Ceremonia, the clean hair care brand rooted in Latinx heritage, expands its hero Guava Collection with the new Champú de Guava and Acondicionador de Guava for Damage Repair and Color Protection: a reparative shampoo and conditioner that repairs & protects hair from damage and color fade. This wash duo is the perfect summer companion. It is specifically formulated to repair and protect the hair from the damage caused by common summer stressors, including UV, chlorine, and salt water, while also mending damage from color and relaxing treatments. The formula harnesses natural ingredients instead of using harsh chemicals commonly found in most reparative products. It is infused with antioxidant-rich superfruit Guava and Aloe Vera, to keep the hair nourished and protected all summer.
The inspiration behind this product development came after hearing countless hair stories from the community describing their hair as frizzy, dry, and damaged. The brand took a deeper dive into the root of this and discovered that the common causes of the frizziness, dryness, and damage stemmed from years of hair damaging practices, including conforming to the mainstream beauty standards that only represented one hair texture, coupled with lack of access to products that do nourish hair, as most products in the market focus on styling, taming and simply masking symptoms of damage versus actually repairing it. In addition, the brand found a lack of awareness of summer’s negative impact on hair strands. UV, chlorine, and saltwater damage hair, split ends, and color fade.
With the new Guava Shampoo and Conditioner for damage repair and protection, along with the rest of the Guava Line, Ceremonia provides much-needed relief for hair, rebuilding and restoring strands from years of damaging practices, and protects hair from future damage. With this launch, Ceremonia wants to not only provide the community with proper hair care products to tackle the root cause, but also invite them to live fully on their terms, embracing and nurturing their natural beauty. Ceremonia also wishes to hold space for the women of the Black and Brown communities that have been taught from an early age not to embrace their natural curl patterns and that to be “beautiful”, they have to tame and mask their hair under heavy, damaging chemicals to make it straight. El Pelo Malo No Existe – and Ceremonia intends to end that limiting belief.
“Most ‘damage repair’ products on the market are packed with filler ingredients such as silicones to give you the illusion of results when it’s usually just a temporary fix that overtime makes the same concern you’re trying to fix—worse. The Champú and Acondicionador de Guava for Damage Repair and Protection answer our community’s desire to do better for their hair. As a Brown woman who spent most of my life trying to conform to traditional beauty standards, I’ve seen the damage it can cause to your self-esteem, not to mention the literal damage to your hair. I spent over a decade frantically bleaching and straightening my hair on a daily basis, coupled with toxin-filled products promising to ‘tame’ my hair. When I wanted to break out of that cycle and reclaim my natural hair, I realized I needed to rethink my approach to hair care. Whether you’re looking to break out of a cycle of hair damage or want to reduce the negative impact of color treatments, heat tools, and UV, this duo and line are for you,” says Babba Rivera, Founder, and CEO of Ceremonia.
We chatted with Founder and CEO Babba Rivera to learn more about the new line and its benefits to natural hair!
What was the inspiration behind your newest collection?
The inspiration behind the launch of the Champú de Guava and Acondicionador de Guava for Damage Repair and Color Protection came from our community. Ever since starting Ceremonia, the main hair concern I consistently heard over and over again was frizz, dryness and damage. As a result, many of our community were not feeling confident in their natural hair.
After many community conversations and research, I realized that a lot of our hair damage stems from years of damaging hair practices that we’ve opted into in an effort to conform to beauty standards that have only represented one hair texture and color. I’ve personally spent over a decade damaging my hair on a daily basis, through bleaching and straighteners, coupled with toxic hair products to “tame” and mask my hair instead of nourishing it.
In addition, I found a lack of awareness of the negative impact of summer on hair. UV, Chlorine, and saltwater contribute to hair damage, split ends, and color fade. The combination of a history of hair damage, insecurities around our natural hair, frizz concerns, and unawareness of summer stressors ultimately inspired this line — a Guava infused hair routine specifically formulated to repair damage and protect the hair from future damage. This line is also perfectly suited for those with color-treated hair. In addition to being color-safe (which all of our products are, btw), this is the first line to also proactively protect hair from color fading, while also repairing it from the damage caused by color treatments.
With this line, we want to give our community the tools to live fully on their terms, by embracing and nurturing their natural beauty. We also wish to hold space for the women of the Black and Brown communities that have been taught from an early age not to embrace their natural curl patterns and that to be “beautiful”, they have to tame and mask their hair under heavy, damaging chemicals to make it straight. El Pelo Malo No Existe – and we want to end that limiting belief.
Why did you choose Guava as the key ingredient for your collection? What are the benefits?
Our brand is on a mission to push the boundaries for what clean and effective beauty can be, and part of that is tapping into the powerful natural and clean ingredients that do better for us, versus masking symptoms under toxins.
The Superfruit Guava is used and cherished in many countries across Latin America for its delicious taste, powerful antioxidants, and natural source of Vitamin C, Potassium, and Fiber–which also act as natural protectants for your hair. It also helps boost sun defense by acting as a protective shield against solar rays, neutralizes the free-radical damage that UV exposure causes, and is packed with five times as much vitamin C as oranges. With that said, when we were looking to create a line that would rebuild damaged hair while protecting it from future damage – Guava was the perfect candidate.
How do UV rays affect hair health, and how do these products work to combat those effects?
UV rays diminish hair strength and shine and cause brittle, lifeless hair with split ends. They also contribute massively to hair color fade. The Champú de Guava and Acondicionador de Guava for Damage Repair and Color Protection, alongside our Guava Leave-In Conditioner, Guava Rescue Spray, and Guava Beach Waves, are specifically formulated with the Superfruit Guava in a powerful cocktail of natural and sage synthetic ingredients to combat the damage that UV rays cause, while also protecting it from future UV damage. It’s a first-of-its-kind rinse-off product to provide UV protection even after washing it off!
What are the three tips for using these products?
The Guava shampoo and conditioner is a must during the summer months, and truth be told, year-round for anyone with damaged and color-treated hair. I wash my hair one to two times a week with this duo, then spray the Guava Rescue Spray to help detangle and add additional UV protection. The Guava Rescue Spray is always in my beach bag to re-apply throughout the day when enjoying the sun and the ocean.
I pair the Guava Rescue Spray with the Guava Leave-In Conditioner between wash days to combat dryness and frizz. The Guava Leave-In Conditioner is perfect for smoothing out my baby hairs and sealing split ends. Finally, as a styling hack, I finish with the Guava Beach Waves Spray for messy “fresh off the beach” waves.
How does this shampoo and conditioner duo complement each other?
This wash duo is specifically formulated to work together to cleanse and condition, focusing on repairing and protecting the hair from the damage caused by common summer stressors, including UV, chlorine, and salt water, while also mending damage from color and hair relaxing treatments. The Guava Shampoo pairs perfectly with our Weightless Hydration Acondicionador de Cupuaçu for Fine/Thin Hair for a lighter finish for those with fine, not-so-damaged hair.
Which product is your favorite and why?
Our Aceite de Moska Pre-Wash Scalp Oil has always been my favorite Ceremonia product. But I must say, the new Champú de Guava and Acondicionador de Guava duo might steal the throne because the way it leaves my hair is simply incredible. The shine and smoothness is unmatched!!
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