All Articles Tagged "curlbox"
Natural HairSpiration! 10 Instagrammers You Should Be Following
If social media has taught us anything, it’s that natural hair isn’t going anywhere! A simple search of the hashtag “naturalhair” will pull up MILLIONS of awesome curly hair enthusiasts on Instagram. So to help feed all of your natural hair cravings, we put together a list of kinky-textured mavens who provide endless hair inspiration. It was SUPER tough picking ten, but after much deliberation, here’s our list (in no particular order).
1. curlBOX
This monthly subscription box, that allows natural hair-istas an affordable way to experience
products for curly hair, provides TONS of hair inspiration pics updated several times of day. All you have to do to get your fix on the latest styles and product buzz is to hit that follow button on the curlBOX Instagram account.
See the other 9 on StyleBlazer.com.
How They Launched It: Betting on Affordable, High Quality Hair Extensions with Amizade Hair
Each year, African American women spend millions of dollars on hair extensions and hair care products, contributing to the multi-billion dollar bottom line of a market that is 90 percent owned and operated by Korean businesses.
In recent years, there’s been an outcry by the African American community calling for an investigation on the Korean domination of the market and many media outlets including Madame Noire have tackled this issue in the past.
Michelle Morant (background) and Kendra Austin
In spite of higher-than-normal barriers of entry to entrepreneurship in the black hair care and weaving industries, veteran companies like Carol’s Daughter, Dudley’s Q and newcomers like Huetiful and curlBOX are working feverishly to reclaim ownership of the brown beauty conversation.
Joining those ownership ranks is Amizade Hair, a new hair extension company founded by friends Michelle Morant and Kendra Austin that launched this past August.
According to Austin, the company provides “quality, affordable, and luxurious virgin hair extensions from around the world, in a range of textures, styles, and lengths,” and hopes to become a go-to brand among extension loyalists who may have traditionally purchased products from a non-black owned company.
We recently caught up with Morant and Austin to learn more about how they launched Amizade Hair, discuss industry obstacles and where they see themselves in the marketplace.
Summer Essentials: Myleik Teele, founder of curlBOX Lists Her 5 Must-Haves
Myleik Teele spotted out recently at an event.
Myleik Teele is the founder and chief experience officer of curlBOX, a monthly subscription service she launched that sends members up to seven natural hair care products that have been vetted for women with multi-textured hair. Earlier this year we scored an in-depth interview with Myleik where she dished about the challenges and triumphs of launching a second business and how she’s dealing with the rapid growth.
What we didn’t get then, was a list of some her favorite things. And as someone who sifts through a ton of product each month to decide what goes into the curlBOX, we just knew that Myleik would have some pretty clear preferences.
Here’s her list of five must-have products, places and things that she’s loving this summer:
Belle Butters Unyevu Butter (Credit: BelleButters.BigCartel.com)
How She Launched It: Myleik Teele, Founder of curlBOX
Over the last few years, women the world over have been trading in their relaxers for a more natural look. And with any change in taste, comes opportunity.
Carol’s Daughter, the natural hair and beauty product company, estimates that the market for relaxers has gone from bringing in $100 million a year in sales to just $35 million. Taking advantage of such a steep decline in market share, Carol’s Daughter and other companies have created products that cater to more diverse hair textures and styles.
But while beauty store shelves were being flooded with natural hair care products, no one seemed to be thinking about educating women on how to discover and use these products. No one besides Myleik Teele, that is.
Teele, 32 is the founder and chief experience officer of curlBOX, the monthly subscription service she launched that sends members up to seven natural hair care products that have been vetted for women with multi-textured hair.
Here, Teele talks about how she launched curlBOX (her second business!), beauty industry obstacles and provides advice for other aspiring entrepreneurs.
MN: Let’s get this out of the way first. Are you natural? If not, do you think you have to have natural hair to understand this sector of the beauty industry?
Teele: Yes, I’ve been “natural” or without a chemical relaxer for a little over a decade. I think it’s important , although not necessary, that one be natural to really understand what the subscribers are experiencing and having my finger on the pulse of what they want and need. I’m “pre-pooing,” and finger-detangling right along with my VIP members.
MN: In a recent interview with UPTOWN magazine you said that you noticed a void in the beauty industry. Can you talk more about your epiphany moment and how you knew it was the right time for this type of product?
Teele: After working with my beauty clients and going to the World Natural Hair Show and other shows and hair “meet ups” I had an epiphany moment. How would it be possible to package or “BOX” this experience (products & information) and send it to someone’s doorstep? The idea hit me and wouldn’t leave. I couldn’t even sleep at night with the thought on my mind. I took one step and the rest is history.
MN: curlBOX seems to have been modeled after other beauty related mail-order subscription services. What made you go this route instead of launching your own natural hair product?
Teele: My expertise lends itself to this business model. Mail-order subscription services have been around for years – remember Columbia House CD Clubs? I’m a “what’s the latest and greatest” kind of girl and I genuinely believe that I can better serve the hair community with a sampling service as opposed to another product … I’ll leave that to the experts!
MN: How did you decide which companies to partner with for curlBOX?
Teele: [Member feedback and research]. I am a product junkie at my core and beauty obsessed so I’m always on the blogs and watching YouTube videos. I also read the emails and take a look at the survey results and work from there. You won’t see any products in curlBOX that aren’t personally endorsed by me.
MN: When you first made your pitch, were product companies receptive? Or, did you experience resistance?
Teele: Some brands like Karen’s Body Beautiful, Frizoff Curly Hair Solutions and Hair Rules got it right away and there were some that wanted to watch the brand for awhile which is completely understandable.
Find New Products to Pamper Your Hair Using curlBOX!
Cool Product Alert! curlBox makes it easy for the natural sistas who are on the prowl for hair products and can’t seem to find the right ones. Each month, you will receive a box of 5-7 product samples that you can test out on your hair, some of which haven’t even hit store shelves yet. It only costs $20 to subscribe and you can cancel anytime—pretty good deal for 5-7 different products if you ask me. The first box of goodies ships out on February 7th and they’ve already sold out! If you want to be notified when the march shipment is available, visit their website at www.curlbox.com for exclusive VIP access.
