- You really have to dream big.
Now I'm gone.
I'm trying to be the fancy of hair.
(upbeat music)
- So we are here in your pop-up shop in New York
for TPH by Taraji.
How did this idea even come about?
And how did it kind of evolve from an idea
to a finished product that we see now?
- Back when I was starting in Hollywood,
Hollywood hadn't embraced black women's natural hair.
It was a bout straight hair.
So I damaged my hair a lot,
you know with he straightening and everything,
and the heat.
So I was like I have to start using protective hairstyles.
And when I got into protective hair styles,
my scalp was suffering 'cause it was
all of this obstruction.
So I had to be innovative,
'cause I went out and I looked for,
I was like, nothing exists to help me.
So then I came up with a real concoction that was better,
but it was really for me.
'Cause it was literally a problem that I needed to solve.
And so I wasn't thinking to service the world
with this product.
I was just like, "This is for me."
And then I started thinking about it and I was like,
"Wow, women are suffering."
And so I was like "Wow, this is gonna be really innovative,
"because it's needed."
I started trying to get a partner right,
the perfect partner.
It wasn't hard to convince people,
because it made total sense.
When black women started embracing our natural hair,
we started like,
it became this thing.
The cosmetology business and saw that there was a void
that needed to be filled.
And as African American women,
we had to make our own concoctions,
because they didn't exist.
And now it's a multi-billion dollar business.
So who is not in the business of making money?
(giggles)
And this was definitely an empty hole in the hair industry.
(upbeat music)
- There's so many celebrity based beauty products
on the market now,
how are you making sure as well that A, you're standing out,
but B, like it is authentically you?
- I have a very diverse fan base,
and this is what I know about branding and celebrities.
I love Rihanna.
Anything she does, I'm gonna buy it,
because it feels like I have a piece of her.
You know what I mean?
So I didn't wanna leave out any of my fans,
so I made the foundation of my line,
is for everyone.
Now that gives me a place to branch off
and handle each specific group that needs different care.
You know like men, children.
We need a medicated scalp care line
for people who really have issues with their scalp.
So there's so many places I can go now and now I mean,
I'm a Virgo,
so I'm literally a people pleaser by nature,
so I'm off to the races now.
I'm trying to save everybody's scalp.
(laughing)
(upbeat music)
- It probably would have been so easy for you to just become
the face of a brand,
why did you wanna be so involved and make it so you,
and be so personal?
I can't get behind anything if I'm not passionate about it.
If I don't know what I'm talking about,
I can't sell it to the people,
and the people feel me.
Like they feel me through my characters,
They feel me when I'm just being my silly self
on social media.
They trust me, because I've been in the game
for over 20 years,
and I've never pushed a product for a check.
If I didn't use it myself,
if I wasn't well versed in it,
then I would decline,
because then I feel like I'm lying to my fans.
And I feel like they can tell.
They've known me long enough.
You know you've been an executive producer
on numerous movies,
you've directed before, and what are some of,
kind of the similarities between getting a movie
off the ground and getting a brand off the ground?
- It's the same, it's the same, hustle.
Even when you're trying to get a movie of it,
you're a salesman.
You're trying to pitch this idea.
You're trying to sell them on it,
like "Hey, you know you wanna see this story.
"You've never seen this story before."
So I kind of been doing that.
(giggles)
So this is something I know.
- A lot of the times,
well people see you in a movie or a TV show.
They see you playing a character, a role,
and this is a 100% you.
- Yeah this is all me.
- How does it feel to kind of be putting that out
into the world?
- I feel empowered.
I feel like I'm helping people.
I feel like I'm right where I'm supposed to be.
It's all about the people around you.
I have a great support system.
They don't allow me to get ahead of myself.
Step outside of myself,
or what they know as who Taraji really is,
'cause the industry can change you if you let it.
But I stay grounded.
I stay rooted in what I know.
I still have my friends from high school and college,
like I didn't.
I'm still Taraji from the block, if you will.
(laughing)
Just living out my dream.
(upbeat music)