Meet 10C Changemaker: Seyi
Oluwaseyi Adaghe (she/her), also known as Seyi, is the Founder & CEO of RÓUN Beauty.
RÓUN Beauty provides biodegradable, plant-based hair extensions, for hair braiding applications, that are upcycled from agricultural waste, to help black women look and feel great. RÓUN Beauty also offers a synthetic hair collection program to help divert synthetic hair waste from landfill and increase consumer access to synthetic hair waste recycling services.
Seyi’s journey with RÓUN Beauty began in 2020 when a close friend, who was based in the US at the time, shared how much easier it was to access braiding hair extensions in the US compared to Canada. As conversations centered around the frustrations and challenges of access due to limited black beauty supply stores in Canada, Seyi considered starting an online hair extension business.
She was completing her Master’s Degree in Environment and Business at the time and building a career as a Corporate Sustainability professional, so the thought of selling synthetic hair didn’t sit right with her. She wanted to offer a product that was environmentally friendly, or at least offer a way for people to not create more plastic waste from the use of synthetic hair. Seyi decided to put a pin in the idea. A few weeks later, she came across a video that inspired her to create her own brand of plant-based braiding hair extensions for black women that was better for both the user and the environment. RÓUN Beauty was established in January 2023 and is on a mission to provide women with the gift they deserve: biodegradable and nontoxic hair extensions that help them look great, increase comfort and eliminate environmental harm.
As a black woman, Seyi dreams of a world where black hair care and styling practices, in all its forms, would no longer come at a hidden cost to health or the planet (which ultimately affects us). For too long, black women have normalized scalp irritation and casually dismissed the negative environmental impacts from products like synthetic hair. Seyi recognizes that due to the social and economic challenges and inequalities we wrestle with daily, choices often feel limited. Her hope for the future is that caring for ourselves with high quality and eco-friendly products that are better for us would no longer be, or feel like, a privilege that only a few can afford. Ultimately, her hope is that with RÓUN Beauty, the Black community can take greater strides towards truly caring for, celebrating, and protecting our hair and the planet the way it deserves.
On Seyi’s journey as an entrepreneur, she found 10C in 2021 through a program called Young Professionals on Boards (YPOB), which led to her discovering all the great placemaking and programming support that 10C offers to social enterprises and impact-driven startups.
As a member of 10C, Seyi and RÓUN were accepted into COIL STEP Cohort 1 and accessed a Harvest Impact social finance loan. Seyi was supported with coaching to develop her business plan and learn how to approach customers. This helped her build a solid foundation for RÓUN Beauty as they prepare to launch their product.
Seyi is a changemaker because she is building a social enterprise focused on responsible consumption, innovating products, and building an enterprise with decent work and climate action as a focus.
