Bouclème

Bouclème is a British haircare company founded in London in 2014 by Michele Scott-Lynch [5]. It makes plant-based products aimed specifically at wavy, curly and coily hair, and describes itself as independent, female- and Black-owned. The name plays on the French bouclé, meaning curly.

The company remains active and independent. It has not taken outside investment, and recent business data lists it as an unfunded firm of around 16 staff [5]. Its products are sold in the United Kingdom and across several European markets.

Scott-Lynch started Bouclème after her own long relationship with curly hair. By her account she spent her teens and twenties straightening her curls, and only came to appreciate their natural texture in her thirties. A further motivation was her two daughters, who have different curl types, and a wish to model curl acceptance for them.

Unable to find products she trusted on the UK market, she began experimenting with plant-based formulations at her kitchen table before partnering with a cosmetic chemist for larger-scale manufacturing [6]. In her own words, she set out "to create the range I couldn't find: quality products, rooted in nature and serious about curls." The brand's stated mission follows the same line — quality curl care, rooted in nature, for all curl types.

Bouclème launched in 2014. Scott-Lynch has pointed to a feature that November in The Telegraph's "Best British Beauty Brands" list, compiled by Imelda Burke, as an early turning point for the business [6]. In 2019 the company switched to a vegan-friendly xanthan gum across its formulations, and in July 2022 it announced a partnership with the appliance maker SharkNinja [5].

The company reached its tenth anniversary in 2024. A profile that year described it as a roughly three-million-pound business employing in the region of ten to sixteen people [7]. Through the COVID-19 period it reported significant sales growth [6].

Bouclème frames itself as a curl specialist rather than a general haircare line, organising its range by curl type — waves, curls and coils — and by need, such as moisture, definition and hold, or frizz control. According to the company, it set out to redefine "what it means to be curly" and to help people embrace their natural texture rather than fight it. Its tagline is "Here to set curls free."

The founder has also described Bouclème as "a conscious company," by which she means products that "work for you but, outside of that, they work for the community." That framing recurs across the brand's communications, alongside its emphasis on being independently owned.

The range covers shampoos, conditioners, stylers, treatments, tools, and kits, with named items including a Curl Defining Gel, an Intensive Moisture Treatment, a Super Hold Styler, and the Revive 5 Hair Oil. The company says its formulations are made with at least 94% naturally derived ingredients and are built around plant extracts and essential oils, while excluding sulphates, silicones, drying alcohols, mineral oils, PEGs, parabens, and artificial fragrances and colours.

Products are fragranced only with essential oils, and most of the range is vegan, though Bouclème notes that a few items — among them the Curl Cleanser, Curl Conditioner and Intensive Moisture Treatment — contain honey.

Sustainability is a prominent part of the brand's positioning. Bouclème states that its products are at least 92% plant-based and biodegradable, and that bottles contain between 30% and 90% recycled plastic or sugar-cane bioplastic, with one-litre bottles designed to be refilled via a reusable dispenser cap [3]. The company says it fills its bottles using biomass renewable energy, which it estimates saves 85 tonnes of carbon emissions a year, and that it uses filtered rainwater in its products to conserve drinking water [3].

Its ingredients and products are certified under the Cruelty Free International Leaping Bunny programme [3]. The company also plants one tree for every standard-size bottle sold through Trees for the Future, directs part of the proceeds from its Revive 5 Hair Oil to a charity working in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and says it is working toward B Corp certification.

Bouclème has been featured in UK consumer and beauty press, including Elle, Grazia, Marie Claire, Glamour, and The Independent, and was profiled by Irish broadcaster RTÉ on its tenth anniversary in 2024 [7].

The company is active and independently owned, with no parent company recorded [5]. Beyond its UK base, where its products are stocked by retailers including Boots, Selfridges, Cult Beauty and M&S, it sells into several European markets[8]. Manufacturing is based in the United Kingdom, in the West Country [6].