Tressfecta, a startup that builds tools for textured hair, showed its first product at TechCrunch Disrupt. Plait Pilot is a prototype that divides braiding hair into equal portions before the stylist starts to braid.
How it works
The braider places the hair on the device and picks the portion size. The machine then dispenses the separated pieces, ready to use. According to founder Aisata Diallo, this prep step can eat up hours on small braids, and a single style can take up to eight hours in total.
Who is behind it
Diallo is 24 and has braided hair since childhood. She started braiding for others at Northeastern University in Boston, where braiders were hard to find, and later stepped back partly because of the physical strain. She links the job to cramps and carpal tunnel syndrome, though the report cites no data on that.
Where it stands
The company is pre-launch and still working on the prototype. It has lived on its own money, grants and accelerator programs, and Diallo says she is getting ready to raise funds. Price and funding amount are not disclosed. Stylists are being recruited for testing, but no results exist yet. Diallo admits that textured hair varies a lot and that the device is not a one-size-fits-all solution, so how it copes with different textures and lengths is the open question.