The Mint

consumer products

Jun 26

*The Mint by Richualist. Photo courtesy from The Mint website.*

Innovative & Equitable Styling Technology

The Mint emerged from its inventor’s personal journey to embrace her natural hair texture, which can be particularly challenging and time-consuming for women of color.

Conceived by Dawn Myers, CEO of Richualist, and backed by industry experts including Mark Cuban and Emma Grede of ABC’s ‘Shark Tank,’ the Mint is a revolutionary tool that integrates multiple functions in an innovative handheld device.

Mint transforms the experience of caring for and styling natural, curly, and highly textured hair.

Harbor Designs & Manufacturing’s Role: Transitioning the engineering firms product design to scalable manufacturing. DFM, strategic sourcing, tooling, scalable production planning, product testing, packaging design, turnkey manufacturing, domestic and offshore technical assembly, quality control, regulatory guidance, inventory control and logistics, Gen 1 product optimization, Gen 2 product ideation.

The Product: Curly Hair Care Routine, Simplified

For those blessed with bountiful curls, haircare can be a constant battle. Often times women who might want to embrace their natural hair will will default to straightening it with a flat iron or concealing it in weaves, extensions, and wigs so they can get out of the door and feel good about themselves without hours of frustrating and stressful work.

Detangling nightmares, endless product cocktails, and the struggle of heat styling without sacrificing definition – these are just a few of the woes faced by the curly community.

Founder Dawn Myers, driven by these same frustrations, envisioned and created The Mint, an all-in-one tool designed to streamline and fast track curly hair routines.

Demonstration video on how to use the The Mint. Video from Dawn Myer's Youtube channel.

To achieve healthy and lightning-quick hair styling, the device houses pods (think Keurig) of the user’s preferred and trusted hair products and automatically dispenses that product across a heating plate that gently heats curl creams and gels (130-140°F) for improved penetration and hair health. This ensures products are absorbed more effectively, maximizing their benefits, and does it with the push of a button, reducing hours of get ready time to minutes.

Detangling is often the first and most frustrating step in any curly hair-wash routine. Traditional combs and brushes can snag, rip, and leave curls looking frizzy. The Mint addresses this with a specially engineered detangling mechanism that effortlessly glides through knots, minimizing breakage and preserving curl integrity. With removable and interchangeable combs and “Minting Arms,” users can hone in on the right combination of product and device configuration for their unique hair style and type.

Traditional styling tools simply aren’t built to handle curls without flattening or causing damage. The Mint's unique functionality achieves flawless definition in one stroke, operating twice as fast as manual methods, or trying to use tools like flat irons which aren’t designed with their needs in mind.

Tailored to Every Users Uniquely Style and Hair

*Components of The Mint product. Photo courtesy of The Mint Website.*

To cater to different hair needs, The Mint includes various removable and adjustable detangling and styling attachments suitable for every curl type. It is particularly effective for 4c hair types and accommodates short and transitioning hair. With these attachments, users can achieve highly defined, voluminous, or frizz-free styles.

The Mint also helps increase moisture retention, prolonging the time between wash days—a boon for maintaining healthy, hydrated curls.

Its ultra-compact design makes it perfect for travel, and with TSA-compatible styling pods and interchangeable international outlet adapters, styling on the go has never been easier.

“I usually only use my hands, but [The Mint] is a game changer.”

— Elisa Malone, Customer

Transforming Textured Hair Care and Seizing an Underserved & Massive Market

The Mint is more than just a tool - it's an understanding of the specific challenges faced by the curly community who want to style, not flatten their curly hair. With an endless variety of flat irons to choose from but nothing on the market for the curly and natural hair community, this represented a massive unmet and traditionally underserved market of women who want and deserve the same convenience enjoyed by those who use flat irons get ready in a hurry.

Similar in form factor to a straight iron but with a very different purpose and user in mind, this all-in-one solution transforms curl care into an efficient and delightful experience for healthy, defined, and effortlessly beautiful curls.

The hair wig and extension market was valued at $7.7 billion in 2022 and is projected to hit $15.7 billion by 2023. Serving this previously overlooked customer group with a novel technological innovation that simplifies their lives is more than a clever idea; it’s very good business.

The Mint has garnered significant traction since its launch. A successful funding round of over $1.7 million from prominent investors like Revitalize Venture Studio, Techstars, and Black Star Fund fueled product development and marketing initiatives and solidified its position in the competitive beauty and hair care market.

Building on this momentum, Richualist took the Mint to ABC’s “Shark Tank,” where Dawn Myers pitched and secured additional funding. They added Mark Cuban and Emma Grede to their ranks of esteemed investors and advisors!

*Dawn Myers pitched and secured funding for The Mint from Mark Cuban and Emma Grede in ABC’s Shark Tank.*

*The Mint featured in WMAR 2 News Baltimore inside Harbor Designs and Manufacturing facility.*

Beyond financials, user acclaim is the truest testament to The Mint's success. Richualist has become a champion for inclusive beauty, empowering users to embrace and celebrate their natural hair with confidence. Click HERE to get yours on order today!