DevaCurl

DevaCurl is a United States haircare brand built around curly, wavy and coiled hair. It grew out of the Devachan salon, opened in New York City in 1994 by hairstylist Lorraine Massey and Dennis Da Silva [4]. Massey is credited with the Curly Girl Method, the wash-and-style approach she set out in her handbook Curly Girl: The Handbook, and the brand carried that philosophy from the salon chair into a retail product line.

The brand is no longer independent. After passing through two private-equity owners during the 2010s, DevaCurl was acquired by the German consumer-goods group Henkel, which still operates it [4]. The company runs an active e-commerce business and continues to sell internationally under that ownership.

DevaCurl began as Devachan, a salon devoted to curly and textured hair that Lorraine Massey and Dennis Da Silva opened in New York City in 1994 [4]. Massey, who created the Curly Girl Method, built the salon's reputation on a specific way of cutting and caring for curls rather than straightening them. That method later gave the brand both its signature service and the logic behind its products.

The packet notes a small discrepancy in how the founders' names are recorded. The Wikipedia infobox spells them "Lorriane Massey" and "Denis Da Silva," which the source treats as typographical errors; the widely documented standard spelling is Lorraine Massey and Dennis Da Silva [4].

The first product milestone came in 2002, when DevaCurl launched its first "no-poo" cleanser — a sulfate-free wash designed to clean curls without a traditional foaming shampoo [4]. In 2007 the company established an academy to train stylists in its signature Deva cut, extending the salon technique to professionals beyond its own locations.

The brand describes itself as having spent more than 25 years devoted to what it calls the curl community.

DevaCurl's ownership changed hands several times. In 2013 the brand was bought by Tengram Capital Partners [4]. In May 2017 it was purchased by Ares Management for an undisclosed sum, and was later resold to Henkel, its current parent company [4]. Robert Schaeffler became chief executive in December 2018 [4].

Through Henkel, DevaCurl sits alongside a broad portfolio of haircare names, including Schwarzkopf Professional, Joico, Alterna, Syoss and Got2b.

DevaCurl positions itself as a curl specialist rather than a general haircare label. The company states its mission as "to empower waves, curls, and coils and celebrate their glory," and lists inclusivity, community, excellence and celebration among its core values, describing its approach as "embracing all curl types, ethnicity, gender, age, ability, and religion." Its tagline is "Live Your Curls."

The brand frames its products as "Scientifically-Rooted, Dermatologist Co-Developed, and Stylist Approved," and markets a proprietary concept it calls Curl Flexibility. Its stated formulation stance avoids sulfates, parabens, silicones and phthalates, and the company describes its range as cruelty-free, vegan, dermatologist-tested, color-safe and gluten-free.

The line spans cleansers, conditioners, treatments, styling products, tools and value kits, segmented by hair type from fine to coarse. The "no-poo" cleanser remains the product most associated with the brand's early identity. Distribution runs across multiple channels, combining an e-commerce storefront with the Devachan salon presence and a network of trained stylists.

Beginning in November 2019, a Dallas law firm started investigating reports that DevaCurl products were linked to hair loss, thinning and scalp irritation [4]. Through 2020, customers — amplified by fashion influencer Ayesha Malik and online groups of former users — alleged hair loss, balding and significant scalp damage, and several class-action lawsuits followed [4].

A group of 13 class-action suits, which alleged that certain DevaCurl products could cause scalp irritation and hair loss, was resolved with a $5.2 million settlement [5]. The arrangement offered claimants a one-time payment of up to $20 without proof of purchase, or up to roughly $19,000 with medical documentation, covering purchasers in the United States between February 8, 2008 and August 29, 2021 [5]. As part of the deal, products made after July 1, 2021 were required to carry QR-code labels directing users to product-safety information for at least two years [5]. The settlement received final court approval in January 2022 [5].

DevaCurl is an active brand owned by Henkel, which acquired it after Ares Management's 2017 purchase [4]. As of 2026 it continues to operate an e-commerce site selling products and running promotions across United States and United Kingdom storefronts, having continued trading through the lawsuit period of the early 2020s.