Is Chebe Powder Worth Adding to Your Haircare Routine? We Asked The Experts

Growing hair long isn’t an easy endeavor, so when we heard about Chebe Powder—a natural basedpowder touted to harness properties that can grow hair obscenely long—our curiosities were piqued. Used by women of the Basara tribe in Chad, Africa, the concoction is a blend of Shebe seeds among other indigenous plants and minerals. It's Chebe powder that these women credit for helping their hair grow strong and long—in some cases, as long as 30 inches. With effects that extreme, the legend of Chebe powder has extended beyond the region into the diaspora. To uncover the facts and applications of the super powder, we turned to three experts to give us the full rundown.

What Is Chebe Powder?

Chebe powder is a mix of Shébé seeds (from the croton zambesicus plant), mahllaba soubiane seeds, missic stone, cloves and samour resin. "Chebe powder is used by women of a Chadian ethnic group, giving them exceptional quality and length of hair," says, the founder of S+AVA, an organic, vegan, GMO-free, cruelty-free brand from Africa.

Benefits of Chebe Powder for Hair

While the mixture has a reputation of assisting hair growth and length retention, Chebe powder can also help address specific hair concerns like dehydration and brittleness.

• Keeps hair well-moisturized: "The Basara women of Chad are known to have very long, naturally coarse hair that famously goes down to their thighs. They cover their hair with a homemade Chebe mixture that keeps their hair super moisturized and lubricated," says Ogana.
• Strengthens hair: "[Chebe] is the reason why the women of Chad's hair never breaks," Ogana says.
• Helps hair stay moisturized, longer: Rather than boasting some magic ability to make your hair grow, Chebe is touted for nourishing, hydrating, and improving moisture retention in the strands of hair. "Chebe provides rich moisturization," says King.
• Improves texture: The moisturizing qualities in turn may help prevent breakage, which allows the hair to reach its full length potential, while also encouraging thickness and improving curl definition.
• Helps retain length: Thanks to its ability to help hair remain moisturized, chebe can help keeping hair long (fewer breaks means hair retains its length).
• Conditions textured hair: Again, the moisturizing properties are key here. When hair is well-conditioned, the hair's cuticle layer is healthy (especially important for textured hair).
  

Hair Type Considerations

Janet Oganah, the founder of Janet's List, a London-based one-stop-online-shop, helps curate products by women of color — including S+AVA's Chebe Hair Cream. Oganah is well-versed about the Chebe ingredient and its famous hair growth powers.

According to Oganah: "the Chebe powder will work for 3A, 3B, 3C, 4A, 4B and 4C hair types."

How to Use Chebe Powder for Hair

"There isn't any clinical testing data behind Chebe, especially for directly promoting hair growth," says cofounder and chemist of Chemist Confessions, Victoria Fu, "That said, when you mix chebe with jojoba/shea and other oils to mask hair, the ritual itself is very helpful to condition, maintain shine, and prevent breakage. Doing a Chebe mask regularly would make sense to fortify long, brittle hair to help keep it as healthy as possible.There are a couple of ways to use chebe, but all are topical." Gloria Lu, cofounder and chemist of Chemist Confessions, adds, "We would recommend chebe powder mixtures for dry scalps as a hair mask. We would proceed with caution for very fine/thin hair as the chebe paste application can end up adding to breakage."

• Apply it as a mask using powder: You can buy chebe as a powder, which can be mixed with an oil of your choice and then applied to the hair as a mask. When used as a mask, use it pre-shampoo on mid-lengths and ends. The mixture melts into the hair with ease and, though it might take a couple of tries to wash out, your hair will feel super soft and look shiny and healthy after.
• Buy it via an already-mixed cream: The powder can be messy and quite difficult to wash out, but buying a pre-made cream will ensure a more fuss-free experience. Use this once or twice a month as a deep treatment (the thicker and curlier your hair, the more you could apply).

Find out more about Chebe and see how it is applied to the hair in the video below.