INOAR

INOAR (Inoar Cosméticos) is a Brazilian professional haircare company based in São Paulo. It grew out of a salon practice specialising in hair smoothing and treatment, and is known internationally for keratin straightening systems and for an early move toward formaldehyde-free formulas built around glyoxylic acid. The company was formally established in 2008 [2], and it remains active: as of late 2025 it was still launching new product lines and describes itself as a Brazilian brand of "almost 20 years" [1].

INOAR centres on hair: treatments, smoothing systems, volume reducers, curl products and finishing oils. According to the company, its portfolio runs to more than 300 products distributed to over 40 countries, with offices in more than 30 cities [2]. Its visibility outside Brazil has come mainly through the professional salon channel, international resellers and social media rather than mainstream beauty press; the Moroccan keratin treatment in particular has a substantial reseller and TikTok following, including kits sold through that channel [10].

INOAR was created by Inocência Manoel and Alexandre Nascimento Manoel [3]. Inocência worked as a hairdresser and salon owner who formulated her own treatments and came to be called the "Alquimista dos Cabelos" (Hair Alchemist) for her work on hair smoothing. Alexandre held a medical degree but worked in cosmetics sales and representation, and is credited with naming the company.

By the early 2000s the founders saw a gap in the market: the Japanese smoothing treatments then available were expensive and, in their account, produced unnatural results. Inocência developed a gentler protocol using liquid keratin and treatment oils. Their salon, "Inô Oficina do Cabelo" in the Morumbi district of São Paulo, became a training hub, and the company says demand eventually outgrew artisanal production. That pressure led to the formal establishment of Inoar Cosméticos.

The founders frame the work in personal terms, describing the goal as seeing "a new person rise from the chair: more confident, more powerful, even happier."

The brand's own account places the originating keratin-and-oil formula in early 2007 and the company's formal registration in October 2008, with its first website going live on 19 September 2008 [2]. Research into glyoxylic acid as a straightening agent is dated to 2005, with the company stating that efficacy was established by 2009; that same year it presented its Argan Oil System at COSMOPROF in Las Vegas and at the Hair Brasil trade fair [6]. In 2010 Inocência Manoel launched the company's social programme, Beleza Solidária, a vocational-training initiative headquartered in Assis, São Paulo.

The founding date carries a documented discrepancy. INOAR's official Portuguese and English pages, along with its US site, give 2008 as the year the company was established. Some international resellers instead state that INOAR "established the Brazilian Keratin Hair Treatment in 2002," with a related line following in 2003 [11]. Those earlier dates refer to the introduction of specific product lines rather than the founding of the company itself; this article follows the brand's own registration date of 2008.

INOAR positions itself as a maker of innovative, safe and effective hair products at an accessible price, paired with social and environmental commitments. The company states that its purpose is "to create and commercialize innovative products and services that promote well-being and satisfaction, with quality, efficacy, safety and socio-environmental responsibility" [4]. Its declared mission is to offer such products "with superior quality and accessible cost to all our consumers," and its stated vision is to become a reference brand in cosmetics, respected internationally and preferred by both consumers and beauty professionals. The values it lists include respect for life and for individual diversity, integrity, transparency, honesty and sustainable growth.

The brand's social work runs under the tagline "Beleza inspira beleza" (Beauty inspires beauty) [5]. Through Beleza Solidária it offers vocational training in beauty services aimed at low-income women in Brazil and abroad, framing the trade as a route to economic independence and a way for people to "become protagonists of their own stories."

INOAR's catalogue is built around hair smoothing and repair. Among its signature lines are the G.Hair keratin smoothing system, the Moroccan Brazilian Keratin Treatment, and the Argan Oil System, the line used to introduce its glyoxylic-acid work. Other named products include BTX, a botox-style conditioning treatment, and Kálice, a multifunctional oil the company describes as a blend of seven vegetable oils — argan, macadamia, ojon, sweet almond, jasmine, rosemary and myrrh — for hair, face and body [9]. Frequently cited ingredients across the range include keratin, glyoxylic acid, argan, macadamia and ojon oils, cocoa, hyaluronic acid and white clay.

The company's central technical claim is that it was a pioneer in Brazil in using glyoxylic acid as a straightener, developing protocols for a range of applications including straightening, volume reduction, curl loosening, relaxation and progressive treatments, and it markets these glyoxylic-acid lines as formaldehyde-free [6]. The treatment category INOAR works in has a contested safety history: INOAR also sells conventional keratin smoothing lines, such as the Moroccan treatment, that contain formaldehyde, and third-party ingredient listings report roughly 0.2% in that product. The English Wikipedia entry on Brazilian hair straightening documents the broader category's use of formaldehyde-based formulations and the regulatory concerns around them [7]. The brand thus offers both formaldehyde-containing and formaldehyde-free smoothing systems.

INOAR describes a set of environmental and ethical commitments. The company says it does not test on animals, uses ingredients of vegan origin, and holds PETA "Caring Company" recognition [4]. On the environmental side it cites water and energy optimisation, selective waste collection, recyclable materials, a partnership with the recycler Ecofour, and "Clean Air" formulas; it also reports receiving the Chico Mendes environmental seal in 2015 and 2016. The company manufactures in Brazil.

INOAR is active. Its most recent visible activity at the time of this profile was a campaign post dated 12 December 2025, and it launched a new line, RIVO FIO, on 5 September 2025, alongside the Liso Extraordinário range [1]. The brand continues to operate internationally through salon distribution and resellers and is approaching its twentieth year.