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When I was about five, my parents almost shaved my head after I used a hair mask for the first time. OK, it was an entire jar of Vaseline, which my little brother had scooped out and brushed through my hair when we tagged along on our dad's business trip to CosmoProf, the biggest beauty trade show in the country. "He gave me a hair treatment!" I announced to my parents in our hotel room, their other child clutching an incriminating paddle brush and staunchly convinced he'd nailed one of the services we'd watched hairstylists teach that weekend. I hid my hair under a Yankee cap for the next week, and the acrid, bleached burn of the Lysol/dish soap/clarifying shampoo cocktail my mother scrubbed my head with over and over still haunts me — a true family affair.
Nikita Charuza, founder of Squigs Beauty, has far fonder memories of generational hair care. Hair oiling, the South Asian beauty tradition of treating the hair and scalp with a blend of nourishing oils, is as much about connection as it is about conditioning.
"Hair oiling is very close to my heart because the concept of taking care of my skin, both on my face and scalp, has been ingrained in me since I was a child," explains Charuza. "There was something so magical about being with my family, turning on some music, and just hanging out together while doing our weekly self-care routines."
That's one reason Charuza launched Squigs, a "head-care" brand aiming to pamper the skin on the face and scalp equally, and to do so with person-to-person connection in mind.
Courtesy of Squigs Beauty
"Those were core memories for me; it felt like a fun sleepover!" she says, noting that hair oiling was another way of connecting with new classmates after switching schools in her youth. "I wanted to create a brand that evoked that feeling of camaraderie and happiness while honoring my heritage at the same time."
That's where Squigs' hero product comes in: the Gooseberry Delight Hair Oil was created to take the best of Charuza's family ritual and modernize it for the masses. The formula was even inspired by the bespoke homemade hair oil blend her family would make every weekend, which contained amla, coconut, castor, kalonji, and orange peel oils.
"I wanted to create a shelf-stable version that was lightweight, easy to wash off, and safe for sensitive skin, because many of my family members deal with severe eczema," she explains. To avoid synthetic fragrances that might cause irritation, orange peel and apricot kernels oil double as the products' citrus-y fragrance. When blended together, this combo of traditional ingredients packs a pampering punch.
Alma oil, which is derived from Indian gooseberry, is effective at treating both the scalp and strands, says cosmetic chemist Ginger King. "It's known for its antioxidant properties to help strengthen hair. In skin care, there are studies [that show its benefits] for skin brightening," she says.
Audrey Kunin, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in Kansas City, Missouri, agrees that alma oil is a multi-benefit powerhouse. "It's rich in vitamins C and E, as well as antioxidants making it both nourishing and hydrating for the scalp," she says. "These vitamins help fight free radical damage and support healthy scalp skin. It's also believed to have both calming and antiseptic benefits."
The rest of the ingredient list is just as impressive: King says coconut oil has antimicrobial properties for the scalp to promote balance and is one of the few oils that can actually penetrate hair shaft to deliver moisture. She adds that kalonji (a.k.a black cumin seed oil) can help to stimulate hair growth, while apricot oil can help add sheen.
Beyond efficacy, though, Gooseberry Delight is about paying tribute to South Asian culture. If you've seen one TikTok's many "hair slugging" tutorials — a term that calls Vaseline and dish detergent to mind, if you ask me — you've seen the appropriation of a ritual important to families like Charuza's.
"I would be lying if I said it didn't bother me a lot. It was very frustrating to see something largely ingrained in our culture be taken and marketed as a 'new, hot trend' when it's been around for centuries," Charuza admits. "I have seen things like this repeatedly happen within the fashion and beauty space, which is why it's been a mission of mine to uplift other POC-owned brands. That's something I'll never stop doing." Charuza adds that there's a lot of work to do when it comes to celebrating and supporting similar traditions and the communities that created them.
"I know some people genuinely are just curious about giving hair oiling a try, and I think that's amazing, but a little acknowledgment of where it comes from rather than guising it as this new thing with a completely different name would have felt a little less icky to me," she elaborates. "If there were more brands founded by brown women or women of color, I would feel a little bit different, but we're barely scratching the surface when it comes to that [inclusivity] within the beauty space."
Oiled up before bed.
When Gooseberry Delight landed on my desk in early May, I'd only tried hair oiling once before — in Rajasthan, India, years ago. But since receiving I've been using the oil as a treatment about once every three washes, usually throwing it in my hair right after work and washing it out after a few hours right before bed. Most recently, I tried keeping it in overnight, something I typically don't do with hair treatments because I like my silk pillowcases too much to stain them. But Charuza knows all too well that some products can be hard on your linens, which is why she says that during the product's formulation stages, it was her "goal to get rid of the 'mess' factor."
"It was a lot of trial and error of finding the right mixtures of each of the oils I knew wanted to include. For example, castor oil is very thick and hard to wash off, but I loved the benefits of it. That's why the process took around three years," she explains. "I also wanted to make sure that you only have to shampoo your hair thoroughly once for it to come out easily, because that was another pet peeve of mine."
Even for my fine, stick-straight hair, that selling point held true: I only shampooed once, taking care not to totally negate the oil's effects. I worked up an extra foamy lather, making sure to scrub and massage my scalp and fully cleanse from roots to ends. Then, I just blowdried my hair with my Dyson dryer — no styling products! — and bolted out the door. Once I found the good light in my office, though, I couldn't believe what a difference a few extra hours of soaking had made. My hair looked strong and reflective, and there was no heaviness or greasiness leftover whatsoever.
After using the treatment overnight.
The brand was made to treat all hair types, which is the prime reason the bottle was created with a reducer rather than a dropper. "As someone with really thick hair, I would end up tossing [droppers] aside and just pouring oils into my hand," says Charuza. "Many of my friends with textured or [coily] hair would also complain about the same issue because the application process took forever with a dropper."
She also says the key to using Gooseberry Delight is all about finding your "goldilocks amount" for your own texture and how you want to use it. She notes that for an overnight treatment, it's best to massage enough oil into your scalp and down your lengths until the hair is adequately covered, or "if you're planning on using it as a styling oil or for some added shine, just a few drops from your mid-lengths to your ends will do the trick."
Since I started integrated the oil into my routine regularly, I've received non-stop compliments on how healthy my hair looks. It's shiny! It's smooth! Whats more, permanent black hair color can look especially dull as it fades, and this product helps to preserve that just-glossed look I love in between salon visits — no petroleum jelly in sight.
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