30-Year-Old Woman Earns $4 Million By Selling Hair Oil Inspired By Ancient Indian Traditions

A 30-year-old Indian-origin influencer is gaining popularity online for generating $4 million (approximately Rs 34 crores) in sales with her hair oil brand, which is rooted in ancient Indian traditions. London-based Erim Kaur founded ByErim - a luxury brand that sells a range of haircare products - in 2019. Since then, the entrepreneur and influencer, who has over 700,000 followers on Instagram and TikTok combined, has earned $4.2 million via her hair oil brand, CNBC Make It reported. 

According to the outlet, Ms Kaur pinned the popularity of her hair growth oil on her "emotionally invested" followers. She said that her brand is a labour of love for people who grew up without mothers or sisters. "I think one of the strongest messages I've always had has been that I want to do it for girls or boys that have grown up without a mum and sisters," she told CNBC Make It in an interview about the popularity of her content. 

The 30-year-old also revealed her own mother died of breast cancer when she was just 8. She recalled that her mother's defining trait was her long hair. "I really wanted to emulate the way that my mother looked," she said, adding, "It was scary to see her lose the identifying part of what people saw as something that contributes so heavily to her beauty." 

After her mother's death, Ms Kaur said that her grandmother would apply different oils and ingredients on her hair through her early teens, before landing on a formula that she continued to use as an adult and is the current formulation of the ByErim oil. 

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Ms Kaur's childhood experiences prompted her to launch her haircare brand. "I wanted to create a shortcut for any girls or boys that had grown up without a mum, which is why I started to speak about that experience on my page," she explained.

Ms Kaur revealed that after gaining 100,000 followers in 2019, she decided to monetise her social media and build ByErim. Since then, her brand has earned $4.2 million in sales. 

According to the ByErim website, its most popular product is its flagship hair growth oil, made with "100% natural and Ayurvedic ingredients". The formula contains a blend of 8 oils, including amla oil, argan oil, coconut oil, sweet almond oil and castor oil.