OUR FOUNDER
Inocência Manoel, the second daughter of seven children, was born in the city of Alvorada do Sul, Brazil, but her journey as the original real hair alchemist the founder of Inoar, has roots in the city of Assis, in the countryside of the State of São Paulo, where she lived most of her life.
As a teenager, Inô experimented with creating different hairstyles and haircuts, as a means to manage her dissatisfaction with her own hair, which she described as big, bulky, curly and unruly. This would be the start to Inô’s journey to search for effective treatments for unruly hair, making it manageable. At the tender age of 15, Inô opened her own beauty salon at her family home, giving her enterprising spirit an opportunity to bloom, and giving her room to develop into what would become her destiny – the original hair alchemist.
Inô devoted much of her time to researching and developing products that could make her own hair smooth and silky, and she experimented and created bespoke combinations for her clients, using different techniques and ingredients to find the desired effects.
Wanting to be where the bustle and innovation of the industry was centred, Inô moved to São Paulo at the age of 24, starting a new salon in an upscale neighbourhood. In a short space of time, Inô was starting to perfect her treatment products, studying formulas of the most revolutionary products at the time, while researching new active ingredients and innovations in the domestic market, to create a better and more affordable product. It was not long before a famous French hairdresser, visiting Sao Paolo, discovered the talent of the girl who seemed to have created the most desirable formula of all time.
Very soon, Inô’s innovations become so well known, and the demand from other salon owners and hair stylists so great, that her artisanal manufacturing processes could no longer keep up.
The very first professional treatment developed by Inô and produced on a larger scale – and is still an iconic product in our professional keratin treatment range today – was the Moroccan Straightening Treatment. At the time, the Japanese Straightening Treatment was sweeping across the globe – a major success; however, very expensive. The Moroccan Straightening Treatment created by Inô was a first of its kind in Brazil. Using Argan Oil from Morocco to ensure great hair condition, the Moroccan Straightening Treatment became a sensational success, both due to its incredible efficacy and it’s affordable price point; and it laid the foundation for the formation of INOAR (combining her name – Inô – with her new signature ingredient – AR from Argan Oil) in 1999, in partnership with her son, businessman Alexandre Nascimento.
With a focus on creating effective hair care products for in-salon and home use, and an affordable price point whilst being environmentally and socially responsible, Inoar continues to create and manufacture for all hair types, and hair and scalp concerns. At the heart of doing business for Inocência, and therefor also for Inoar itself, is solidarity and a great will to help. Beleza Solidária (Inclusive Beauty), a project which is an integral part of Inoar’s operations, was created to empower women from different communities, in Brazil and abroad, with a focus on the empowerment and social inclusion of women, promoting and encouraging entrepreneurship in low-income groups. Through Beleza Solidária, Inô keeps her commitment to not only transforming hair, but lives, encouraging women to be the protagonists of their lives.