Kitsch

Kitsch is an American beauty brand specialising in hair accessories and hair care, founded in Los Angeles by Cassandra Morales Thurswell. Most sources, including the brand itself, date the launch to 2010 [2]; one founder interview gives the year as 2015 [3]. The company began with handmade hair ties and grew into a multi-channel business selling accessories, shampoo and conditioner bars, and sleep and shower products across dozens of countries.

The brand remains self-financed rather than backed by an outside parent, and it positions itself around accessible, everyday beauty. By 2026 it was reported as a brand valued at more than 360 million dollars, distributed through roughly 27,000 retail locations and around 95 countries [2].

Thurswell launched Kitsch at age 25, using about 30,000 dollars she had saved from earlier ventures, which had included jewellery manufacturing, a spray-tan business and house cleaning [5]. She grew up in Wisconsin, studied at the University of Minnesota, and later moved to Los Angeles, where she worked several jobs while attending the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising.

According to the company's own account and to subsequent profiles, the brand began in her apartment: she made hair ties by hand and sold them door-to-door to boutiques and salons along Ventura Boulevard. Thurswell has said she identified hair ties as a small, repeat purchase she could improve on. Her husband joined as a business partner about a year after launch. The business was bootstrapped, taking no outside funding in its early years — a path Thurswell has described as letting her see every angle of the company and grow on her own terms.

Customer response to the original hair ties prompted Kitsch to expand beyond accessories. Feedback that the ties were gentler on hair led Thurswell to rethink hair care more broadly and to add pillowcases, hair towels, shower caps and related products.

Wholesale distribution followed. The brand entered Ulta Beauty in 2016 and launched in Target in July 2024 [2]. Over time its retail footprint widened to include CVS, Whole Foods, Walgreens, Amazon, Sephora and Boots, alongside regional chains in several countries. Amazon and direct-to-consumer sales together account for about 60 percent of revenue, and the company reported roughly 200 employees and contractors. In 2021 the company was featured in an Inc. profile that described it as an 87-million-dollar brand [9]; by 2026 reporting placed annual sales growth at 84 percent and the brand's value above 360 million dollars [2].

Kitsch frames its purpose as bridging a gap in the beauty market. In a founder interview, Thurswell described seeing high-end beauty accessories that she felt were inaccessible, and said the brand aims to sit between a splurge and a steal so that both kinds of customer return. The company presents itself as female-founded and woman-owned, and uses the social-media tagline "Intentional Basics — Easy Beauty." Its stated values centre on accessibility, sustainability and positivity.

The brand's first product was its elastic hair ties, which it built on with pillowcases, shower caps and towels. Its range now spans hair accessories such as clips, ties and brushes; satin pillowcases and sleep products; shower items including caps and towels; and hair care led by solid shampoo and conditioner bars. The bars became a signature line; in trade reporting the company said it sells "one bar every 5 seconds" [2]. Kitsch has also reported selling more than 200,000 reusable shower caps through TikTok Shop [4].

Kitsch describes its products as vegan and cruelty-free, and the brand is certified by Leaping Bunny, a programme that audits against animal testing; its shampoo bars carry Leaping Bunny vegan and cruelty-free certification [6].

Founder Cassandra Morales Thurswell has been the focus of much of the brand's press. She was named to Inc.'s 2026 Female Founders 500 list [4] and recognised as a CNBC Changemaker in 2025 [11]. The brand and its growth have been profiled by Inc., WWD and CNBC, the last covering its push to move consumers toward bar shampoo.

Kitsch is active. Recent activity includes the July 2024 Target launch, a February 2026 CNBC feature, the 2026 Inc. recognition and ongoing TikTok Shop sales [10]. The company reports global distribution and operates as an independent, self-financed business.