Welcome to As I Am
This is our slogan and our truth. As I Am® products were born out of a well-thought out, deliberate and caring process. Dr. Ali N. Syed, a master hair care chemist and entrepreneur, began to hear it more and more as he traveled the world. Women of color, with naturally coily and curly hair textures, asked him, “What products do you have for my hair?”; “What, from your product lines, should I use…could I use… to style and care for it?”
Dr. Syed had plenty of products that he could have recommended. You see, he has developed a large number of highly successful hair care products for many well-known brands. Yet, Dr. Syed was a bit hesitant to recommend any of his existing products. Why? Because his instincts led him to realize that what was being asked of him was much more than an ordinary recommendation.
Among the growing numbers of women who asked him personally about products for their hair, and who also frequently contacted him via email, there was an unmistakable and definite nuance. The products of potential interest were desired as much for what they were made of as what they could do for hair. Exploration into the desires and needs of this emerging consumer group, led him and the marketing team to spend lots of time on the specialty websites and blogs, reading every word and carefully viewing numerous online do-it-yourself videos. “We learned so much about what women wearing natural-textured hair wanted and what they didn’t want in terms of certain ingredients such as mineral oil, sulfates and silicones. We also came to know what the natural ladies were doing to care and style their hair, and what they needed the products to do.” “We felt that we got into their hearts and minds to some extent”, says Dr. Syed. More than just a return to natural in terms of the hair texture, women were also adopting a healthier, more natural approach to personal care overall. Products containing more organics were demanded, and there remained little tolerance for ingredients and styling processes that would damage or otherwise harm their hair.
The vision began to emerge. Yes, there was an undeniable trend. Celebrating one’s own natural hair texture was now a lifestyle for many. Even among an increasing number of employees at Dr. Syed’s companies, women began to embrace their natural tightly-coiled textures. Fortunately for them, they were able to make face-to-face requests of Dr. Syed for products that would moisturize and define their curl patterns. Without hesitation, he and his highly experienced team of R&D chemists enthusiastically began to formulate and provide them samples of products, from cleansers… to moisturizers… to curl definers. It was a wonderful thing. But, not so fast! It took no less than a dozen professional hair care chemists, (several with Ph.D.’s), at least 10 professional hairstylists; countless happy “testers” among employees and the community at large; hundreds of research & development hours and hundreds of thousands of investment dollars to make the vision a reality. It was all so worth it, because it culminated in the birth of a wonderful array of products, aptly brand-named “As I Am”. For starters, the line consists of 11 wonderfully formulated products designed specifically for tightly coiled and curly hair; each with an impressive ingredient listing that includes many of nature’s finest organic ingredients.
The As I Am® brand is a separate and distinct enterprise, which markets unique and exclusively-formulated products. “We want to give our customers, who primarily care for and style their own hair at home, the time and specialized attention they deserve. At the same time, our mission is to provide the very best products, education and customer service to each and every person who buys from us.”
As I Am® products are sold in select retail stores across the nation and through its own estore.
As I Am Products
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