Schedule an appointment with a well-vetted, credentialed natural haircare stylist who will come to your home or office. Receive customized curl consultations tailored to your unique locks. Stylists: Gain greater control over your career by reaching a wider client base and managing your appointments with ease.
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You can achieve all of that with an app–TresseNoire. The app and company of the same name, were founded by Regina Gwynn and Octavia Pickett-Blakely.
“With TresseNoire you book an appointment online, you pay online…we offer every type of natural hairstyle you can think of,†says Gwynn. From twists, to crochet sets to box braids, clients can have styling done in the convenience of their home or office, which “allows more productivity,†Gwynn said.
The idea for TresseNoire sprung from each woman’s 20-year natural haircare journey. As professionals, they had the same experience of many with curly hair; finding the right stylist, at-home products, and styles that were appropriate for both work and casual looks, was challenging.
“We put [TresseNoire] together out of necessity,†says Gwynne. “What is the ideal luxury salon experience? We see lots of beauty booking apps in the market, and when we saw these technologies none of them had the types of hair styles we were looking for.â€
And so Gwynne and Pickett-Blakely got to work. They began working with small design firms to map out their app and company vision. There was some frustration in this early stage, according to Gwynne, who says there was a lot of miscommunication between what they wanted and what these design firms could deliver.
Then they received early stage VC funding from CoVenture, according to AngelList, CoVenture connected the women with a development team in Pakistan.
“Having a better partner allowed us to expand to the type of experience that we wanted.†Currently, TresseNoire is available for Android and as a web app , but an iOS app is coming very shortly.
TresseNoire services are available only in New York and Philadelphia for now. The service requires that stylists have accreditation from reputable training, including Aveda, Carol’s Daughter, and Paul Mitchell.