The Watch & Sea Beauty founder opens up about science-backed hair care, natural hair freedom, retail strategy and the community-centered mindset that helped her build a $100 million beauty legacy.

By Teia Burroughs

Some entrepreneurs spend their careers trying to create one breakthrough brand. Courtney Adeleye is proving that lightning can strike twice, especially when preparation, purpose and an intimate understanding of the consumer are part of the formula.

Long before she became one of beauty’s most recognizable entrepreneurs, the Detroit native, former nurse and University of Michigan graduate was simply a woman trying to understand her own hair. Armed with a $500 investment, a kitchen and a YouTube channel, Adeleye transformed that personal search for solutions into The Mane Choice, a category-shifting hair care company that, reportedly, generated more than $100 million in sales and expanded into tens of thousands of retail doors before being acquired.

Now, she is making waves again as the visionary and CEO behind Watch & Sea Beauty, a science-driven hair care and wellness brand inspired by the restorative power of the ocean. Its signature Flourishing Collection combines marine ingredients such as sea kelp and seaweed extract with formulations developed to support stronger, healthier, and more vibrant hair across textures. The brand is already stocked by Walmart, Target, CVS, H-E-B and Meijer—retail territory many emerging founders spend years trying to reach.

But Adeleye’s latest chapter is about more than proving she can build another successful company. It is about evolving alongside the women she serves, helping Black women experience freedom in their natural hair and demonstrating that meaningful brands are not created by chasing every viral moment. They are built through trust, consistency, innovation and community.

Hype Hair spoke with Adeleye about the consumer curiosity that launched her career, the business strategy behind major retail partnerships, the freedom of embracing natural hair and why the legacy she is building reaches far beyond the beauty aisle.

Hype Hair: Before we get into the business of Watch & Sea Beauty, who was Courtney Adeleye before beginning this journey into the beauty industry?

Courtney Adeleye: Before entering the beauty industry, I was an inquisitive consumer trying to figure out my hair. I had been relaxed since I was 10 years old, so I was trying to understand what going without a relaxer would look like for me on a daily basis as an adult. It was something I had never experienced.

When I started, I was simply another consumer looking for a solution for my natural hair.

HH: You built The Mane Choice into a brand that helped change the texture of the hair industry, and now you are doing it again with Watch & Sea Beauty. Which lessons from your first $100 million journey did you intentionally carry forward, and what has changed this time?

CA: One thing I decided to keep was always placing my consumer at the forefront. I believe that when you start with the consumer and end with the consumer, the outcome can be nothing but positive.

That is something I carried into what I am doing today, keeping her front and center. What are her needs? How have those needs evolved? I have been in the industry for more than a decade, so I have watched my consumers grow. Their children, who may have been little when I started, are now teenagers or adults.

Watch & Sea Beauty represents the evolution of who I am now. I went from being an inquisitive consumer without extensive research or access, trying to figure things out, to returning to the industry with experience. I have done this before. I understand what people are looking for, and I have access to more information and resources.

Now, I can super serve the consumer I have today.

HH: Watch & Sea Beauty emphasizes science-backed formulations inspired by the ocean. How do you balance creating products that deliver measurable results while still connecting with the emotional side of a woman’s hair journey?

CA: It begins with understanding that everyone is on a different path and may be at a different stage of their journey. That is something I recognize even more now than I did before.

When you have been in the industry for a long time, it can be easy to assume that everyone already knows everything. There have been so many brands, and the natural hair movement has been growing for years. But I am still meeting women—even women who are older than I am—who are trying to figure out their hair. Some have never tried different styles or truly seen and understood their natural texture.

We are all on different journeys and different paths. Being able to recognize and serve women wherever they are is monumental.

HH: You have spoken about building businesses with intention rather than chasing trends. As the beauty industry continues to evolve through social media and viral moments, what do you believe some founders misunderstand about building brands with longevity?

CA: The route I take may be considered slower growth compared to chasing a trend. Something may be hot at the moment, and a company may jump onto it, but that does not necessarily build repeat customers. It may create a one-time order.

I have never chased that.

I want to know who my consumer is. I want to know what inspires her, what moves her, and what does not move her. Even when I am considering a promotion, I want to understand what truly connects with her.

Especially with the economy being what it is today, the brands that survive will not necessarily be the trendiest ones. Consumers are going to choose brands they can depend on. When someone has to eliminate something from her budget, they are less likely to eliminate a brand that has consistently come through for them, a brand that has been tested, tried, and proven.

She is more likely to eliminate something she does not feel connected to.

Building that type of trust may create a slower build, but it goes much deeper.

HH: Many entrepreneurs spend years trying to enter one major retailer, but Watch & Sea Beauty has secured placement with Walmart, Target, CVS, H-E-B and Meijer. Beyond your previous experience, what do you believe retailers saw in the brand that made them say yes?

CA: Retailers are looking for brands that can truly partner with them.

There is a misconception that when a brand enters retail, the retailer is automatically going to grow the company. People think, “I am in retail now. This retailer is about to grow my business.” That is far from the truth.

Retailers are looking for partners. If you do not position yourself as a partner, the likelihood of them partnering with you is slim. They are asking, “Who can we work with? Which brands have resources, influence, and consumers they can bring into our stores?”

I am never pitching a retailer by saying, “Let me into your store so you can grow me.” My position is, “Let me into your store so I can encourage my consumer to come here to purchase my products—and while she is here, she may purchase something else as well.”

They are not simply looking for another brand to carry. They are looking for a partnership. When you can position yourself that way, you have their attention.

HH: You have gone from nurse to founder to beauty industry leader while also being a wife and mother. How has your definition of success evolved, and what legacy do you hope to leave for your children and future entrepreneurs?

CA: I always say that true success is having the ability to give without expectation.

I could not do what I do without a support system. Some people have that support, and some people do not, but I am grateful to have a solid support system in my husband. I am able to travel and leave three children at home while knowing they are being cared for. That is something I lean into.

At the same time, entrepreneurship is going to have ups and downs regardless of your situation. You can have the best system or the best product, but it is not always the best product that wins. It is about who can get in front of the consumer and who can genuinely relate to that consumer. It goes much deeper.

As far as legacy, I want my children and my family to understand that legacy is not always about one brand. People may say, “You sold one brand, and now you are back to do it again,” but my legacy goes deeper than hair care.

I want people to remember that Courtney did giveaways, paid bills, bought cars, and helped people pay their rent. I recently attended a festival, and a woman came up to me and said, “You paid a bill for me when I needed it most.”

That is what matters.

Hair care may be the entry point to what God has in store for me, but the legacy I want to leave is measured by how many lives I impacted. That is true success to me.

HH: You mentioned receiving your first relaxer at the age of 10. For many Black women and girls, transitioning to natural hair can also mean learning to understand, accept, and even love a texture they may not have truly known before. What would you say to the young girl—or the grown woman—who is beginning that journey?

CA: Representation matters.

I have daughters who are now 12 and 14. When I started in the industry more than a decade ago, they were two and four years old. Now, I have the opportunity to represent something they may not always see in their schools or on television.

This time around, I am much more vocal about that. For a long time, I played it safe, and there were reasons that approach made sense. But I am at a point in my career where this is bigger than trying to please everybody.

I want Black women to know that they are just as beautiful with their natural hair.

I can appear on national television without having a hair appointment. I can wake up that morning and do my own hair for national television. There is freedom in not having to panic and think, “Oh, my God, I have to get my hair done.”

You already have beautiful hair.

That is why I am so focused on the consumer who is doing her hair at home. You can use our products and be ready for work, school, or an interview. You do not necessarily have to depend on someone else to make you feel ready. You can choose to visit a stylist, and that is fine too, but you should know there is another way when you want to tap into it.

We are beautiful as we are. Wear a protective style if you choose, but know that you have options.

I used to be known as “the girl with the perfect hair”. I wore a bob, and I was known for never having a strand out of place. Now, I can look at myself when my hair is big or wild and say, “It is still done. This is how I want it to look.”

I have that freedom.

HH: As you look ahead, what are you most excited to write into your next chapter—not only for Watch & Sea Beauty, but for Courtney Adeleye as a visionary helping to shape the future of the beauty industry?

CA: When I look at the current landscape of business, entrepreneurship, and Black women in business, I personally feel that we are under attack in some ways. Being able to survive and continue building in this environment is a major milestone.

We have to continue pushing and supporting one another. Community is always at the forefront and the center of everything I do.

Some people say everything Courtney touches turns to gold. I tell them it is not simply that everything turns to gold. Everything I touch is community-based. When you show up for your community, your community will show up for you.

That is the future.

We are navigating changes with retailers, rollbacks in diversity, equity, and inclusion, and many other challenges. What is most important is that we stick together. It can be easy for someone to enter our community, create division, and cause us to turn against one another.

Our true legacy will be built by weathering this together, understanding that we are each other’s keeper and keeping that principle front and center.

Black women are continuing to grow as entrepreneurs, and we are often among the best of the best when we are given equitable opportunities. When we continue to lean into our power and support one another, everything will become what it is supposed to be.

HH: Throughout our conversation, it became very clear that your influence extends far beyond hair and beauty. You are an informed, strategic and exceptionally business-minded leader who continues to approach every new chapter with humility, purpose and a commitment to uplifting others.

CA: I appreciate that. Thank you.

I definitely try to be. I’ve seen a lot and learned a lot, but I’m still a student. Like I said, my main thing—especially when it comes to Black women—is: How can you help the next woman?