Today I was able to chat with Marissa Swan, founder of Bear Fruit Hair.com. A woman after Christ’s heart and a person I am honored to make the acquaintance of and call her my sister in Christ.

Jael: Marissa, thank you for taking a little time to speak with me and introduce yourself and Bear Fruit Hair to Natural Hair Community. If you would, tell us about Bear Fruit Hair and what inspired it?

A problem and a passion inspired BFH – the problem of my, and others’, dry hair in Arizona, and my passion to solve it. Many of the products available in the stores here contain humectants in them that, opposite of moisturizing hair, simply deplete moisture from our hair in this dry desert environment. Other products had so much chemical stuff in them that I felt was unnecessary for healthy hair, and which would have required me to use a drying shampoo to wash out. I wanted to create products that wouldn’t build up, or if so, could simply be rinsed off or co-washed, without the use of a drying shampoo.

Jael: Bear Fruit Hair is such a unique name, why Bear Fruit Hair?

The words ‘bear/bare’ represent so much to me. I wanted to create ‘bare’ products that could be easily deconstructed, meaning that I wanted natural ingredients to be the foundation of what we create, so that customers could understand what was in them more simply. Plus, there’s real bear in there. Just kidding. Because I used fruits and other foods in my homemade concoctions, I whipped up stuff that looked deliciously edible, and I had fun putting it on my hair. That food for my hair made it grow beautifully, and people would come up to me and ask questions. Even the 65-year old door greeter at the grocery store asked me if my curly fro was all my hair. I made disciples of my mom, her friends and other family members, who converted to growing their hair naturally and using the products I made. That passion and devotion bore the fruit of more women freed from the dryness and damage of processed hair. And that’s just hair.

But God is doing something amazing – I wouldn’t have thought he’d be using me, my team, and this company to bear the real and lasting fruit of making disciples to the ends of the earth (Matt: 28:19). Our mission, in keeping with Matthew 28:19, is John 15:16 – “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.” It sounds somewhat self-serving, until you realize that if Jesus said it, it can’t be a human-motivated thing that will make God give you what you ask, but a God-inspired thing. What we ask for from God is more of His heart, and the will to do His work – what more rewarding effort is there than to help save someone’s eternal life by speaking God’s truth into it? We’re so grateful to God for you guys, Jael, and we’d love for the Natural Hair Community to join us!

Jael: The natural hair/beauty industry is vast, how does Bear Fruit Hair stand out from the rest?

It’s hard to determine which ingredients cause certain effects on your hair when the names of the ingredients are so scientific. While our company is a natural product company, I’m not against unnatural ingredients – I’m just for simplicity of understanding what’s in the products I use on my hair. We’re not a styling product company; we don’t investigate which silicones will create optimal shine along with a combination of other ingredients that hope to moisturize, seal, define, and do cartwheels for you. We moisturize strands, and help customers retain that moisture.

We’re certainly the only company to allow customers to become ‘customizers’. We have a very unique position. Coming from a Global Technology and Development background, I applied the concept of analyzing whether specific technologies work the same from culture to culture to hair care products – science and the weather easily tell us that they don’t, especially with the many variables of hair types, environments, etc. So we first focused on creating a product that would moisturize hair in the desert – if it could moisturize effectively in Arizona, it could moisturize anywhere in the world. However, the customization aspect was a must, because different hair types may prefer different oils and other ingredients unique to their hair’s needs. No one can create the perfect product that will work for you anytime, anywhere, and at any stage in life, and it’s not really our job to do that. But we’re working to provide the tools that can help educate you for your journey, so that you can become empowered in analyzing down to the ingredient level. We believe that ‘The Power of Your Hair’s Health is in Your Hands’ – we want consumers to be educated on how to look for ingredients and products, as well as how to use them appropriately. Our focus is on education, customization, and on moisture. We’ve certainly carved a niche in the natural hair community, however, the company is about education, not ethnicity. Our customized products can be used by any ethnicity and hair type. I love that so many companies are putting out quality information about healthy hair care. We’re certainly not putting together products from newly discovered ingredients; we’re just creating the platform for customers to create unique products themselves.

Jael: Bear Fruit is a Do It Yourselfer dream- The best of both worlds, creating your own products without the mess in the kitchen. What product is most often created?

Customers create products as unique and varied as themselves and the areas they live in. They definitely have fun creating conditioners, deep conditioners, and leave-in moisturizers. But I think a lot are intimidated by creating their own product, perhaps because they feel they need to understand so much complexity first. We’re working to eliminate that intimidation by creating resources for the website that can help them choose or create products; though as much ‘science’ as we’re working on, I have a theory that we’ll all have to change a product or two in our regimen as often as we make growth changes in life, and that no science can peg down every single person’s unique head of hair. I think our hair is as one-of-a-kind as we are. We can share with customers all that we’ve learned, but when it comes down to it, each one still has to experiment with what works for them. Customers tend to order the standard formulations more so because they trust what we’ve created, and because customizations are a bit more expensive; yet we encourage them to get in their kitchen or bathroom once they receive even a standard formulation product, and make it uniquely their own. If there were one product in the world that worked perfectly for everyone, it would be great, but boring – there wouldn’t be much of the exciting hair journeys that we get to experience with each other. As many companies are out there trying to create products for all, perhaps the one to create the best product for you…is you!

Jael: Marissa, I love the concept of Bear Fruit Hair, what can we expect in the future?

Customers have asked when we’ll create styling products. Styling products aren’t my passion – moisture and healthy hair are, but we’ve got a good team who God has put such innovation and passion in, that I have to allow for the company to grow where God grows it. We’ve got an amazing blog currently being developed, along with great resources for anyone looking to get educated on hair and more.

I almost want to be secretive and not share just yet the more amazing stuff coming up until we get there. More giving and reaching out globally, definitely – we recently attended a luncheon with the First Lady of Tanzania, donating and helping raise $3 million in medical relief; Bear Fruit Hair also donates 1% of all sales to Water for Life and World Vision missions. I’m continually amazed I am at the generosity of our individual team members – we truly are a company that loves to build up the people that God calls us to.

Jael: Marissa, tell us your hair’s story- please provide as much detail as possible?

My hair’s story isn’t halfway done yet. The hair I was born with and maintained through my teenage years was long, natural, of course, and gorgeous. I didn’t touch it much – rarely put ‘grease’ on it, and I didn’t style it much. I hadn’t yet damaged it for it to require corrective measures (protein treatments or moisturizers followed by sealing oils). I did moisturize it, though – I remember it feeling so mushy one time – of course, back then I didn’t know that it meant my hair was over moisturized and in need of more protein. But it was long. I moved to Arizona for college, and colored, relaxed, and weaved my hair for years. Not only did Arizona dry out my hair, but so did processing, over styling, weaving, and not using good products. I was always able to keep it past shoulder length, but I certainly prevented it from retaining more length. I attempted to stop relaxing my strands several times – I’d never liked my hair straight – it was fine, but my dream hair was to look like Chaka Khan’s or something equally big and wild. But I didn’t know how to manage it, so I discovered men’s texturizer, where I could truly just ‘relax’ my hair instead of straighten it. While still too straight for me, it was the alternative for me at the time.

Fast forward 10+ years: I had finally decided that the state of hair that I had wasn’t worth all the effort only to have unspectacular hair. My parents have a picture of me on their refrigerator from when I was 14 years old, with long, shiny hair, and every time I walked by I thought to myself, ‘I can get back to that place.’ I just had to figure out what I was doing back then that made my hair grow so healthily. Again, the answer was, ‘not much’, and thus, I didn’t have to do much to maintain hair that wasn’t damaged; but now I had to start from a place of damaged hair. I researched the hair care boards – thank God for the many great ladies who were walking the journey before me and who were able to share light and some knowledge. It was easy for me to choose not to use any more heat – I don’t currently own a blow dryer. I had long since stopped coloring, and I stopped the damaging weaves. I got my ends trimmed inch by inch at a time as my hair grew. But meantime, I became so passionate about making products from scratch for my hair, knowing that every ingredient was one that I approved and knew the effects of. It was such a joy for me, and I loved sitting in my living room once a week, sitting in front of a good movie, and giving my hair such luxurious full-weekend treatment.

Each time I go to the salon (I hate salons!) for trims I’m always surprised at how long my hair is, because I don’t think about its length, but just focus on its health. I’m like you, Jael – I like my routine simple, with a few products guaranteed to moisturize and condition.

Jael: Please share with us any inspiration or words of encouragement:

All of life is our own personal, unique journey, and that includes our hair – our crowning glory. It truly is a reflection of our daily and lifestyle habits, our values and our personalities –all of that is reflected in our hair’s health, and the way we maintain and style it. Be encouraged by the fact that, just as you can choose much of the direction of your life (hopefully in agreement with God), you can do that for your hair also. ‘To whom much is given, much is required’ – God gave us some of the most beautiful hair on earth, and along with such a hidden treasure, He gave us the responsibility of learning the unique ways we need to take care of it. Isn’t it amazing how ‘hidden’ our hair can be – curly hair can look so short, yet be so long. Though we used to be so behind in understanding such a charge and treasure, all it takes is knowledge (‘God’s people perish for lack of knowledge’; so does our hair), and subsequent care and protection (action). It’s a blessing to us and the readers that you guys (Natural Hair Community) are putting in so much time and energy into sharing and educating on our hair – it’s another level of freedom from faulty self-images that you’re achieving for people. The best inspiration and encouragement always come from God’s word. The message of Hebrews 11:4, 6 says that Abel brought God a sacrifice that showed evidence of his faith, and God rewarded him for that. Sincerely seek God in faith, and everything else will follow – I promise.