The Coily App Takes The Guesswork Out Of Caring For Your Hair
It's no secret that shopping for new hair products isn't always an easy task. With so many different brands and products hitting the market, it can be hard to figure out what will actually work on our hair. Whenever I visit my local drugstore or beauty supply store, I spend so much time scrounging the internet for reviews and texting my girlfriends for advice before committing to purchasing a product. But, finally, a solution exists that makes haircare shopping more efficient for Black women everywhere.
Meet: the Coily app.
Founded by tech entrepreneur Asha Christian, Coily is a one-stop-shop for product reviews, product recommendations, and hairstyle inspiration. "After spending money on edge gels that didn't work, moisturizers that left flakes, or wigs that didn't last that long, I just got frustrated and decided to pair my background in technology with my passion for hair and create Coily," Christian says.
After beta testing the app in Guyana in 2019, Coily made its official U.S. debut in February of this year. One of the app's most enticing features is its barcode scanner. "You can walk into a store and scan a barcode on a hair product or even scan a product you have in your home and see product reviews for it," Christian says. "You can see image results of women who use the product on their own hairstyles. You can also sort those reviews and styles by your unique hair type."
To make your experience more personalized on the app, you can fill out Coily's hair quiz– a brief survey that asks questions about your hair texture and hair goals. Filling out the assessment unlocks your ability to receive curated product and hairstyle recommendations in the app.
Christian says that the community-focused features of the app have also received positive feedback. Coily users can upload hairstyle recipes, share product reviews, bookmark hairstyles, and build community with other haircare lovers on the app. One of Coily's standout elements is its hair type percentage match feature. You can visit any users' profile on the app and see how similar their hair type is to yours. "I know, it's been exciting for [users] to click on a profile and see that they have like a 60% match or an 85% match, and then be able to see how exactly they match up," Christian says. "They can see if they both style their hair a certain way, if they both have a certain hair texture, or even if they both have dyed their hair in the past six months."
As she maps out the future of Coily, Christian has her sights set on growing the platform into the largest and smartest black, black haircare marketplace in the world. Her next move? Brand partnerships. "Some of the coolest feedback we've gotten is that once they discover their products, they wish they could buy it right then and there on the platform," she explains. "So, we've spent the last month creating brand partnerships so that we can begin selling products on the platform this month." In line with her mission to encompass the Black haircare system from end to end, Christian also plans to add hairstylist booking to the app so you can easily browse and book appointments with stylists in your area.
You can download Coily in the App Store and stay connected with the brand on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
Featured image by Shutterstock
Olivia Hancock is a writer who can constantly be found putting pen to paper or typing away at her keyboard. The transplant ATLien is currently working on her undergraduate degree in Journalism and roots for all things #BlackGirlMagic. Connect with her on Twitter and Instagram at @oliviahancock_.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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You've Never Seen Luke James In A Role Quite Like This
Over the years, we've watched Luke James play countless characters we'd deem sex symbols, movie stars, and even his complicated character in Lena Waithe's The Chi. For the first time in his career, the New Orleans-born actor has taken on a role where his signature good looks take a backseat as he transforms into Edmund in Them: The Scare—a mentally deranged character in the second installment of the horror anthology series that you won't be able to take your eyes off.
Trust us, Edmund will literally make you do a double take.
xoNecole sat down with Luke James to talk about his latest series and all the complexity surrounding it—from the challenges taking on this out-of-the-box role to the show's depiction of the perplexing history of the relationship between Black Americans and police. When describing the opportunity to bring Edmund's character to life, Luke was overjoyed to show the audience yet another level of his masterful acting talents.
"It was like bathing in the sun," he said. "I was like, thank you! Another opportunity for me to be great—for me to expand my territory. I'm just elated to be a part of it and to see myself in a different light, something I didn't think I could do." He continued, "There are parts of you that says, 'Go for it because this is what you do.' But then also that's why it's a challenge because you're like, 'um, I don't know if I'm as free as I need to be to be able to do this.' Little Marvin just created such a safe space for me to be able to do this, and I'm grateful for everything I've been able to do to lead to this."
Courtesy
Them: The Scare, like the first season, shines a light on the plight of Black Americans in the United States. This time, the story is taking place in the 1990s, at the height of the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles. While the series presents many underlying themes, one that stands out is Black people and the complicated relationship with the police. "For the audience, I think it sets the tone for the era that we're in and the amount of chaos that's in the air in Los Angeles and around the country from this heinous incident. And I say it just sets the tone of the anxiety and anxiousness that everybody is feeling in their own households."
James has been a longtime advocate against police brutality himself. He has even featured Elijah McClain, the 23-year-old Colorado man who died after being forcibly detained by officers, as his Instagram avatar for the past five years. So, as you can imagine, this script was close to his heart. "Elijah was a soft-loving oddball. Different than anyone but loving and a musical genius. He was just open and wanted to be loved and seen."
Getty Images
Luke continued, "His life was taken from him. I resonate with his spirit and his words...through all the struggle and the pain he still found it in him to say, 'I love you and I forgive you.' And that's who we are as people—to our own detriment sometimes. He's someone I don't want people to forget. I have yet to remove his face from my world because I have yet to let go of his voice, let go of that being [because] there's so many people we have lost in our history that so often get forgotten."
He concluded, "I think that's the importance of such artwork that moves us to think and talk about it. Yes, it's entertaining. We get to come together and be spooked together. But then we come together and we think, 'Damn, Edmund needed someone to talk to. Edmund needed help... a lot [of] things could have been different. Edmund could have been saved.'
Check out the full interview below.
Luke James Talks Ditching Sex Symbol Status For "Them: The Scare", Elijah McClain, & Morewww.youtube.com
Featured image by Getty Images