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Work out what a braid-assist device could mean for a salon

The stylist starts each braid by hand and the device finishes it. Work out what a braid-assist tool could really mean for a salon's day.

By Alan Brown

Video cover: This robot helps braid hair 5x faster

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💇🏾‍♀️ Braids that take all day, finished 5x faster.

🤖 HaloBraid is a braid-assist robot from Harvard grad Yinka Ogunbiyi. The stylist starts each braid by hand, and the device finishes it in seconds. www.halobraid.com/
💰 It's backed by a $7M seed round led by Alexis Ohanian's Seven Seven Six: thenextweb.com/news/halobraid-7m-seed-braiding-robot-seven-seven-six
📋 Thousands of stylists and customers have joined the waitlist, and Halo plans to bring it to salons this autumn, starting in the US Northeast: www.beautyindependent.com/hair-braiding-hours-alexis-ohanian-halo-minutes/
🙌 It's built to help braiders, not replace them: less strain on hands and backs, and more clients a day.
🎬 Video: HaloBraid (@halo.braid); Yinka Ogunbiyi on stage via @SOUQNewsTV. Sources: BellaNaija, AfroTech, Black Enterprise.

Context & limitations

"5x faster" is the company's figure. Its own site says "half the time", and there's no published pricing yet. The prompt below works out what it could mean for your salon.

Do this yourself

I'm a braider or salon owner, and I want to work out whether a braid-assist device like HaloBraid could help my business once it's available. Ask me one question at a time until you understand: the styles I do most, how long each usually takes, how many clients I see in a week, my prices, and where braiding hurts most (hands, back, long days, turning clients away). Then: 1. Check HaloBraid's current status from its own site (https://www.halobraid.com/) and recent news: launch date, availability, pricing and what it can braid. Give the date you checked. Label speed figures as company claims. The company has described them as "five times faster" and "half the time", so show both. 2. Build a simple table for my three most common styles: current time, time if the claim held at half the time, and at a more cautious 25% saving. Show what each would mean for clients per week and for my hours. 3. List what I'd still do by hand: parting, starting braids, finishing and styling. 4. Give me ten questions to ask at a demo, covering hair types, braid sizes, comfort, cleaning, cost, servicing and training. Don't assume a price or a launch date that isn't published. Say clearly where information is missing.

HaloBraid hasn't launched or published pricing yet, so the prompt works from your own appointment times and keeps the company's speed claims labelled as claims.

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