ReNewHair: An Eco-Friendly and Non-Toxic Alternative for Hair Extensions (Eco-E)

The ReNew Eco-E master’s project is an entrepreneurial undertaking by MESM class of 2026 students, Aaliyah Muhammad and Halle Kuhar-Pitters. The project’s aim is to find a new, safe and sustainable alternative to the synthetic hair products sold in the beauty industry. Focusing on the intersection between public and environmental health, ReNew’s goal addresses the harms affecting the current consumer base, specifically Black and Black mixed-race women, girls and other femmes. Despite being in a billion-dollar industry, synthetic hair offerings have issues regarding its safety to human health and environmental soundness. In terms of public health, synthetic hair is made from modacrylic fibers and other synthetic fibers which are composed of toxic materials. These materials contain carcinogens such as lead, VOCs, and other sources that have been linked to endocrine disruption, respiratory harm, reproductive issues, and neoplasms. These products are then covered in chemical coatings such as dyes, heat sealants, and flame retardants. The environmental impact that results is a product that is non-biodegradable and is a cause of chemical leaching. Like many forms of textile or synthetic waste the hair after use primarily ends up in landfills, further contributing to environmental pollution.

To address both these environmental and public health concerns, the ReNew Hair project’s objective is to combine public outreach with scientific inquiry to develop a healthy and competitive market solution. By conducting consumer outreach in tandem with textile, microplastic, chemical pollution research we aim to find the overlap between what stakeholders experience and what is currently being utilized in synthetic products in order to aid in developing a non-toxic, renewable base fiber for product experimentation. The project will also look into chemical composition of current synthetic hair products to determine what elements are the cause for public health risks to consumers and raise awareness. Combining these strategies we aim to create a product that, aside from not being physically harmful, is able to be biodegradable or at the very least reusable to lessen the amount of waste in landfills and to stem the chemical pollution that goes into synthetic fiber products. To help organize our vision of a business model, ReNew Hair will also consult market research to help evaluate potential marketing strategies, price points, and revenue statistics that will be needed to make the product viable in the consumer market. ReNew Hair’s goal is to create an environmentally conscious and safe version of synthetic hair that is still competitive in plant-based hair and beauty markets, all while still being affordable to the everyday consumer.

The business model being built for ReNew Hair identifies the following groups as the current, targeted customer segment: mothers, young women, and hairstylists / braiders. Additionally, we are hoping to expand our outreach to include more multicultural synthetic hair experiences. Also, we are in the process of designing an experiment which tests samples of synthetic hair products identified by our stakeholders to document the chemicals that are most prevalent in synthetic hair and determine their environmental and human harms, as well as any and all alternatively available to their implementation.