Made in Michiana: Twined Ivy

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind.-- This week’s Made in Michiana takes us to South Bend.

“We always struggled finding hair products for ourselves since we were little. My mom had no idea what to do with our type of hair,” said Megan Riley, co-owner of Twined Ivy.

In 2015, Megan wanted to simply grow and strengthen her hair, so she ditched her basket of hair care products and turned to her sister, Allyson McKnight.

“I just studied the ingredients and what created the organic products and then I took it to her and she’s like ‘why don’t we make our own,” Riley said.

“How do you even do this? We both work full time and we can’t make it out of our garage. So we started researching manufacturers,” McKnight said.

The two sisters found a manufacturer close to home that fit their needs and in 2019, the company was born, to fill a void in the market that they’ve personally experienced since childhood.

“Twined Ivy is designed for mixed kids with curls,” McKnight said.

Though the two women are polar opposites, so far, they’ve worked well together, working from their home to take orders, fill boxes and ship them all over the country.

They do it all while also caring for children of their own and fostering full time careers.

“We have the conditioning shampoo, the detangling conditioner, the anytime oil and then the detangling refresher spray,” McKnight said.

The products are focused on natural and organic ingredients and are formulated to enhance curls, minimize frizz and hydrate hair, with a non-sticky, non-drying and non-greasy formula.

Four more products are already in the works.

“It’s not just for mixed kids. Adults can use it, all different ethnicities can use it. We’ve had people from all different ranges and spectrums, different colors using this product and coming back and saying wow this is amazing,” McKnight said.

The sisters are working towards putting their products on store shelves but they are currently available on Twined Ivy’s website.