AS I AM

As I Am was founded by Dr. Ali N. Syed, a master hair care chemist and entrepreneur.
He grew up in post-partition Pakistan, where he obtained a MS in Chemistry and started teaching in universities in Pakistan, and in Tanzania, Africa.
After a few years teaching in Dar-El-Salaam, he made a big move to the US, and started working as a laborer and maintenance technician.
After a few years he had the opportunity to work at Johnson Product Company, as an entry level lab position. From this moment he could finally apply his knowledge in Chemistry!
In the 70s and 80s, Dr Syed had the opportunity to develop award winning products for Johnson Products and Soft Sheen. He became renowned in research and care for African and textured hair.
He started Avlon in his own garage in 1984, the products became very popular for hair stylists around the world.
In the mid-2000’s, women with textured hair were becoming more demanding with regards to what products they should use on their hair, and how to style their curls and coils. Dr. Syed realized then that this phenomenon required more research. Most of the women with naturally textured hair were paying a lot of attention not only to the product itself, but also to what it’s ingredients.
There were certain ingredients they did not want in their products, like sulfates, silicones, or mineral oil.
Not only they were being aware of the natural ingredients in the products they were using on their hair, but they were also shifting their overall lifestyle to natural. Organic products started to be demanded, and there was no tolerance for harmful ingredients for the hair and scalp.
This undeniable trend is what built the vision for Dr. Syed.
With his R&D team, they started to formulate products adapted to natural-textured hair and provide samples to women to try them, from cleansers to moisturizers.
This is how As I Am was born, with the hard work of Dr. Syed and a dozen of professional hair care chemists, at least 10 hair stylists, ‘’happy testers’’, thousands of Research and Development hours and thousands of investment dollars. The vision was becoming reality.
Today, As I Am is counting many products adapted to curly and coily hair, with an impressive ingredient listing including many natural and organic ingredients.
It is a distinct and separate enterprise, that proposes unique and exclusively formulated products adapted to naturally textured hair.