Often the only Black woman in the C-suite at companies like Uber, Apple and Netflix, Bozoma “Boz” Saint John has had to be highly intentional about her hairstyle.

When she became the first Black person to present as part of Apple’s keynote event in 2016, she chose to sport a curly afro as she played The Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” to demo Apple Music and embody what Refinery29 described as a “badass-boss-lady vibe.” Upon joining Uber a year later, where she was helping to restore its reputation after scandals around driver treatment and allegations of sexual harassment, she opted for long, structured box braids.

“While I was very concerned about my performance and knew that that was what I was going to be judged on, promoted with, given raises because of, the additional responsibility of appearing a certain way was also something I thought about every day,” says Saint John, who left Uber in 2022, published memoir “The Urgent Life” last year and joined “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” cast this year for the reality show’s 14th season premiering Nov. 19. “So, it meant that the choices I made in regards to my hair were not just fashion choices, they weren’t flippant.”

Informed by her experience of the power of hair, she’s launching new haircare brand Eve by Boz today with wigs, extensions, accessories, shampoo, conditioner, leave-in conditioner, edge control gel and an oil-based hair perfume, which Saint John calls its crown jewel. Prices range from $35 for shampoo to $2,100 for a wig made with human hair.

Even though the business of wigs is growing fast—Arizton Advisory & Intelligence estimates it’s advancing at a compound annual growth rate of almost 15% and will reach $6.34 billion by 2029, up from $2.79 billion in 2023—and women of color are core wig customers, Saint John says the products haven’t been the center of the conversation in the beauty industry nor have they been made with women of color in mind. She aims to change that.

Saint John says, “Hair has been a battle for Black women and women of color for a long time, so why not enter this space? Especially because I have a love of it.” She adds, “I am interested only in building an empire. The empire is not just about the success of Eve by Boz, but bringing about change in the entire industry and industries beyond this. I want Black women and women of color to be more centered in the conversations on businesses that they are huge consumers of. I’ve had enough battles in boardrooms in which the idea that Black women and women of color can actually drive buying power has been so put aside that I want to prove everybody wrong.”

Saint John jetted off to Guangzhou, China in July last year to attend the China international Hair Fair (CHIF), promoted as the largest hair trade show in the world, to meet manufacturers and salespeople and gain a better understanding of wigs, particularly why lace fronts that go with them have largely not been made in brown shades. She says, “I was expecting there to be some sort of manufacturing challenge like it costs $3 more to make brown lace than it does white lace, but most people just said, ‘Oh, we don’t make it because nobody asked for it.'”

It took Saint John six months to pin down partners for material sourcing and build a processing factory in Ghana, where her parents are from. Her intention is to make wig installation and wearing easy and pleasurable from start to finish. Eve by Boz’s wigs and extensions are available in human hair with hazelwood, chestnut and mahogany lace colors. Each wig style is named for women Saint John respects.

“I am interested only in building an empire.”

The C.J. Silk Press texture, commonly known as Yaki Straight, is a nod to Madame C.J. Walker. Amma’s Blowout, also known as Kinky Straight, is named for Saint John’s aunt. Amina’s Loose Wave is named for one of her friends, Lael’s Curly Ringlets, best known as Burmese Curly, is named for her daughter, and Folake’s Coily Curly, commonly known as Kinky Curly, is named for another friend. Eve in the brand’s name refers to the biblical figure as well as Saint John’s first daughter who didn’t survive birth. Saint John says, “I wanted to create a legacy for her, too.”

Eve by Boz’s wigs and extensions arrive to customers in bonnets rather than plastic bags that can give them an off-putting smell. The bonnets can be used to protect hair at night. The liquid products are designed to wash and scent the extension hair. Saint John says, “When you are a consumer of this product, you’re usually receiving it in conditions that don’t match the investment you’ve spent.”

Eve by Boz’s imagery and marketing messages are meant to change the narrative around how women of color are depicted and spoken to in haircare. Saint John characterizes the product imagery as luxurious and moody. Eve by Boz’s slogan is, “Get ready to boss up & bussdown.” On its website, the brand provides visitors are complete view of its wigs including in profile and from behind. There’s also a video that was shot while a fan was running to show how the wig hair moves. Eve by Boz’s products will be sold in direct-to-consumer distribution along with on Instagram and TikTok Shop.

Get ready to boss up & bussdown.

Eve by Boz is celebrating its launch with a billboard in New York City’s Times Square, but social media will be its primary mode of communication. Saint John has over 500,000 followers on Instagram. Of course, Saint John’s role in “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” will undoubtedly be an awareness boon for Eve by Boz, and several “housewives” have launched brands in beauty and beyond. However, Boz was thinking about developing Eve by Boz before she was in talks to join the cast.

She says, “This idea was going to happen with or without being a housewife.”