Hi Maria & Christine, it’s so great to meet you both, talk us through…
How was SILKE born?
Maria: SILKE was born out of both frustration and heritage. After decades behind the salon chair, I saw the same thing again and again – women cycling through products and hot tools that offered instant results but long-term damage. I could never find a product that truly helped hair grow and flourish – not for myself, and not for my clients.
One day, it hit me. The secret had been in my family all along – hair wrapping. Not just a tradition from my Caribbean heritage, but a powerful beauty ritual. It just needed one essential upgrade: 100% silk.
Christine: Mum started making wraps – first for herself, then for her clients, with everyone’s hair transforming one after the other. Eventually, when a stranger turned up at our front door asking for “the silk sleep cap Maria made,” I knew something special was happening. So, I quit my career in finance and joined forces with my mum to start the brand.
Maria: Thirty prototypes and two years of testing later, in 2016, we launched SILKE London and shared this ritual with the world. We wanted to build a brand that unplugs damaging routines and brings back timeless, transformational care.
Who or what inspires you?
Christine: Busy women – they’re incredible. The way they carry so much – work, family, friends – and still somehow find little pockets of time for self-care. When we create products – that’s what inspires me, those moments. I want our products to make those moments feel meaningful – to make her life easier, save her time, to feel like a small act of love, and remind her that she’s worth caring for.
Maria: My biggest inspiration is, and always will be, my mother. A woman before her time, she broke society’s rules, shifted mindsets and showed strength of character. She loved people, and they loved her in return.
As a mother & daughter team how do you navigate being in business together whilst juggling the usual mother/daughter dynamic.
Maria: With a lot of honesty!
Christine: There is a lot you can say to your mum that you couldn’t say to anyone else who may be a co-founder. I think that’s the huge benefit. It means we can get to the point far quicker, as there’s no sugar-coating! We challenge each other, but we also bring balance. Mum has decades of hands-on expertise. I bring a strategic, modern lens. But what anchors us both is our shared purpose.
Maria: It’s not always easy, but there’s a deep trust. And let’s just say… we’ve mastered the art of quiet under-the-breath arguments in the office haha! – always followed by a hug.
What is a typical day in the life of Maria & Christine?
Christine: I’ve started to protect my bedroom in the mornings and evenings by not checking emails in bed – I read somewhere that it just wastes precious time that is meant for you to rest and regenerate, to be able to handle future moments when you are actually meant to be working, as you usually can’t fix anything from bed anyway. This is very recent by the way. I’m absolutely not some wellness guru – I am very much an overworked and sometimes overstressed founder haha!
So, I start my day very quietly (I can’t tell you how much I value the quiet), hair wrapped, of course. Taking it off to reveal smooth, frizz-free hair that I barely need to touch is such a game-changer. Honestly, not to plug, but when you have busy mornings and frizzy hair like mine, it’s a lifesaver.
My days are full and varied – emails, team check-ins, finance reviews, creative meetings, product development… There’s really no part of the business I’m not involved in. It definitely takes some mental gymnastics to keep switching gears – but I think I’d be bored if I didn’t have that kind of range.
That, or I want to give it all up and live in the mountains…
Maria: I still style hair for a few clients and friends – it keeps me connected to real hair challenges. My days blend product testing, answering customer questions, making content to share my 37 years of tips and tricks with our followers and tapping into the next thing we can create to make haircare feel easier – and more beautiful.
What’s in a name? Why SILKE?
Christine: The name had to honour what made our hero product, and all our products thus far — pure silk – but we also wanted it to feel timeless and elevated.
Maria: It just felt right. Strong, feminine, and simple – like our brand.
What is the key to your success in 3 words?
Maria: Expertise. Integrity. Ritual.
Christine: We don’t release anything unless it truly works. Every product is designed with intention, using only the best materials. Our north star is always long-term hair health, and we always stay true to this purpose, so our customers know that anything they buy from us is a genuine investment in themselves and their hair.
Your range has expanded since launching in 2016 – do you have a favourite product?
Maria: The original SILKE Hair Wrap will always be close to my heart. It’s where it all started – and it still transforms my own hair night after night.
Christine: I’m really proud of our Heatless Curling Set. It’s everything we believe in – damage-free, beautiful, and genuinely effective. I think it’s changed how people think about hair tools. When we launched SILKE, the concept of non-electrical hair tools was so foreign, and now women are achieving tong-level blow-out curls without heat – that’s a revolution.
As successful female entrepreneurs, what’s your advice to other females starting out in business?
Maria: Don’t wait for permission. If you believe in what you’re creating – whether it’s a product, a mission, or a better way of doing things – trust that. I strongly believe in listening to your “gut” – there’s a reason that internal feeling bubbles within you.
Christine: And don’t assume people in power know more than you, or that you should feel inferior in those moments of interaction. Everyone is just a person. If you’ve committed to launching something, you’ve already taken a brave step that such a small fraction of people are willing to take. Remind yourself of that when things feel intimidating, you’re already in the arena.