One woman's weave woes turn into a business idea

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- For women who wear weaves, beauty comes with commitment.

Getting a weave takes hours in a hair chair and requires a lot of care for your scalp, or a skin infection could develop. Infection happens when hair beneath a weave gets wet and doesn't dry quickly.

A local woman set out to conquer those weave woes, one blow dryer at a time.

Michalyn Porter started wearing weaves two years ago, but noticed something was wrong after six months.

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"I felt this itchy feeling in my scalp, and I looked my scalp, and there was a red pussiness," recalled Porter.

Porter got an infection from not drying her hair properly, but she continued wearing weaves and got a new one before her cruise vacation.

"Then, horror happened. I got on a waterslide with my daughter, and I had water dripping everywhere," Porter continued.

Her hair was so saturated beneath the weave that a regular blow dryer wouldn't work to dry the hair. With water dripping down her head and neck, she had to take a towel to dinner.

"People were looking at me like 'What was wrong with that woman? Couldn't she have dried her hair in the cabin?'" said Porter.

The next day, she sketched out her solution to that embarrassing moment.

"That was it. I found a patent attorney, and the rest is history," said Porter.

The Weave Dryer is an adjustable thermal blow dryer nozzle that attaches to the end of any blow dryer. The tubes slide into the hair between the weave and the scalp, helping the hair to fully dry and reducing the chance for bacteria to grow.

"When you allow bacteria to get inside your hair, it kills your hair follicle, and that won't grow back," explained Porter.

Porter said her creation also cuts down on the smell often associated with wearing weaves.

"Sometimes people wash their hair when they're wearing braids, and they have this mildew smell. That mildew smell is mildew that's growing," she added.

ABC13 asked Natural Resources Salon owner Tamika Fletcher to try out the Weave Dryer and give her professional opinion. She said the biggest benefit she noticed was how quickly the hair dried.

"We can cut down time of service and still give a quality service every time," said Fletcher.

Porter said the weave dryer actually cuts drying time down by 75 percent.

"Wear your weave, but dry your hair the right way," advised Porter.

The weave dryer works on all kinds of weaves, as well as natural hair, locks and braids. It's for sale online for $49.99.

Natural Resources Salon provided styling services for this story. Michalyn Porter's hair was styled by Makayla Holmes from Salon EJS in Missouri City (510-672-3098).