When it comes to beauty meeting technology, COCOTIQUE is definitely on trend. We are happy to introduce to you an app that can help you with your hair care and beauty needs without leaving your home. We sat down with Debra Shigley, the Founder of COLOUR, an app that offers you hairstyle inspiration and the convenience of finding a stylist with just a couple of clicks. Read all about how this Harvard grad created an app for Women of Color out of her own frustrations of finding someone who understood her hair.
I started doing the legwork on it mid-2015 when I was living abroad in Mexico City. We launched the app and took our first appointments in Atlanta May 2016.
I was a frustrated client! As a biracial woman (half Jamaican-American, half Caucasian/Jewish) with kinky-curly hair, I struggled for years to find consistent, reliable professional hair care. I wondered, how it is possible that women of color spend billions, literally, on hair care each year—yet there is not a single national, salon brand created by and for us. It's always a "needle in a haystack" stylist situation. So, I decided to just go for it and try to fix the problem.
It was actually inspired by my experiences as a mom. When I had my first baby (I'm now pregnant with my fifth!), there was a steep learning curve, and my husband and I were totally overwhelmed. I remember a friend referring me to a great "new mom" consultant that kind of swooped in for 90 minutes and helped with all these baby basics—like a baby-swaddling fairy godmother in a kingdom of too much advice and noise.
I wanted to create a similar experience with hair advice, a one-on-one resource to help women cut through the YouTube clutter and find an edited routine that works for them. We fielded questions about hair care from women all over the world. The video consultation is a bit more personalized, and we created a succinct set of professional recommendations based on your hair and lifestyle.
Let's take a typical scenario: A client has an upcoming girls' weekend, and wants a special hairstyle. She'll go on the COLOUR App, browse our inspiration photos, our seven main styles, and check out reviews (and photos!) from our real clients. She’ll select a style, date and time, and enters her address and payment details in her profile, very similar to how Uber works. On the morning of the appointment she’ll shampoo her hair in the shower, and the Colour stylist arrives let’s say, 8 AM with professional products, tools (and hair!) to do her selected style. Then, she's out the door to the airport an hour or so later. Payment is transacted automatically through the app.
We provide a range of blowouts, thermal styling, twists, box braids, feed-in braids, crochet, weaves, natural looks and custom styles of all kinds. Clients can add on shampooing, trims, and makeup. We also provide wedding services including hair and makeup for the bride and bridal party.
We are in Atlanta and the surrounding suburbs.
Yes!
It's been a huge hit in Atlanta, for clients and stylists alike. Modern women are busy and value convenience and flexibility, and the traditional salon experience hasn't kept up. I think the traditional brick & mortar salon will be extinct within the next 10 years. Make way for the "salon in the cloud."
We are launching a new menu of add-on services and, finally, protective styles in the app!
We’d like to leave your subscribers with a greater sense of love and empowerment about their hair. Textured hair can be challenging, but it's not rocket science! Have fun with it.
To keep up with COLOUR, you can follow them on Instagram and Facebook.
When did the company get its start?
I started doing the legwork on it mid-2015 when I was living abroad in Mexico City. We launched the app and took our first appointments in Atlanta May 2016.
What inspired you start Colour?
I was a frustrated client! As a biracial woman (half Jamaican-American, half Caucasian/Jewish) with kinky-curly hair, I struggled for years to find consistent, reliable professional hair care. I wondered, how it is possible that women of color spend billions, literally, on hair care each year—yet there is not a single national, salon brand created by and for us. It's always a "needle in a haystack" stylist situation. So, I decided to just go for it and try to fix the problem.
Talk to us about the personal video consultation.
It was actually inspired by my experiences as a mom. When I had my first baby (I'm now pregnant with my fifth!), there was a steep learning curve, and my husband and I were totally overwhelmed. I remember a friend referring me to a great "new mom" consultant that kind of swooped in for 90 minutes and helped with all these baby basics—like a baby-swaddling fairy godmother in a kingdom of too much advice and noise.
I wanted to create a similar experience with hair advice, a one-on-one resource to help women cut through the YouTube clutter and find an edited routine that works for them. We fielded questions about hair care from women all over the world. The video consultation is a bit more personalized, and we created a succinct set of professional recommendations based on your hair and lifestyle.
How does the app work?
Let's take a typical scenario: A client has an upcoming girls' weekend, and wants a special hairstyle. She'll go on the COLOUR App, browse our inspiration photos, our seven main styles, and check out reviews (and photos!) from our real clients. She’ll select a style, date and time, and enters her address and payment details in her profile, very similar to how Uber works. On the morning of the appointment she’ll shampoo her hair in the shower, and the Colour stylist arrives let’s say, 8 AM with professional products, tools (and hair!) to do her selected style. Then, she's out the door to the airport an hour or so later. Payment is transacted automatically through the app.
What other services do you offer?
We provide a range of blowouts, thermal styling, twists, box braids, feed-in braids, crochet, weaves, natural looks and custom styles of all kinds. Clients can add on shampooing, trims, and makeup. We also provide wedding services including hair and makeup for the bride and bridal party.
What cities are you currently in?
We are in Atlanta and the surrounding suburbs.
Do you have any plans to expand?
Yes!
How do your customers like this new way of beauty?
It's been a huge hit in Atlanta, for clients and stylists alike. Modern women are busy and value convenience and flexibility, and the traditional salon experience hasn't kept up. I think the traditional brick & mortar salon will be extinct within the next 10 years. Make way for the "salon in the cloud."
What next for COLOUR?
We are launching a new menu of add-on services and, finally, protective styles in the app!
Each of our subscribers will be getting a discount code for a Complimentary Video Consultation & Hair Care Edit with a Colour-certified Stylist. What is the one thing that you’d like to leave with them?
We’d like to leave your subscribers with a greater sense of love and empowerment about their hair. Textured hair can be challenging, but it's not rocket science! Have fun with it.
To keep up with COLOUR, you can follow them on Instagram and Facebook.