Dawn Myers didn’t always envision herself as a beauty founder.
“I remember being like, ‘Well, I’m a lawyer — I’m too sophisticated for beauty.’ Well, I’m a beauty consumer, so what was I saying about myself?,” said the The Richualist founder in an interview with Beauty Inc.
After a series of stints in big law, government affairs and community organizing, Myers made her way to real estate, but then unexpectedly found herself in the beauty sphere. “I thought I would do real estate full-time, but as I got further into the entrepreneurship space, I saw big opportunities for the needs of Black women to be met in the [consumer packaged goods] space,” Myers said.
Enter The Richualist, Myers’ brand which debuted in 2022 with its signature tool: The Mint. More than four years in the making, The Mint retails for $450 and aims to ease the hairstyling process for those with textured hair. Equipped with a variety of attachments, the tool warms curl creams and gels to improve product penetration and distribution, decreases shrinkage, and supports moisture retention.
It was while building The Richualist that Myers received a colon cancer diagnosis, and shortly after underwent chemotherapy. Now fully recovered, Myers regards the experience as a “full-circle moment” that reinforced to her the immediate need for innovation in textured hair care, and the potential of that innovation to retire chemical hair relaxers, which are used predominantly by Black women and have been linked to an increased risk of cancer. Here, the founder discusses her journey.
What drove you to start The Richualist?
Dawn Myers: Everyone I knew was struggling with the same issues, and there weren’t any products in the market that accommodated their needs. When we drill down, it isn’t about wash day, right? It’s about this very discrete part of wash day, when you’re out of the shower and you’re raking products through your hair, styling, detangling — it’s a multistep process and it can be complicated, especially for a lot of women who are just finding their way in [caring for their natural hair]. I just thought, “What can we do to mechanize this process? How can we streamline this?”
What happened next?
D.M.: I went to Ace Hardware and CVS and I bought a bunch of combs and brushes and all kinds of doodads, and I put together a very, very early prototype. It was ugly — but there was something there. And after my cancer diagnosis, I was struggling to take care of myself — even just thinking “Do I have the energy to wash my hair, to style my hair today, this week, this month?” My hair has changed substantially post-chemo; creating this tool gave me the freedom to take care of my personal care issues, and maintain some dignity through a difficult process.
When did you know The Mint was ready to hit the market?
D.M.: There are so many starts and stops, you know? I always wanted it to be perfect before I entered the market, because I’m a Black woman in venture — I knew that I wouldn’t get a second shot. I also know my customer, and Black women are very persnickety about their hair. Our hair textures are all so different — we are not a monolith. So last year, we did a testing in Baltimore and I was deliberate about having women with type 4c hair at that test, and this young woman, she had a TWA — a teeny weeny afro — she started to cry. She had maybe two inches of new growth and was still figuring out how to have a successful wash day, and she was seeing her curls pop in a way she hadn’t before. So, even though there are always going to be improvements, I knew we had a solid Version 1.
Are there any elements to The Mint that you didn’t initially plan for, but that made it to the final prototype, and for the better?
D.M.: There are two that I think are most notable. First, we understood that there was value in applying gentle warming to our liquid products, but one of the unanticipated benefits was that heat stretches any product, so we were also able to lessen the amount of product used each time someone washes and styles their hair, which is a big money saving. Second, one of the pieces that was beneficial to me personally while going through my cancer journey, is that we’re seeing something like 40 percent less shedding compared to manual styling — and if you’re a woman with highly textured hair, you know how devastating shedding and breakage can be during your wash day.
What is your long-term vision for The Richualist’s product portfolio?
D.M.: We’ve got some [intellectual property] around other products that we want to build, but most of our IP is going toward building bigger, better, higher-functioning versions of Mint. We see ourselves as a Keurig in the consumer product space, especially with Keurig’s ability to leverage other brands in their pods and renewable model. We want our customers to stick with the hair care brands that they’re already ravenously attached to, and we want to partner with those brands and bring them to consumers in a format that increases efficacy.
How are you thinking about building Richualist’s retail presence?
D.M.: We’re being very strategic about who those early partners are — and that goes for both liquid brands and retail partners. We want to work with retailers who truly understand merchandising, because this product requires a lot of education, and it requires a huge behavioral change, so we’ve got to work with retailers that are cognizant of that and who know how to merchandise for that.
What are your top priorities for the year ahead?
D.M.: In addition to building strategic partnerships, we’re consolidating our manufacturing and logistics. Our first run was fairly limited, but we were able to show the market that this is something folks are interested in by getting those energetic, early adopters. Now, it’s time to put ourselves in a position to scale and start working with third-party suppliers. We have an opportunity here to prove that serving niche markets and serving Black women in particular is a venture-backable thesis. Failure, quitting, or taking another route was never an option — it’s still not an option.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
Source: WWD