Mint by Richualist detangles and styles textured hair in one pass

Dawn Myers’ path from idea to a growing hardware startup illustrates a stubborn gap in the market: textured hair deserves tools designed specifically for it. Myers, who wears her natural afro on days when wash lists feel endless, watched mainstream styling gear fall short for curly, coily, or wavy hair. That gap sparked the creation of Richualist, a company built around a single, purpose-made device called Mint that aims to streamline wash days without compromising on care.

Mint isn’t just another detangler. It’s designed to detangle, condition, gel, and style hair in one pass. The mechanism relies on refillable product pods and a warming feature that gently heats the product before it’s applied, so you don’t have to tug and rub for minutes. The goal is to shorten what Myers calls a “wash day marathon” into something manageable, roughly seven to 10 minutes for many users, she says, while keeping hair healthier and less prone to shedding.

The business side of the story tracks closely with Myers’ personal journey. She spent years trying to find funding for hardware aimed at a niche market, where investors often overlook textured hair tech. To push Mint from early prototype to shelves, she sold her home and cashed out her 401(k), eventually raising about $1.4 million to validate the product and bring it toward commercialization. The path included collaboration with Dow, a materials science company, which helped with engineering and manufacturing guidance as Mint moved from concept to market-ready tool.

Financial and emotional commitments were steep. Myers faced a stage III colorectal cancer diagnosis while closing a critical round of investment. She describes balancing treatment with fundraising, and she recalls applying to Shark Tank in 2023, with the appearance airing in 2024. A deal struck with Mark Cuban and Emma Grede gave Richualist a powerful platform and helped push Mint into Ulta’s online store earlier this year, expanding reach beyond the initial launch phase.

Beyond the money, Mint represents a broader push to rethink hardware for hair that doesn’t fit the “one size fits all” approach. Myers notes that the textured-hair space has long lacked a hardware-centric solution that understands how products are used on curly strands, coils, and waves. The collaboration with Dow not only accelerated development but also underscored a shared view that such tools require specialized engineering, something many beauty hardware products previously lacked.

As Richualist readies for larger-scale distribution, Mint faces competition from more conventional styling tools and newer hardware entrants. Yet the company is betting on its clear value proposition: shorten wash day, reduce damage from tugging, and simplify product use with pods that minimize waste. If the product catches on, textured hair routines could look a lot different in the years ahead.

What this means for everyday users is straightforward. If you have textured hair and feel overwhelmed by the number of separate tools and products you need, Mint promises a single-device simplification. If you’re shopping for hardware that targets hair care, you’ll want to watch how Mint evolves in retail and whether it scales beyond Ulta’s online shelf and into physical stores.