( ENSPIRE Feature ) Regina Gwynn and Octavia Pickett-Blakely Founded TresseNoire to Help Women of Color Find More Time to Balance Life and Natural Hair Care
ENSPIRE Contributor: Re’Dreyona Walker
In 2014, friends and co-founders Regina Gwynn and Octavia Pickett-Blakely launched the beauty-tech company TresseNoire to assist women of color in their haircare and styling needs. Their inspiration stemmed from those long Saturdays spent waiting in a hair salon to be serviced, and they decided to jumpstart a business to help women of color skip the salon and find a personalized approach to their haircare.
“I’ve gone to hair salons with poor customer service, unimaginative stylists, and overall mediocre experiences – and wasted endless hours of my life while doing it. There had to be a better way,” says Pickett-Blakely. “If I can have Uber send me a taxi and Fresh Direct send me groceries, why can’t I use a digital tool to have a fabulous hairstylist do the same thing?”
Gwynn and Pickett-Blakely created TresseNoire as a digital service that connects busy professionals to experienced, top-tier natural hair stylists who will bring a luxury salon experience to their doorstep (e.g., home, office, or hotel) at any time or anyplace.
TresseNoire’s team of technology and licensed beauty professionals will analyze your hair, skin, lifestyle, and hair goals to guide you through a curated routine of products and services.
Clients can select a service within 4 hours of their desired appointment time, and all bookings are confirmed and paid online. Stylists (who are licensed, seasoned, and experienced) use tablets to conduct free curl consultations that record customer information on product preferences, buying behaviors, and healthy hair goals. Profiles are developed to provide customers convenient recurring appointments and automatic payment options.
The online-based bookings are now available in Philadelphia, New York, Washington DC, and Los Angeles.
The Philadephia-based company TresseNoire has also recently relaunched and is looking better than ever, as TresseNoire’s service is now fitting into a more customized and personalized beauty experience. TresseNoire brings a personalized approach to Black hair care with a virtual beauty coach to help women of color find the right routine that works for them.
And for those who are struggling with finding a natural hair care routine, and are overwhelmed by the hundreds and thousands of Youtube videos on natural hair care, this service is the perfect start for you. “TresseNoire stylists take the guesswork out of deciding on what products to use and what styles to wear. We want to go back to the original hair salon experience that was thorough, but still fun,” says Regina Gwinn.
How it Works:
- Take the quiz – it takes less than 5 minutes and is designed to take the trial and error out of finding the perfect hair care products that work with your everyday lifestyle
- Get your personalized hair care advice – Receive free personalized haircare & styling advice from your very own virtual beauty coach
- Submit feedback so our coaches can adjust with your ever-evolving hair care & styling needs – Keep your coach in the know and they will continue adjusting as your haircare needs change
You can see the quiz in action at www.tressenoire.com/quiz.
ABOUT TRESSENOIRE:
Since 2014, TresseNoire has helped naturals customize their beauty experience. As black women we know when to take it up a notch, so we’ve introduced a new way for us to look, feel, and become OUR absolute best. TresseNoire app is disrupting technology and bad hair days with the education, 1:1 coaching, and the community you need to train your tresses because your hair should bring the drama, not be the drama.
To learn more, please visit www.tressenoire.com.
