I grew up with a mom that would oil my hair EVERY Sunday like clockwork. Eventually, though, kids in grade school asked what was in my hair and that it was smelly. As a girl who was shy enough as it was, the last thing I needed was more attention on me for my 'smelly' hair.
Nevertheless, I kept on oiling. Having a mom who worked all the time meant that our hair oiling sessions were sacred— and I didn't want to lose that time with her, even if it meant snarky remarks here and there from others.
Eventually, though, I asked her to stop when I got to high school. I traded my hair oil for heat protectant, and I noticed just within a few weeks that my hair IMMEDIATELY got thinner, more dry, and felt like… hay. It also just stopped growing?
During COVID, hair oiling became a trend on social media. I would see girls putting in a few drops of a hair oil product in, and rub it in for a second or two into their scalp, then do a slick back. This physically PAINED me to see, because I knew it was doing more harm than good.
But, since it was cool again and my hair had nothing to lose, I purchased a few of these hair oil products— but BOY were they expensive! $70 CAD for maybe 100mL of product?
seeing the light
My mom saw me struggling, and suggested I use our homemade hair oil recipe again. I agreed, not expecting much, but saw RESULTS
In a few months, I noticed that:
1) My hair density had improved
2) My hair felt healthier, stronger, and shinier
3) It was growing faster than ever
minki is born
Needless to say, I was shook. I gave samples out for some of my friends to try, and they had similar praise, begging me for more.
I knew I was sitting on something good, and decided that I would start a hair oil brand.
I didn't have a name at this point, but decided on Minki because it was my mom's nickname growing up, and only made sense (her real name is Meena but I think Minki is the CUTEST name ever)!
minki today
Minki launched in December 2024, and since then, over 700 customers have shopped with us and LOVED their hair oil. Every single day, I get new comments and messages from the Minki community about how the Minki Method has helped their hair recover from damage, helped with hair growth, and even reversed alopecia. The community is over 20k+ strong across socials, and I love connecting with y'all there and sharing more hair care tips from my culture.
It feels so good to know that something I was once teased for is now my biggest blessing in life. Funny how that works out.
the minki promise
The goal of Minki has always been two-fold- to give you the best quality, most affordable hair oil possible, and to make hair oiling education just as much of a priority as the product. That's why Minki is the most affordable high quality hair oil on the market, with 128mL (4.35 fl oz) for just $29.99 CAD. With pure ground hair growth herbs like amla, mahabhingraj, vertiver root, and more, my promise to you is to never compromise on the formulation. We believe in word of mouth over influencer advertising, and this is what allows us to keep prices so affordable for you.
As for pillar 2, educational content is posted daily on TikTok: @minkihairoil and on Instagram and YouTube. Because what good is the product if no one teaches you how to actually use it?
The journey is just beginning. Thank you for being here for it.
Love,
Ani, founder @ Minki
