an evolution from Natural Girl Wigs into Regirl. Congratulations on the launch! What does this rebranding signify for you and your customers?
The rebranding was a necessary alignment to who we have become. We’ve grown to become an Instant, fashionable hairstyle brand powered by our own innovation with ReXI™ Lab-Made Hair, inclusive for everyone. We have gone beyond being the plug for textured hair, and it was important for our brand to reflect that.
You are also building Texture Science Labs, Nigeria’s first hair lab. What motivated you to establish this, and what impact do you hope Texture Science Labs will make in the global beauty industry?
We pioneered the category — Lab-made hair extensions — not just in Nigeria, but globally. The beauty industry continues to eclipse boundaries with innovation and safer options. However, the hair extension industry remains opaque for both end-users and vendors. Running Natural Girl Wigs for four years exposed us to many of the inconsistent practices in the industry. There are many challenges – from questionable sources for human hair to the integrity of strands, even with trusted suppliers – due to a fragmented value chain. All these make it difficult to guarantee what you sell. On the other end of the spectrum is synthetic hair with issues around toxic fibres, carcinogens and harsh processing.
There was a clear opportunity to develop hair that is eliminated from the unethical human hair supply chain, and free from toxic fibres and processes that are unsafe. Our goal is to make lab-made hair the standard for hair extensions, similar to what lab-grown diamonds have become.
From Natural Girl Wigs to Regirl, your brands have consistently scaled globally. With customers in over 70 countries, what strategies did you employ to achieve this?
We make what people want, and we are super-big on customer feedback. Our global growth with Natural Girl Wigs was largely kicked off by people finding us, through search engines, word of mouth and social media. We leverage creating products that customers truly want, and that’s the same mentality that helped us develop ReXI™ at TSL and build the brand at Regirl.
Read also: From blog to beauty empire: Bebe Andrew-Jaja’s journey of innovation and impact
Innovation in hair technology
Let’s talk about lab-made hair. What exactly is ReXI™ fibre, and can you explain how it addresses issues faced by users of conventional hair extensions?
ReXI™, our base Hair, is a next-gen synthetic hair that is developed for high performance, enhanced to mimic human hair properties with lab-approved formulations and standards. We found that customers would buy synthetic hair if it was manageable, didn’t look fake and came in styles they wanted. So we spent years developing our fibre formulation structure of safer synthetic and protein fibres enhanced with our proprietary infusion system that delivers “Soft Feel, Curl Power, Real Hair Sheen” with industry-leading durability.
ReXI™ compares closely with human hair in feel, movement, curl power, moisture absorbance, and high heat resistance, amongst others. These are qualities that traditional synthetic hair doesn’t possess. It was important to us to create extensions that are made with zero human hair and are still reusable, months down the line. We have customers tagging us after multiple re-wears because the product does what it says — it lasts.
How does your work at Texture Science Labs contribute to environmental sustainability within the beauty industry?
We develop and commit to smart material technology. ReXI™ is free from vinyl chloride (PVC), heavy metals and harmful additives. We also engineer for reusability, reducing waste and redefining what synthetic hair can be.
With the evolution from Natural Girl Wigs to ReGirl, I assume your customers would require a lot of re-orientation. What initiatives have you undertaken to educate consumers about the benefits and science behind lab-made hair?
We educate our customers by showing them the process and sharing our Why & How. Ahead of the online launch of the Regirl rebrand, we did a first-of-its-kind community town hall with customers in Lagos, where they experienced our upgraded ReXI™ 2.0 in person. Feeling and styling the product in person brought even more excitement about our hair and the brand. I’m also very excited about the growing consumer interest and industry research in hair extensions. People are caring more about the hair they wear, our customers are excited about our innovation, and it also helps that the product does what it says. All of this makes the work easier and fun.
Impact and industry influence
We rarely talk about the role hair plays in defining beauty standards in society. How do you believe your brands have influenced perceptions of beauty and hair care among Black women globally?
We see Regirl as a brand producing premium hairpieces enabled by ReXI™ and exciting designs based on what delivers the most utility for the customer. We take in a lot of customer feedback and give them a product that encompasses that feedback. Hence, our influence in the space is driven by what customers want, which is a fashionable product with the best quality item on the market. Thankfully, we can do this at a super-affordable cost for the customer.
Your marketing is people-centred. How do you think this has contributed to the success of your brands?
People love when brands are unselfish, and that’s our superpower. We don’t just sell, we educate, co-create products based on our community feedback and we create content that’s relatable. We are super passionate about what we do and that’s evident in how we carry our customers along.
Can you share some systemic challenges you’ve encountered while rebranding Regirl and building Texture Science Lab (TSL)? How are you addressing them through your work?
Most of the challenges have been in building production capacity, especially in the early days for Texture Science Lab. The kind of business we operated at Natural Girl is completely different to what we are doing at TSL, as we now own the entire value chain of making the entire product. This means we’ve had to grow the capacity to become manufacturers, so naturally it was tough to navigate seamlessly, but I have the best team and we are building the capacity required.
It’s exciting to see your journey so far, and I feel that there’s more to come. Are there any upcoming technologies or products from Texture Science Labs & Regirl that you’re particularly excited about?
I am currently excited about ReXI™ 2.0. It’s our improved hair, remastered based on consumer feedback. Since we launched, our customers have been raving and literally carrying the business on their heads. That brings me so much joy.
Personal insights & reflections
What motivates you each day to continue innovating and building in the beauty industry?
The vision for what we are building and our community of supporters who actively cheer and support us.
How do you maintain a balance between your professional responsibilities and personal life?
Right now? I’d say both aspects of my life are married. There’s no balance.
How does your personal style influence your brand’s aesthetic and marketing style?
I like to look like myself as chic, and that’s literally what Regirl is. We create instant, fashionable hairstyles that match individual aesthetics. There’s something for everyone’s expression. I like things that are stress and hassle-free but also elevated, and that influences the products we launch and the way we present our brand.
Reflecting on your journey, what is one key lesson you’ve learned that you would share with aspiring entrepreneurs?
Aspiring entrepreneurs must know that building a business is far from glamorous. It is a lot of hard work. You must really love and believe what you are doing or want to do.
Get to know Oluremi Martins
Go-to hairstyle for a busy day?
Soft Girl from Regirl and a new sample we are testing.
Inspiration in your creative process?
Beyoncé. Also, innovative, culture- shifting brands and lots of Pinterest time.
One beauty product you can’t live without?
Honestly, I can’t think of anything except Soft Girl from Regirl.
How do you unwind after a long day?
Television shows — “Sex and the City” is my most watched show. I also like “Succession”, “The Bear, Friends & Neighbour”. I love gisting and playing with my husband. Then, I spend some time on TikTok.
A quote or mantra that empowers you?
“Today is a good day”, and “Do hard things.”
