Your bonnet is lying to you—it’s not really silk. “Many brands are using satin mixes,” founder of Lina Lennox Angela Muth tells ESSENCE. “They call it silk as a marketing term, but when it truly comes down to the fabric, most of the components are actually polyester.”
With friction leading to breakage, pulling a bonnet over our hair is the final—and most common—step in our daily haircare ritual. But, with haircare brands often misleading Black women into thinking their bonnets are protecting their hair with real silk, the results when we wake up prove otherwise.
“It’s not breathable, and that’s why it causes sweating and irritation,” Muth says, citing polyester as a form of plastic (just like synthetic braiding hair). Not just that, but your bonnet could also be causing your breakage and hair loss, which is why Muth founded her bonnet brand, Lina Lennox.
Founded in March of this year, Lina Lennox is a line of hair essentials powered by 100 percent organic silk, a material proven to deliver unparalleled benefits to textured hair (which is why brands claim to use silk, even when they don’t). According to Muth, silk preserves curls and hairstyles, while reducing frizz, tangles, and bedhead.
“One lady I met years ago had cancer and due to chemo, she lost all of her hair,” Muth says, a disease impacting 34 percent of Black women. “Silk helped her regrowth because it’s a natural fabric and it’s breathable and hypoallergenic, especially organic silk.” Unlike other brands, Lina Lennox uses a non-toxic GOTS and OEKO-TEX® standard 100 material without pesticides, which means it’s safe for even the most damaged, dry, and sensitive hair and scalps, including her own.
Born to a Greek immigrant mother and African American father, the biracial founder grew up in a predominately white Germany. After her father left the army to produce music for the 80s funk band, Cameo, she was raised by her mother who only knew how to care for fine, straight hair. “Since I have multi-textured hair, my mother really tried everything she could to grow my hair and help with my breakage and dryness,” she recalls. “My mom oiled my hair, she conditioned it, and at some point, she even brought me to African women to braid my hair.”
Regardless of her mother’s care, Muth says all the products and braiding appointments weren’t enough to cure her hair concerns. “I always knew there was something missing in the process,” she says. Trying to fit into the European beauty standard, she ended up over-manipulating her hair with heat, which damaged her texture’s condition even more.
After moving to the US 10 years ago, she introduced her hair to bonnets, testing out a number of materials on the market, from satin and polyester to silk. “Bonnets are such an integral part of the Black community,” she says. However, most weren’t double lined, which means the silk was on the outside of the bonnet effectively defeating the purpose of the material, or fell off throughout the night.
Alternatively, “everything about our product and the packaging is extremely thought out,” she says, using double-lined fabric derived from silkworms and a cocoon shape for extra security, while avoiding ties and elastic bands due to headaches and friction. With smaller sized bonnets currently in stock, the future of Lina Lennox is even bigger. “We want to do a second sku of bonnets that are larger,” she says, designed to fit braids, locs, and curlers. But, not without a few surprises on the way. However, “We will stay in hair care for sure. That’s our passion.”