How a #30DayHairDetox built a natural hair movement

When looking to make the switch to natural styling, the Internet can be a bewildering place to look for help.

Aeleise Ollarvia and Aishia Strickland, experienced hair stylists and experts in natural hair care, were not having it.

Frustrated with the misinformation they saw online, these hair artists set out to share a bold stance on how black women should style their curls: Eliminating shea butter, coconut oil, castor oil, and “everybody’s favorite gel”—Eco Styler—from their routines.

On a whim, they launched a #30DayHairDetox email campaign and discovered there was a movement happening in people’s inboxes.

Aeleise and Aishia were blown away by the response to their #30DayHairDetox email campaign. So much so that they decided to set up an online course on Teachable to show Black women step-by-step how to move to natural styling.

There was one problem. Their content and instruction was leaving their virtual clients high and dry. Clients wanted to see how other women like themselves were applying Aeleise and Aishia’s styling expertise:

Like many course creators before them, Aeleise and Aishia tried to use a Facebook group to bring their people together. They immediately ran into problems:

Then, one day in September 2018 they discovered Mighty Networks from a Google search:

This was a stark contrast from what they were doing:

In less than a few weeks, their new website—and now mobile app access! — was up and running, bringing their course and community together into a single membership.

Aeleise and Aishia mapped out a few key pieces to their membership.

First, they chose to offer a $24.99/month or $224.99/year all-inclusive membership that included:

• 3 Courses
  • The #30DayHairDetox
  • The Curl Goals Guide: Wash & Go Edition
  • The Twist Primer
• Topics like Dry Hair Challenges & Solutions, Product Chat, Style Troubleshooting, Before and After
• Live Demonstration Videos
• Questions & Answers to hair-related questions spanning product application to lifestyle adaptations, and beyond.
• Invitations to model across the U.S. in live hair courses

Next, they focused on their “new member experience,” taking advantage of a number of subtle features in their Mighty Network.

Specifically, when new members land inside the community, they’re prompted to answer the icebreaker question, “What is your #1 challenge with your natural hair? Please list your current cleansing/conditioning styling products and routine.”

Each member gets a warm, personal welcome from peer mentors Cassandra and Keya, who have been with Aeleise and Aishia since the original #30DayHairDetox and are now active peer mentors in the community.

When they join, new members are encouraged to:

Lastly, Aeleise and Aishia set up the original #30DayHairDetox concept as an on-demand course that all new members are directed to when they join. The course lays out terms and acronyms used inside the community, so it’s a great introduction for all new members.

After completing the course, they can ask questions or share their progress in the main Mighty Network under the Topic #30DayHairDetox.

Today there are nearly 500 paying members of the Black Curl Magic Digital Salon, generating six-figures in revenue for this dynamic duo. Growth continues to build organically as members share the Digital Salon with their girlfriends, mom, aunts, and grandmothers.

Aeleise and Aishia credit the success of their Digital Salon to their mindset.

While difficult at times, they prioritize delivering results to their members over their own desire for perfection:

The duo embrace a Build as We Go Approach to new content and adding programs to their Mighty Network. For instance, they now offer two additional courses that members can access once they finish The #30DayHairDetox.

They added these well after launch:

The Digital Salon Hosts experiment aggressively. Each of their three courses was developed “live” with members:

This live learning sparked the idea for a second Mighty Network called The Cut It Kinky Mastermind to teach professional hair stylists how to serve the natural hair market:

Aeleise and Aishia are strong believers in showing up authentically as themselves to their Digital Salon clients:

1. Keep it simple. Got a winning concept that delivers results? Create a fundamental course, pair it with a community, and charge for membership.
2. Let go of making things perfect. Focus on getting your members results first. You can always go back and refine how things look and sound.
3. Emphasize your unique approach. Help your people find you by being clear and unapologetic about what you stand for and why your process stands out from the rest.