As an inventor and business owner, we often wear many hats: CEO, creative, customer service representative and more. Q-Redew inventor Co-Founder/Owner Heidi Schmid joins Garrett and Ceata Lash of the PuffCuff to walk us through her journey, from discovery and international business, to making connections and working with family all while keeping the growth trajectory moving upward!

Get your tickets for DTB2019 happening May 26 in Atlanta here.

Catch a new episode of  From Idea to Invention each Thursday at 8:30pm! Streaming live on Facebook.com/ThePuffCuff and available for download on iTunes, Stitcher and Google Play. 

Ditch the Band and Revitalize Your Hair! If you ask PuffCuff's inventor, Ceata Lash, about her product's origin and ultimate success, she says it all began with a single idea and a unique need. "I invented PuffCuff as a styling tool for naturally curly and thick hair. I wanted it to be easy to use, durable and sanitary. But most of all, it had to be painless, and gentle on the hair! Plus, it needed to be something both men and women could use." After six successful years, it's easy to say Ceata more than reached her goal.

This month "Ditch the Band LIVE- A PuffCuff Experience" Hair Show makes its return for a second year on May 26th at the Riverside EpiCenter in Austell, GA, from 3 to 7 pm EST. In addition to curating a great, worthwhile experience for our attendees and vendor partners, this event is about embracing and caring for your natural tresses and spreading the word about this fantastic styling tool, which continues to transform the way naturally curly hair is styled.

"When I decided to go natural and love my curls, I realized I also was going to have to find a new way to style and protect it. I wanted my hair to match my active lifestyle and my personality—fun, stylish, and free. "Styling tools on the market were just not good for curly, dense hair," says Ceata. "Up to this point, everything I used put too much tension on my scalp and edges and that caused noticeable damage. "Plus, I suffered from migraine headaches. Elastic and rubber bands produced too much tension and, what I call the 'bunny butt effect.' It was time for the PuffCuff to become real."

Instead of waiting for someone else to come up with a solution, Ceata did it herself. In 2014, she began selling the only hair clamp for thick curly or textured hair. "It's very challenging finding flattering hairstyles for my type 3 curly hair," writes columnist Kathryn Desplanque in the online magazine Naturally Curly. "I've mostly worn my hair down and unadorned for the last decade. But recently, I became curious to see if the curly community had come up with any solution to the simple challenges of wearing your hair in a ponytail for type 3hair in particular. I was delighted to discover that a solution existed in the PuffCuff! "Instead of cinching your hair with an elastic band, your curly hair is held in place with the PuffCuff… I can keep my bangs down, keep tendrils down around my ears, and end up with a looser and more romantic ponytail that stays in place all day."

Made from a durable high impact-resistant plastic, the PuffCuff is designed with a contoured fit. Its wide-opening mouth is specially designed to accommodate thick hair without cinching it. This means no tension headaches from a tight band! Instead, PuffCuff's unique teeth are designed to lock curly hair in place naturally. This unisex hair clamp will not cause hair breakage or damage, and it works with all types of thick hair— including locks, twists, and braids. So, don't allow a "band" to hold you down anymore!

End your dependency on damaging hair accessories at Ditch the Band! This spectacle of natural hair edutainment for the entire family will send you home utterly inspired with tips and tricks to make your crown shine while feeling its absolute best!

In this inaugural edition of From Idea to Invention: A Podcast for Inventors and Small Businesses, Ceata Lash, founder and inventor of the PuffCuff is joined by Symphony Chips CEO and Co-Founder Dondre Anderson. Dondre shares how the company started (with inspiration from eggs and spices!); plus, the two discuss entrepreneurship, how to run a family business and more. Ceata and Dondre also talk about PuffCuff's upcoming Hair Show: Ditch The Band.

Get your tickets for DTB2019 happening May 26 in Atlanta here.

Catch a new episode of  From Idea to Invention each Thursday at 8:30pm! Streaming live on Facebook.com/ThePuffCuff and available for download on iTunes, Stitcher and Google Play. 

It’s no secret: PuffCuff is loved by men and women around the world! Now they will have even more to rave about—the PuffCuff CLEAR! It’s the perfect hair styling accessory for those, who have light, bright, bold colored and curly textured hair—even gray. The PuffCuff allows you to be you, and now it also allows your beautiful color to shine through.

The PuffCuff CLEAR literally blends in with any hair color, particularly those with lighter tones. Another great thing about this new product is this: it is even stronger than its predecessor! It is long-lasting and it also won’t cause headaches or damage your hair.

“The PuffCuff CLEAR is the result of us listening to our fans,” says PuffCuff Founder and Inventor, Ceata Lash. “Women with lighter hair color wrote to us asking for a version of our PuffCuff to match their hair color. Instead of creating PuffCuff in various colors, CLEAR was the obvious solution for all! We are so excited to be able to meet their wants and needs. Each new PuffCuff features our patented design for textured hair people of all ages. The new PuffCuff CLEAR will initially, be available in the ORIGINAL and MINI size. If these sizes do well, we will soon offer CLEAR in the JUNIOR and MICRO size.”

“This new product is perfect for my hair because it is the PuffCuff in CLEAR! So it blends in with my hair color,” says PuffCuff Ambassador @curlicue_lu.

Soon after we launched the PuffCuff, we realized that this product was for all hair types and textures. Anyone with textured hair — men, women and children alike have changed their lives by ditching tension-causing hair bands and picking up a PuffCuff Hair Clamp!

That was thrilling, but we did not want to exclude our curly-headed folk with lighter hair colors. They asked, and we answered. The PuffCuff...still the only hair clamp for thick, curly textured hair...now available in CLEAR!

A few short years ago, PuffCuff founder Ceata Lash realized the hair accessory industry actually had a bias. Most, if not all, the products on the market were designed for straight hair and not for naturally thick or curly hair. 

She also felt that the products for natural hair were really designed to entice you to straighten your hair in order to use the product successfully. After years of using chemicals on her own hair, she was ready to embrace her natural curls; and that, we could say, was the beginning of The PuffCuff story… but not quite. 

The story actually began with Ceata’s 99-year-old grandmother. “I was blessed to have her live with my family during her final years,” says Ceata. “The impact she had on our lives was profound. 

“She had seen so much history and so many changes for the better. She was my heart, and I loved her dearly. In our quiet moments together, I often wondered, ‘Did she pursue all of her dreams? Had she done everything she wanted to do?’” Then the answer came, and it was a confident, “Yes!” 

“After that, I found myself wondering if I lived to be 99, could I say the same thing? This is when I decided I had to try to step out on faith and develop what we have today: The PuffCuff—a nationally known hair product that is gaining new users every day. 

I thought, “If I failed, it wouldn’t be for lack of trying” says Ceata. “But here I am! I took the leap with my husband beside me! And we have never looked back.” 

PuffCuff, LLC launched in November of 2013, and the first PuffCuff was available for purchase in February 2014! Recently, Ceata was named the recipient of the Sally Beauty President’s Innovation Award. 

This amazing story also has another amazing fact: The PuffCuff was developed for all curl types. “This product is bringing people together,” says Ceata, “and that also is a goal I had from the beginning.”

"Order the big plate, take small bites, drink plenty of water and do the best you can.

Don’t give up. Keep running when you’re tired. And don’t stop until the Lord tells you to… and He hasn’t told us to.”

Watch the full documentary on our YouTube page.