As summer winds down, people start to take out the protective hairstyles they opted for during the warmer months. Saraa Green is hoping they’ll reach for The Braid Releaser to make the process less arduous.
The Braid Releaser is a $20 tool that does exactly what it’s name suggests. Green’s schoolteacher mother Angela originally designed it in 1992 after getting frustrated one too many times while attempting to remove her daughters’ braids. “She was trying to figure out, what can I create to make the process faster and more comfortable for the user and the person who is getting their braids taken out?” says Green, the youngest of Angela’s two daughters.
At first, Angela tried chopsticks and other household items for undoing brands, to no avail. Eventually, she saved $1,500 to make a prototype of the initial iteration of the double-sided pointy The Braid Releaser, but was forced to set aside the idea without funding to go from prototype to production. Green says, “Back then, there weren’t really any accelerators or incubators or any programs like that to really help Black women entrepreneurs, so my mom kept the tool in the safe.”
Green pulled it out of the safe in 2019 as part of a project for her MBA program at Willamette University. She developed a business plan and a marketing strategy for promoting The Braid Releaser in the 21st century. “I realized how important tapping into the emotional aspect of hair as a mother-daughter bonding experience was,” she says. The pandemic was a catalyzing event, too, in motivating her to build The Braid Releaser’s brand. With salons shuttered at the beginning of it, beauty consumers were flocking to YouTube to learn how to braid their hair. Green says, “We started thinking more about the consumer and their pain points when it comes to their hair.”
The Braid Releaser connected with 100K Incubator, a platform founded by Arielle Loren that assists entrepreneurs with funding and scaling, in 202o. Loren worked with Green to fine-tune her plans to bring The Braid Releaser to market. The same year, it launched a Kickstarter campaign that gained momentum at the outset, thanks in part to an Essence feature. However, support dwindled once the pandemic hit, and people worried about the economy kept a tight hold on cash. The Braid Releaser ended up losing the nearly $8,500 it raised on Kickstarter. The brand didn’t give up on crowdfunding, though. It fared better with a FundBlackFounders campaign that drew $12,600.
Green poured the money into reengineering The Braid Releaser. Its shape stayed largely the same, but its length was extended. Before the tweaks, Green says, “We handed it out to hairstylists for two weeks and the feedback was great, but it was too short.” She continues,”We lengthened it so that it can accommodate not only short hair, but men and women who have longer hair also.”
Medium knotless box braids can take upwards of five hours to take out. Green estimates The Braid Releaser can reduce the removal time by 40% from a conventional rat tail comb. The tool is intended to prevent hair loss and foster hair growth as well.
“My mom was ahead of her time,” says Green. “Braids are not a dying market, they’re not going to stop being worn next year or the next five years or 10 years. They’re a huge part of the Black community, and now you see braids trending through other ethnicities and cultures, so we feel like, now, we’re right on time.”
In May, The Braid Releaser was accepted into Target’s Forward Founder program. Green has learned about the ins and outs of mass retail, social media best practices and the colors shoppers are attracted on store shelves from participating in the program. The Braid Releaser is currently undergoing a rebrand based on advice received in it, and Green is looking for investment partners.
“I want the tool to be a household name,” she says. “I want people to come into a store and grab a Braid Releaser just as if they grab a comb or a brush.” However, she admits, “I can only take the brand so far, help is needed.”
The Braid Releaser has five products in the pipeline to complement its tool: A braid mousse, braid gel, detangler, scalp rinse and scalp oil. Green expects to release them in a subscription box format in the future. She says, “These products will cover everything that you need for when you are wearing braids, before and for after.”
Further down the line, Green’s goal is to open locations where customers can buy products, and have braids put in and taken out. She says, “We have hopes of becoming the next Drybar for braiding.”
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