Michele Scott-Lynch | Bouclème

Women to Watch | Beauty Founders

Michele Scott-Lynch: Bouclème founder Michele Scott-Lynch shares how embracing her own curls inspired one of the UK’s leading textured hair brands.

“I wanted people to feel empowered, beautiful and confident embracing their natural texture.” – Michele Scott-Lynch

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For years, women with curly and textured hair were told to smooth it, tame it or straighten it.

Michele Scott-Lynch believed there was another way.

When she founded Bouclème in 2014, the curly hair movement was still in its early stages. Products specifically designed for textured hair were few and far between, and natural curls were often treated as something to be managed rather than celebrated. Drawing on her own experience of learning to embrace her curls, Michele set out to create haircare that nourished natural texture while helping people build confidence in the hair they were born with.

What started in her own kitchen, experimenting with naturally derived ingredients, has grown into one of the UK’s most recognised curly hair brands. Along the way, Bouclème has become known not only for its high-performing formulations, but for helping reshape the conversation around textured hair and encouraging people to embrace authenticity over unrealistic beauty standards.

Behind the products is a founder whose journey has been just as much about personal growth as entrepreneurship. From a career in the music industry to studying holistic medicine and building a globally recognised brand, Michele’s story is rooted in resilience, purpose and connection.

As part of Darling Magazine’s Women to Watch | Beauty Founders series, we spoke to Michelle about confidence, curly hair, wellbeing and why the most rewarding part of building Bouclème has never been the products, but the people whose lives they’ve helped change.

“Independent founders build brands because they’ve lived the problem.”

1. Tell us about yourself. Who are you outside of your business?

I’m a woman in my fifties, a mum to two incredible young women, a wife, a sister, a daughter, and a ride or die friend. I had a tough upbringing, which set me on a spiritual path fairly early in life, personal growth matters enormously to me, and I’m still working on quietening the relentless voice in my head. You’ll often find me in the garden at six in the morning, still in my pyjamas, cup of tea in hand, just looking at my plants. I love good food, dancing, a margarita, and I’ll happily admit reality TV is my guilty pleasure. Connection means everything to me. I’m not one for small talk, I’d rather have one deep and meaningful conversation than a room full of surface ones, and honesty, above almost anything else, is what I value most in people.

2. When did you first realise beauty was going to become part of your career?

There wasn’t ever a single moment of realisation, beauty wasn’t even on my radar. I spent ten years in the music industry, then left to study holistic medicine. Bouclème started as something I felt personally passionate about, born out of my own struggle to love my hair. It evolved from there, and now I’m completely obsessed with beauty in a way I never expected to be.

3. What problem were you trying to solve when you launched your brand?

I wanted to fix the total lack of natural, effective haircare for curly and textured hair, an area beauty had completely ignored. I started experimenting with ingredients I’d researched in my own kitchen, making conditioners and gels by hand. I’d always taken a holistic approach to my skin and body and wanted the same for my hair, real nourishment rather than products that just coat the hair. I wanted people to feel empowered, beautiful and confident embracing their natural texture, with products they could build a routine around.

4. Was there a defining moment where you thought:

“I’m actually going to do this.”

Yes. I remember walking along Highcliffe beach with my husband on our tenth wedding anniversary, talking the concept through with him. He actively encouraged me, giving me the confidence and support I needed to take the leap. That feeling of real excitement.

5. What has been the biggest challenge you’ve overcome as a founder?

The hardest part isn’t any single challenge, it’s not being able to predict what’s coming next. The political and geopolitical landscape is constantly shifting, and its impact on the business is very real.

6. What’s one thing people assume about running a beauty brand that simply isn’t true?

That it’s glamorous. The reality is far more spreadsheets, supply chain problems and solving daily challenges.

7. What does success mean to you today compared to when you first started?

When I started, success meant getting the first product onto a shelf. But today success is less about a single milestone, it’s more about impact and longevity, building something that lasts.

8. How do you look after your own wellbeing while running a business?

It’s tough, and it can feel lonely, so spending time with friends, family and other founders makes a huge difference. I’m not always brilliant at making time for myself, but it’s been a real focus lately. I love long walks in nature. I find it properly grounding. I read every night before bed to switch my brain off, losing myself in a story helps more than almost anything else. Meditation, breathwork and a long soak in the bath with my favourite essential oils are restorative too, and honestly, nothing beats a good night out with girlfriends. Laughter really is the best medicine.

“Beauty means being comfortable in yourself and your body, curls and all.”

The Brand

9. Which product best represents your brand and why?

Our Curl Defining Gel says everything about what we do. It’s one of our best sellers for a reason, it’s unlike any other gel on the market in terms of its serum like consistency. It defines, holds and adds shine without ever leaving curls stiff or crunchy. It’s the product most people can’t imagine their routine without.

10. If somebody had never heard of your brand before, what would you want them to know?

We were one of the first brands to take curly and textured hair seriously, formulating specifically for curls rather than adapting products made for straight hair. Our products are rooted in nature, ranging from 94 to 100 per cent naturally derived, and fragranced with natural essential oils for a proper spa-like experience. High impact on your hair, low impact on the planet, that’s what we’re about.

11. What are you most proud of building?

I’m proud that Bouclème has helped a generation change how they see curly and textured hair. Hearing from customers who’ve hated their hair for decades and are suddenly falling in love with it, and with who they are, that’s what makes all the hard graft worth it.

12. What’s next? Any launches… Projects… Collaborations… Dreams…

We’ve got a couple of very exciting new launches for the latter part of the year. I’m not giving anything away but watch this space.

Darling

Complete this sentence…

“Beauty means…”

Being comfortable in yourself and your body, curls and all.

Complete this sentence…

“The one thing I wish every woman knew is…”

Their worth

Why do you think women should continue supporting independent beauty founders?

Independent founders build brands because they’ve lived the problem, not because a boardroom spotted a gap. That lived experience is what makes the products genuinely useful, and supporting us keeps that kind of thinking alive in an industry too often driven by trends.

“Hearing someone say they finally feel confident with their natural hair… that’s the whole reason Bouclème exists.”

Michele Scott-Lynch

• Bouclème has become one of the UK’s most recognisable curly hair brands. Looking back, what has been your proudest moment?

The fact that we’re still here 11 years later And hearing someone say, often for the first time, that they finally feel confident with their natural hair. That’s the whole reason Bouclème exists.

• How have attitudes towards curly hair changed since you first launched Bouclème?

When we launched in 2014, curly and textured hair was still treated as something to tame rather than celebrate. Now there’s real representation, more brands taking it seriously, and a much bigger conversation about texture and identity. It’s a completely different landscape.

• What do you hope women with textured hair feel when they use your products?

I hope they feel like their hair is easy to take care of and that they feel their most authentic selves

Quick Fire

Favourite book? Against The Loveless world

Morning or night? Morning

Coffee or tea? Matcha

One beauty product you couldn’t live without? Mascara

Favourite place to travel? Thailand

One piece of advice for aspiring founders? Ask yourself is this something you’re prepared to give 10 years of your life to.

Listening to Michele Scott-Lynch, it’s clear that Bouclème has always been about far more than haircare.

At its heart is a mission to help people rewrite the stories they’ve been told about their natural texture. By creating products specifically for curls and textured hair, Michele hasn’t simply built a successful beauty brand—she has helped thousands of people see themselves differently.

That commitment continues to guide Bouclème as the brand prepares for exciting new launches later this year, while staying true to the philosophy it was founded on more than a decade ago: embracing curls rather than changing them.

In an industry that is constantly evolving, Michele’s journey is a powerful reminder that the most meaningful innovation often begins with personal experience. Sometimes the products that have the greatest impact are created by someone who has lived the problem themselves and simply wanted to help others feel more comfortable in their own skin… and their own curls.

Visit: Bouclème