The market had products for straight hair. Products for tight curls. But nothing for the massive middle, wavy, textured, frizzy hair that was neither 1A straight nor 4C curly. That hair type wasn't recognized as a category. It was called "unmanageable," "difficult," "messy." It was a problem to fix, not a texture to celebrate.

Indian beauty standards idealizing straight hair created a massive market failure. Products imported from the West weren't formulated for Indian climate, hard water, or oiling rituals. Local brands weren't addressing texture because texture wasn't considered worth preserving. Wavy and curly hair was being erased from both ends.