PARIS — Jawara Wauchope has been named international brand ambassador for Hair Rituel by Sisley.

The hairstylist, known professionally as Jawara, takes an artful approach to hair and has built up a robust celebrity clientele. 

He had an inkling that hair would become his métier at the age of 6 or 7, while living in Jamaica. There, Jawara found the salon a place of community and hairstylists to be like magicians who make people happy.

He became a salon assistant in his birthplace of Brooklyn at 16, then began assisting top session hairstylists such as Guido Palau, Sam McKnight, Luigi Murenu and Paul Hanlon. Jawara went solo in 2013 and his clients today include celebrities such as Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Dua Lipa, Rihanna and Bella Hadid. Jawara also regularly collaborates on editorial shoots.

He became acquainted with Hair Rituel products backstage at fashion shows, then looked into how Sisley came up with the products. “There was something very special about the way they formulated [them],” said Jawara. He then used some and became enamored.

Hair Rituel sponsored a show, where Jawara said he found the products worked on all hair types and were of very high quality. “So I took a deeper dive and saw that they were leaning into scalp care, which I don’t see a lot of hair-care lines doing,” he said, adding scalp care is something with which he has long been obsessed, calling it “the root of good hair.”

All this made it easy for him to say “yes” to the ambassadorship. “It was a great match,” he said. “I love the fact that I can stand behind [Hair Rituel].”

Jawara now splits his time between New York and Paris. He’s familiarized himself with Sisley’s holistic approach to wellness, beauty and care, which chimes with his own. Jawara, who has already begun working on content for the brand, will be doing in-person appearances in some Sisley stores.

Christine d’Ornano, general manager of Sisley and cofounder of Neuraé, believes in the importance of giving customers ideas about hairstyles and tips on how to choose and use the Hair Rituel products. “He’s really perfect for that,” she said. 

D’Ornano explained she adores Jawara’s work, and deems he and the brand have similar values. “He thinks of the hair like we think of the hair,” she said. 

Hair Rituel already has some styling products and is now launching two more — for curly and wavy hair. As the brand’s products are being developed, Jawara will try them and give feedback. “He will be our artist in residence for hair,” said d’Ornano.

Since its launch six years ago, Hair Rituel’s sales have grown rapidly, and now represent more than 10 percent of Sisley’s business. In 2024, company sales reached 847 million euros, according to the most recent edition of the WWD Beauty Inc Top 100.

Today, Hair Rituel is stocked in about 7,000 doors in 112 countries, and is beginning to have its own counters separate from Sisley skin care. Each of the brand’s maisons has a room dedicated to Hair Rituel.

“It came as a natural progression from skin care,” said d’Ornano. That’s because Sisley scientists found that the actives they use in skin care are applicable to hair and scalp care.

Hair Rituel’s business is strong in all markets where Sisley is present — Europe, the U.S. and Asia, including China. Its bestseller is the Revitalizing Fortifying Serum, which stimulates the scalp for thicker hair. The Precious Hair Care Oil working on hair fiber comes in second, while shampoos represent another flourishing category.

In styling, the Volumizing Spray does particularly well, according to d’Ornano. “Now, we’re tackling more specific hair types,” she said. “We have a lot of exciting products in the pipeline.”