Today I want to introduce everyone to a fellow entrepreneur, Ecouia Harrison, and the launch of invention the Silky Sak.
I’m a sucker for a good founder’s story, but first let me talk a little about wigs and bundles, for those that aren’t familiar, because believe me: wigs are for everyone.
Introduction to Extensions and Weaves
About Ecouia’s product – the Silky Sak – the product pages read:
The Small Wig Silky Sak was created to protect your frontals, closures, lace front, half wigs, u-shape wigs.
If you feel yourself nodding along, like “ok, ok.. and?” then no need for me to enlighten you.
If you find yourself saying, “a full what?” then let’s dive into this together. This is all new to me, too; I only started manufacturing hair lines for other brands about 3 months ago. My first factory visit was my crash course.
Hair is an interesting topic in the beauty world, and one that not all of us know much about. I’m sure that some of the cancer warriors on our subscriber list have at least some experience with the weave world. The truth is, no matter who you are, extensions and weaves can be a lot of fun and honestly.. empowering.
Kylie Jenner is a famous wig user. At 19, her natural hair is beautiful in its own right, but she loves to mix it up with a wig – almost on the daily.
Frontals, closures, lace front, half wigs, u-shape wigs are all different terms for different types of hair. Bundles are what each of them are made of (a bundle is usually 4.5 – 6oz of hair), and a wig takes about 3 bundles to make. The hair can be dyed or left its natural color, and typically comes in lengths from 8″-30″. Any dying or treating (like curling, perming) can be performed to the bundles before sewing it into a wig or closure.
The hair can be synthetic, real or mixed. Yes, real hair. Often its sourced from Brazil, Malaysia, India, Peru and Eastern Europe. Yes, people really do cut and sell their hair for extra income (Have you read the Gift of the Magi? This has been going on for ever).
Then the factory buys the hair and manufactures the bundles and wigs, but not en masse as one would think. The wigs are each individually hand-sown, making them expensive even direct from the factory.
Actually, hair is one of the least scalable projects to work on together with a factory. This is because each person individually sells their hair, so the price is set. Working in bulk doesn’t make it any cheaper. I’m fine with that.
In the United States, a wig sells for $200+. The really nice ones are closer to $2000 each.
Again, in general, the longer the hair, the more expensive the wig will be. Also, the nicer the dying (balayage would be expensive), styling and the higher density of hair the wig has, the more expensive it will be. (example)
To learn more about wigs, sizings and more, check out wigs.com’s guide.
So yeah, wigs are for everyone. They’re great if you’ve less hair than you’d like, you’re having a bad hair day, want to try a new style, want to protect your natural hair..almost anything really.
Wigs are like really expensive makeup for your hair.
Now back to the founder’s story I hinted at..
Silky Saks: The Founder’s Story
Ecouia reached out to me several months ago, wanting to make some custom hair clips for her line. She had read my founder’s story on Shopify and knew that I was in China. Her story is similar to mine – necessity is the mother of invention, after all.
It is amazing how much money women spend on hair extensions and wigs only to throw them in the closet, drawer, or plastic bag when they’re not being worn. What a waste to do such a thing..
Back in 2014, Ecouia’s dad had just came out of ICU. She was at home, depressed, and not taking the best care of herself–or her wig. She needed to buy some new hair because her weave was old and messed up. After pulling it out of the plastic bag she was storing it in, she realized that if she had a nice bag to keep it in, it would have lasted longer.
This problem is not specific to Ecouia, but to any woman (or man!) who uses any type of weave or extensions. Care is extremely important. Why would we treat these expensive pieces with such a lack of care?
Hence Silky Saks was born.
Each bag is made of velvet with a gold silk charmuse lining. According to the site:
Silk is a soft, natural lustrous fiber that contains proteins and 18 essential amino acids which helps to counter the effects of aging. By storing your hair in our Silky Sak friction from harmful surfaces over time are reduced which help to counter hair breakage, damage, and matting. The “silkiness” of our silk-lined Silky Sak will help to retain moisture in your extensions and/or wigs therefore giving you more wear time before ultimately having to be replaced. Used by professional hairstylist and consumers alike, Silky Saks keeps your extensions and wigs safe at home and on the road. Silky Saks line also has an array of other products and styling tools to help keep your hair Silky!
The Silky Saks come in several sizes from small to extra-large for both bundles and wigs. She also has a gem-encrusted straightener and custom hair clips in her line: the total hair care package.
Wrap-up: Silky Saks Founder Story
I’d like to give Ecouia a big congratulations on her July 1st launch!
It’s amazing what she’s accomplished so far and her brand story is so inspiring. I hope we can all be like Ecouia and look up to find our little piece of inspiration, even in the darkness, even in the twists and turns of life.
If you or someone you love would benefit from a Silky Sak, please head over to her site and show your support. (She also has plenty of interviews and hair care tips on her blog, so feel free to stick around for more!)
Until next time ~ xoxo
