Here’s your bit of trivia for the day: black women spend 9 times as much as other women do on hair.
This all-consuming relationship means that the global black haircare industry is valued at a whopping $500 billion. Three women; Priscilla Hazel, Esther Olatunde and Cassandra Sarfo, software developers from the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology, have developed Tress, a social network that’s looking to tap into this sea of opportunity.
Tress was created to help women discover new hairstyles, complete with a breakdown of hair products used, name and location of the stylist, price range, and other information they will need before paying a visit to the salon. Women can also share their favourite hairstyles, trade hair tips and secrets, and receive compliments from a supportive community.
“It’s surprisingly difficult to find accurate information about hairstyles,” Priscilla, Tress CEO says. “Many ladies routinely find themselves in the awkward position of walking up to complete strangers to compliment and inquire about their hair, or stalk social media accounts for inspiration as well as adequate information about the style.”
While I’m no hair expert, there’s no question about the sheer size of the haircare market. I mean, only last year, a hair extensions startup named Mayvenn raised $10 million in Series A funding from Andreessen-Horowitz. This means that if they do their jobs right, the founders will have struck gold.
L-R: Cassandra Sarfo, Esther Olatunde and Priscilla Hazel
Tress will launch officially at the Beauty of Tech panel, at Social Media Week, Lagos on Thursday, February 25, 2016.
