Charlotte Mensah

What Charlotte Mensah does

Charlotte Mensah Limited operates a single-location hair salon (Hairlounge) at 347 Portobello Road, London, specialising in Afro and curly hair services. Founded and wholly owned by Charlotte Mensah — a three-time British Hairdressing Awards 'Afro Hairdresser of the Year' and Hall of Fame inductee — the business is positioned at the premium end of the textured-hair-care market. The salon serves a diversified clientele of individuals with Afro, mixed, and curly hair, including figures from business, entertainment, and politics, alongside families attending educational workshops. The company also operates an active Ghana commercial presence alongside London, sourcing materials from Ghanaian artisan suppliers (Duafe combs carved from sustainably harvested hardwoods) and Accra-based operations.

Name

Charlotte Mensah

Legal name

Charlotte Mensah Limited

Website

https://charlottemensah.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Charlotte Mensah Limited operates a single London Hairlounge salon and DTC e-commerce store for its proprietary Manketti Oil Haircare range, specialising in Afro and curly hair services, products, and educational workshops. Founder-owned with no external institutional investment.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Afro and Curly Hair Salon Services

NAICS

Beauty Salons (812112), Cosmetics, Beauty Supplies, and Perfume Retailers (456120), Toilet Preparation Manufacturing (325620)

SIC

Perfumes, Cosmetics & Other Toilet Preparations (2844), Soap, Detergents, Cleang Preparations, Perfumes, Cosmetics (2840)

akta.pro primary industry

Textured Hair & Protective Styling (Braids/Twists/Locs) (HSALAAAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Haircutting & Styling Services (HSALAAAD), Professional Hair Care (Shampoo, Conditioner, Treatments) (CRABALAB), Professional/Salon Haircare (Backbar & Retail) (CRABABAK), Conditioners & Hair Masks (CRABABAB)

Keywords

• Afro hair salon
• Curly haircare products
• Natural haircare range
• Premium hair styling
• Manketti oil treatments

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Salon Services: Hair Lounge by Charlotte Mensah provides Afro and curly hair services including washing, cutting, colouring, braiding, chemical treatments, and extensions. Services are priced à la carte with most styling add-ons requiring a Wash & Blow-Dry base service. Deposits required for braid and extension services.
2. Product Sales: Sale of the proprietary Manketti Oil haircare product range including shampoo, conditioner, hair oil, finishing mist, pomade, salt scrub, brushes, combs, and candles. Sold through own e-commerce store and at the salon.
3. Educational Workshops: Curl Power Workshops offering hands-on education for curly and afro hair care. Priced at £45 per caregiver and child pair, these community events serve as both revenue stream and marketing/brand-building vehicle.
4. Book Sales: Sale of Charlotte Mensah's best-selling book 'Good Hair', published in partnership with Penguin, available through the website and major retailers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Charlotte Mensah operates Hairlounge, a flagship Afro and curly hair salon on Portobello Road in London, providing washing, cutting, colouring, braiding, chemical treatments, and extensions. Alongside the salon, the company sells its proprietary Manketti Oil Haircare range (shampoo, conditioner, hair oil, finishing mist, pomade, salt scrub, mini collection) plus hair tools, accessories, and a limited-edition candle through its own e-commerce store and at the salon.

Product overview

Charlotte Mensah operates a hair salon and sells a proprietary haircare product line called the Manketti Oil Haircare range. The core offering consists of the Manketti Oil haircare products (Shampoo, Conditioner, Hair Oil, Finishing Mist, Pomade, Salt Scrub, and Mini Collection), supplemented by professional hair tools (Paddle Brush, Duafe Combs, and Afro Pik), lifestyle products (Awakening Candle), educational workshops (Curl Power Workshop), and published content (Good Hair book). The company also operates Hair Lounge, an award-winning salon on Portobello Road offering hair services including washing, cutting, styling, colouring, braiding, chemical treatments, and extensions. The Manketti Oil range sets the foundation of the product portfolio, with the hair tools and accessories designed to complement the use of these products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hair Lounge Salon Services Award-winning salon service for Afro and curly hair including washing, cutting, styling, colouring, braiding, chemical treatments, and extensions, priced à la carte with a three-step appointment building system requiring a Wash & Blow-Dry base for most styling add-ons. Deposits required for braid and extension services.
• Manketti Oil Shampoo Rich, creamy shampoo formulated for dehydrated, malnourished and damaged hair; contains wheat protein to strengthen hair and prevent breakage, with a blend of nourishing oils including tangerine pill, citrus lemon, argan, Ximenia, and kernel oils.
• Manketti Oil Conditioner Rich and creamy conditioner formulated for dehydrated, malnourished and damaged hair; contains wheat protein to strengthen hair and shea butter to seal in hydration, with a blend of nourishing oils including tangerine pill, citrus lemon, Ximenia, and olive fruit oils.
• Manketti Hair Oil Multi-award-winning concentrated Manketti Oil blend that instantly improves hair appearance, adds shine, tames frizz and cares for the scalp; contains a bespoke blend of Manketti, castor, kernel, argan and sustainably sourced Ximenia oils.
• Manketti Oil Finishing Mist Shine-enhancing mist that adds the finishing touch to styled hair, tames fly-aways and seals in shine; enriched with Ximenia, tangerine pill, lemon oil and argan oils for nourishment and protection against environmental damage.
• Manketti Oil Pomade Creamy styling pomade that makes hair more manageable and helps maintain a smooth, controlled style; nourishes, moisturises and softens hair without adding weight; formulated with macadamia oil and sunflower seed oil.
• Manketti Oil Salt Scrub Gentle scalp scrub that restores balance for optimum scalp health and increased hair growth; contains sea salt from Prampram Ghana and Himalayan pink salt combined with nourishing mongongo, jojoba seed, grape seed and sweet almond oils.
• Manketti Oil Mini Collection Mini bundle featuring Pomade, Oil, Shampoo, Conditioner, and Salt Scrub that harnesses the power of Manketti Oil to moisturise, strengthen, and define hair.
• Medium Paddle Brush Heat-resistant paddle brush designed for detangling wet hair without causing breakage and distributing oils through hair; gentle on hair and scalp, and can also be used to smooth hair into ponytails and sleek up-dos.
• Duafe Wide Tooth Comb Hand-carved comb with long wide teeth designed for thick, curly and afro hair types; gently untangles hair without causing breakage; each comb is unique, carved from sustainably sourced off-cuts of teak, tamarind and rosewood in Ghana.
• Duafe Afro Comb Hand-made comb with long teeth ideal for styling and adding volume to curly and afro hairstyles; carved from sustainably sourced off-cuts of ebony, tamarind and rosewood in Ghana.
• Duafe Afro Pik Hand-made pik ideal for creating precise partings and sectioning, adding volume to roots, and removing braids or cornrows; carved from sustainably sourced off-cuts of ebony in Ghana.
• Charlotte Mensah Awakening Candle Limited-edition hand-poured candle (300g, approximately 60-75 hours burn time) featuring scents of raspberry, blackcurrant, spice, frankincense, patchouli and cedar, inspired by Charlotte Mensah's Afrofuture hair collection.
• Good Hair by Charlotte Mensah Book covering the subject of natural haircare for Afro, mixed and curly hair types, published in partnership with Penguin and available through the website and major retailers.
• Curl Power Workshop Hands-on workshop for adults and children to learn together how to care for curls and coils, covering practical demonstrations, styling techniques, and community education on textured hair care; priced at £45 per caregiver and child pair.

Quantifiable outcome

• Three-time Afro Hairdresser of the Year at the British Hairdressing Awards
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Love Naa Densua FoundationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCharlotte Mensah partnered with the Love Naa Densua Foundation for a Summer Sale at the Salon event on 20 July 2025. The event was a celebration of hair, beauty, wellness, and community joy supporting the foundation's mission to uplift, empower, and create lasting impact. Every purchase at the event directly supported the foundation's charitable work.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• The Doux: Independent textured-hair care brand with strong salon and stylist channel presence. Comparable founder-led positioning and focus on the textured-hair professional market segment.

Broad incumbents

• Aveda: Estée Lauder-owned professional haircare brand built on botanical/natural ingredient positioning and salon channel distribution. Comparable salon-professional product model and ingredient-led brand narrative.
• John Frieda Salons: Global professional haircare brand with London salon heritage and mass-market product distribution. Comparable dual salon/product business model and brand authority, though focused on general rather than textured hair.
• SheaMoisture: Pioneer brand in natural, ethically sourced haircare for textured hair with global retail distribution. Comparable product positioning (natural/African-origin ingredients) and category overlap, though operating at vastly larger scale and lower price points.
• Carol's Daughter: Long-established textured-hair care brand (founded 1993), now owned by L'Oréal. Comparable founder-origin story and natural-ingredient positioning, but operating with full incumbent distribution and marketing scale.

Direct peers

• Cantu Beauty: Mass-market textured-hair care brand with broad retail distribution (Boots, Walmart, Target). Competes for the same end consumer as Manketti Oil but at lower price points and significantly wider shelf presence.
• Hershesons: London-based premium hair salon group with multiple locations and product line. Comparable premium London salon positioning and dual salon/product model, though serving a broader (non-Afro-focused) clientele.
• Pattern Beauty: Founder-led (Tracee Ellis Ross) textured-hair care brand with strong DTC and Ulta distribution. Comparable premium positioning, founder-driven brand authority, and category focus on curly/coily hair.
• Mielle Organics: US-based textured-hair care brand built on a founder story and community-led marketing, now scaled via P&G acquisition. Highly comparable growth trajectory from founder-led niche brand to category leader.
• Bouclème: UK-based DTC haircare brand focused on curly, coily, and afro hair types with a proprietary ingredient-led formulation strategy. Most directly comparable to Charlotte Mensah's Manketti Oil line given shared UK base, textured-hair focus, and DTC e-commerce-led model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/charlottemensah

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Charlotte Mensah