Silicon Valley *finally* made something for Black folks, and that’s the haircare app Myavana. Founded by four Black female tech entrepreneurs in 2013, Myavana is a digital subscription that uses data analysis and science (oh, and AI!) to recommend personalized product recs. It’s the largest textured hair database with over 2 billion strands recorded and is designed to help BIPOC women and hair professionals on their haircare journeys. No more mixing lotions and oils to find the best moisturizers to soften and hydrate your hair. Myavana does it all for you — and more.
So, how does the app work?
It’s simple: the app takes a small sample of your hair and runs it through their patent-pending proprietary software and AI technology to create a custom hair care regimen.
“There are variables that you can’t see just from looking at [a person’s hair] — namely, condition. You can only see it at the microscopic level,” Myavana co-founder Candace Harris told Glossy. “Texture, type, and condition create your unique HairID.”
The app has a hair-typing system, the Healthy Hair Guide, and it goes deeper than the 1A to 4C categorization. The Healthy Hair Guide offers a 3D view of one’s hair by analyzing the porosity, elasticity, density, condition, texture, and type. Considering these factors helps Myavana’s hair scientists understand your hair’s unique makeup (aka HairID) and recommend the right products for your hair.
Ready to get your own HairID? Here’s the 4-1-1.
The Black-owned app offers two assessments: the Artificial Intelligence Hair Strand Analysis, aka HairAI, and the HairSI Strand Analysis Kit. The HairAI costs $29 for a single-use — monthly subscriptions are $25 — and provides “an accurate diagnosis of your unique hair type and texture” from a single assessment and picture of your curls, according to the app’s website.
Upload the information directly into the app, and you’ll receive a custom hair profile with product recommendations. A monthly subscription to HairAI offers even more perks, like ongoing product recommendations, monthly check-ins, and hair trips for Myavana’s in-house hairstylist community.
The hair strand kit is a more comprehensive option for those looking for a full breakdown of their curls. Here’s how it works: once ordered, the kit will come directly to your house with instructions on how to send your sample to the lab. Once received, the lab will analyze the sample and curate a hair profile plan with product recs, local stylist recommendations, and regimens.
In addition to the personalized hair care regimen, you’ll get a free consultation with a Myavana hair care expert to discuss any questions or concerns about the products or your hair. Sounds neat, right?
Myavana was designed for curly and kinky-haired girls who are tired of experimenting with textured hair products.
Although Myavana creates regimens and offers commercial products for every type and texture, the founders started the company to help BIPOC women with their hair — specifically anyone transitioning from perms to natural textures. In an interview with Atlanta Startup Podcast, co-founder Candance Mitchell said that she first stumbled on the idea of Myavana after becoming natural and realizing that no single product could help her hair.
“I was really asking around, I saw my friends, like what products they’re using,” Mitchell told the outlet. “Everyone had a different answer. Or everyone’s like, oh, try this, try that. My roommates had a bathroom full of hair products. Now, I asked my mom and sisters, and I quickly realized that it was a trial and error process.”
Mitchell wanted to eliminate this guinea pig process, so Myavana was born. Since its creation in 2013, the app has gone on to help dozens of folks with natural hair with hair care. The app is only going up from here due to their first-of-its-kind collaboration with Ulta.
Soon, you’ll see Myavana hair analysis and strand kits on Ulta’s site and in-store. You can say goodbye to hair tutorials and product recs on YouTube — with Myavana’s growing success, soon, none of us will need it.
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