Launched in 2021, Yao Secret was founded by friends Xim Jiao from Nanjing, China, and Nadine Katherine from London, England with the goal to bring the Yao women's secret to hair care to the world. Nadine always dreamed of having long, luscious hair, but she struggled to grow her locks. Then, she discovered the Yao women's secret to hair growth: rice water. With both founders living in China at the time, they visited the village of the Red Yao tribe to find out more and quickly developed a new appreciation for hair care. The simple solution was revolutionary and also got the founders wondering about the other ingredients in their hair care, and what they were doing to our health and the environment.