Why Gugo Deserves a Seat Next to Argan Oil and Ginseng

Long before Philippine botanicals found their way into modern beauty conversations, Filipinos were already reaching for what grew around them. Gugo (St. Thomas Bean) for stronger hair. Bayabas (guava) for cleansing and soothing. Virgin coconut oil (VCO) for everything from dry skin to damaged strands.

These traditions survived not because they were trendy, but because they were accessible, effective, tried, and true.

Yet while countries like Korea, Japan, and Morocco have successfully transformed native ingredients into global beauty phenomena, many Philippine botanicals remain largely overlooked—even by Filipinos themselves.

That is the gap one local company hopes to help close.

Sibol launched on March 10, 2020, days before the Philippines went into lockdown. By most standards, it was terrible timing for a new business. Yet it also gave the new brand an unexpected sense of purpose, with its focus on renewal resonating during a period when many people were searching for exactly that.

Through the brands under the Wonderful World of Wellness (WOWOW) umbrella—Yumi, Jabon Jabon, and Sibol Organic Hair Care—the company hopes to contribute to a movement that uplifts entire ecosystems, from farmers and researchers to manufacturers, artisans, and creatives.

Sibol itself came out of WOWOW’s own development team—the researchers, formulators, and consumer insight specialists who spend their days translating what Filipino hair and skin actually need into product. Their conviction was simple: local consumers deserved better—products rooted in nature, informed by science, and designed specifically for Filipino needs.

The Meaning Behind the Name

Named after the Filipino word for growth, sprouting, and new beginnings, Sibol was built around one central argument: that Philippine botanicals deserve a place at the center of modern beauty conversations.

“It’s a miracle of a name, and people remember it, and people know what it’s about. So the association is very, very clear,” says WOWOW’s Founder and Creative Head, Ricky W. Lopez. “It’s about growth. It’s about blossoming. It’s becoming who you want to be and being yourself.” The name comes from the Tagalog word sumibol, to sprout—and Sibol has treated that idea as more than branding. 

More than six years since its launch, the brand has become known for its concentrated shampoo and conditioner bars, clean formulations, and thoughtful use of ingredients such as gugo, moringa, sabila, and virgin coconut oil, paired with complementary botanicals sourced from across Asia. The products are handmade in small batches in Tagaytay and formulated without sulfates, silicones, parabens, or synthetic detergents. The belief underneath all of it: healthier hair begins with gentler, more intentional care.

Gugo, and the Case for Philippine Botanicals

But beyond the products themselves lies a larger mission: reintroducing Filipinos to the value of ingredients that have always been part of our cultural landscape. The brand’s founding argument is straightforward—these ingredients deserve recognition because they work, and have worked for centuries. It’s a belief rooted in a longer claim about Filipino self-sufficiency, one Lopez states plainly: “Our botanical traditions are every bit as rich and enduring as many of Asia’s oldest healing traditions, and our biodiversity is so rich, that we’ve always been self-sufficient long before we were colonized.”

From that belief, Sibol took root.

At the center of nearly every shampoo bar is gugo, the climbing vine generations of Filipinos have used as a natural hair cleanser and scalp treatment. While international beauty consumers may be more familiar with ingredients such as argan oil, camellia oil, or Korean ginseng, the brand treats gugo as belonging in the same conversation—the base ingredient that delivers the shine, manageability, and deep cleansing Filipino hair responds to, along with the stimulation that supports growth.

The power of gugo is that it becomes “the base, the glue of everything that is desired by Filipinos for their hair.” Filipinos want “the shine, the manageability, the deep cleansing that comes with it, and of course the stimulation of growth.”

“Our botanical traditions are every bit as rich and enduring as many of Asia’s oldest healing traditions, and our biodiversity is so rich, that we’ve always been self-sufficient long before we were colonized.”

—Ricky Lopez, founder of Sibol Organic Hair Care

Rather than treating gugo as a standalone ingredient, Sibol combines it with targeted botanicals chosen to address specific concerns—from hair fall and dandruff to premature graying and color-treated hair. Korean ginseng, Ayurvedic amla, Japanese tsubaki oil, and other ingredients are carefully paired with Philippine botanicals, creating formulations that feel globally informed yet distinctly local.

The goal isn’t simply cleaner hair. It’s healthier hair over time: scalp health, root vitality, and targeted repair, instead of cosmetic quick fixes.

Closing the Local-Global Gap

But the conversation extends far beyond hair care.

As global beauty consumers obsess over Korean skincare, Japanese hair rituals, and European apothecary traditions, the people behind WOWOW sees a largely untapped opportunity much closer to home. With years of experience working across international markets, they have seen firsthand how countries successfully build industries around native ingredients and cultural traditions. They believe the Philippines possesses many of the same advantages—if not more.

Part of the challenge, he says, is overcoming a lingering perception that foreign automatically means better. “It’s our people who need the epiphany; foreigners [already] recognize what we have.” 

The irony is that many Philippine ingredients are already earning recognition overseas. Virgin coconut oil, long a fixture in Filipino households, has become a sought-after wellness staple abroad. Ube has evolved from a familiar merienda ingredient into a global culinary obsession. 

In beauty, ingredients such as pili oil, elemi, and gugo are beginning to attract attention beyond Philippine shores, helping shift the conversation toward what local botanicals can offer.

The same thing can happen with our botanicals. In many ways, that recognition is already taking shape.

Today, Sibol products are available not only in the Philippines but also in highly competitive markets abroad, including Japan, where the brand first launched through QVC in 2023. Clearing those bars says something about the quality of what’s being made here.

“If we can get through the world’s most complicated and most difficult regulatory bodies, among which are Japan, Switzerland, and Dubai, where we are available—that must be saying something about the quality of the products,” Lopez says.

“It’s our people who need the epiphany; foreigners [already] recognize what we have.”

Built for Filipino Hair

Despite growing international interest, Sibol remains committed to a distinctly Filipino point of view. Rather than imitate global beauty trends, the brand builds products that respond to the realities of Filipino consumers—the humidity, the hair porosity, the climate that most imported routines were never designed for. “Filipinos have been conditioned for years to treat their hair as if they’re Westerners,” Lopez says. “When factors such as humidity, porosity, habits and hair goals are ignored, nothing really works.”

That understanding informs everything from ingredient selection to product design. Rather than offering one-size-fits-all solutions, Sibol develops formulations around specific concerns: an anti-dandruff formula for flaky, itchy scalps, a color-care line for color-treated hair, targeted solutions for graying or hair fall. 

Where most beauty marketing leans on vague promises, the brand’s pitch stays narrow—name the concern, get the formulation.

Teaching Filipinos to See Their Own Ingredients

Still, creating natural products is not without its challenges. Consumer expectations, shaped by decades of conventional beauty products, can be difficult to unlearn. Many shoppers have come to associate effectiveness with excessive foam, heavy fragrance, or the squeaky-clean feeling created by harsher cleansing agents.

Naturals ask for patience in a market conditioned for instant results—a tradeoff Lopez is upfront about: “Yes, there could be a few perceived inconveniences here and there, because people are not used to it. But naturals are better in the long run.”

Education has become just as important as formulation. Through social media, ingredient storytelling, and ongoing consumer conversations, Sibol has embraced the role of educator, helping people understand not only what is inside their products but why those ingredients matter.

That effort appears to be resonating most strongly with younger consumers. While previous generations often gravitated toward familiar commercial brands, younger shoppers seem more willing to question ingredients, explore alternatives, and support local products. Making natural beauty feel less intimidating is part of the strategy: less clinical, more approachable, closer to curiosity than to a hard sell.

Rather than treating botanical ingredients as niche or overly serious, the brand presents them through approachable product stories, playful content, and practical solutions to everyday hair concerns. It isn’t just angling for a switch in products—it’s angling for curiosity, about ingredients that have long been part of Filipino life.

For Sibol, that curiosity creates an opportunity not just to build a customer base but also to help preserve a body of knowledge passed down through generations, traditions, stories, and rituals.

“At Wonderful World of Wellness, we are committed to creating honest products that Filipinos need, and somehow expand their knowledge and experience in the use of high-quality, locally made products made from Philippine botanicals,” says Lopez.

In many ways, that mission mirrors the meaning behind the brand itself. Sibol was born during a time when the world stood still. Perhaps that is why it has always believed in growth.

Not just healthier hair, but a growing appreciation for local ingredients. A growing confidence in Filipino innovation. A growing belief that what thrives in our own backyards can stand proudly alongside the best the world has to offer.

“Sibol is rooted in the belief that healthier hair can inspire renewed confidence, greater happiness and lasting hope,” he says. “And despite how harsh life could be, there is always room for growth.”

Perhaps that is the real beauty of Sibol. Not simply that it harnesses the power of Philippine botanicals, but that it encourages us to see them differently. To look closer at the ingredients, traditions, and stories that have always been ours. To recognize their value. To take pride in them.

Because maybe growth isn’t always about chasing what comes next. Sometimes, it’s about finally recognizing the value of what has been here, right in front of us, all along.

Start Here: The Sibol Shelf

Shop Sibol and more Filipino beauty brands at The Beauty Edit Gallery at Spatio, located on the 3/F of Opus Mall, Bridgetowne Destination Estate, Quezon City. An editorial-led retail concept—and the first-of-its-kind in the local scene—the gallery spotlights indie innovators, cult icons, and niche trailblazers shaping F-beauty today. 

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY ELAINE REYES. PHOTOS COURTESY OF SIBOL/WOWOW.