After captivating social media with a viral prototype, Miona Short, an African American astrophysicist-turned-beauty entrepreneur from Chicago, has launched the pilot of her groundbreaking hair tool: the Carefree Comb. Designed to transform the hair care routine for those with thick, curly, or afro-textured hair, the Carefree Comb is a product-dispensing comb attachment aimed at making hair care quicker, more affordable, and accessible.
"I created the Carefree Comb because I have a lot of hair and never feel like doing it," Short laughs, explaining the inspiration behind her innovation. "Haircare services are so expensive right now, and I needed something that would take the burden off my hands."The Carefree Comb, now in its pilot phase after seven years of product development, faced repeated rejections from engineers who said the product was nearly impossible to manufacture without skyrocketing costs.
"Some engineers told me it would be impossible to sell this for less than $100 because it costs too much to produce and that the Black hair market wasn't big enough to justify it," Short recalls. "But I knew if we designed it well, it could be manufactured here in the U.S. and priced affordably."
Her persistence paid off. In the summer of 2023, Short posted a demo of the Carefree Comb on TikTok and Instagram, where the prototype quickly went viral, amassing over 1 million views. The overwhelmingly positive feedback validated her vision and fueled the next steps of her journey.
With burgeoning confidence, Short pursued and secured significant grants to bring the Carefree Comb to life, including the Innovate Together Grant from TikTok and Black Girl Ventures and the Inclusive Beauty Grant from L'Oréal and the NAACP.
The pilot round of the Carefree Comb has now been shipped to early customers and content creators, marking a significant milestone for the Chicago-based startup, Shukrah. With these trial products in hand, Short and her team are gathering feedback to fine-tune the design before ramping up for a more extensive production run.
Short — a former MC Lyte's Hip Hop Sisters Foundation Scholar — is wielding her unique background in science as well as her deep-rooted passion for beauty innovation to propel her into the haircare industry where the Carefree Comb stands poised to become a game-changer for beauty consumers with specialized needs.
For more information on the Carefree Comb and Shukrah's mission, or to participate in the post-pilot production round, please visit Shukrah.com
Also, be sure to follow @helloshukrah on social media.
About Shukrah:
Beauty should be a joyful practice. Shukrah is dedicated to creating simple, elegant tools for consumers whose needs have not been prioritized by the beauty market. Their first product, the Carefree Comb, is a proprietary wide-tooth, product-dispensing comb that simplifies the haircare routines for afro-textured and curly hair. It’s time to embrace the haircare you’ve always deserved.
For press inquiries, contact hello@shukrah.com