I have always been in awe of inventors, or of people finding solutions to everyday problems. We have seen many of this in the technology sector and while we wait for that AI ( Artificial Intelligent) shower, bed, bath and home, there are still gaps to fill.
I have always wished for a capsule shower. A shower where you press enter and it is pre-programmed from an app on your phone to suit your needs, such as your favourite soap, shower gel, to your hair being shampooed and conditioned via an outlet. I can visualise these AI guided arms or various jet pulses that showers you from head to toe with the old shower head replaced by these jets that surrounds you in the shower capsule.
It will obviously have different settings and will range from a calm to strong body and head massage and as my imagination wanders… there will be music to either wake you up or relax you with each droplet of water. After the washing, your body is blow dried (please take note; this will replace the bath towels) and your hair and make-up are done to perfection by placing your face in a make-up section and hair is perfected by the hair section of this capsule. Once done, you walk out of the shower capsule just as you programmed it.
I can imagine stepping out with my favourite perfume and powder following me and lingering in the air. To end this off my outfit for the day has been selected by an app, based on the weather and the occasion for the day or evening and viola! Within 10 minutes AI bathroom and clothing solutions has me ready for the day.
Manual Reality is less futuristic
Back into the present, I always struggled with the small white hand towels in hotels. My morning ritual while working in the corporate landscape and travelling was always to shower, wash my hair and then to fit my long hair into a small hand-towel. It was mission impossible.
Just when you have your hair tucked in and start your facial moisturising treatment for the “post flight upliftment” look, it pops off your head onto the floor! You go through this exercise 3 to 5 times until your make up is done, or you give up and try doing this without a towel and hope your hair does get blobs of make-up or face moisturiser on it.
Out of pure desperation you use the big bath towel where the weight bends your head and neck backwards. This results in you add ing eyeshadow and mascara on your cheeks, or worse on your chin, as you cannot see with your head being bend backwards. At home it was more comfortable as the hand-towels are a bit bigger and it was okayish, although it would feel heavy or pop off at times, usually when you are in a hurry.
One evening after a networking supper with colleagues, I went to CVS in Manhattan and strolled from aisle to aisle to see what they have in the US which we do not have in good old South Africa. I saw this towel for hair and it had instructions! I bought one.
The next morning this hair-towel was the best thing that I have found and it really made my life easier. I went back to CVS and bought 2 more and every time I travelled to New York on business I bought another hair towel as I was afraid it would get old or lost. I had to stock up on it and my hair towel always travelled with me, be it on holidays, business or at my home. This was my lifeline I was in awe of the 2 sisters who developed it and still am.
Improving the hair towel
Catcchii was developed because people have different hair types and needs and not all people like the microfiber towel feel on their fingers – it really is a thing.
I also saw that people were copying the original hair towel design and South African shops were selling the copies imported from foreign countries. I really did not want to buy and support a copy and thus we developed and patented the Catcchii hair towel which differs from the copy as follows:
- The Catcchii fits over the head and flairs out instead of becoming narrow. This is because medium to long hair flairs or spreads as you flip your head to fit the hair in the towel.
- Because hair spreads, it makes it a bit difficult to shape them into the narrow part of the non-South African hair towel. I was always tucking hair back into the towel.
- We have 2 types of Catcchii’s – one for curly hair and one for straight hair and therefore the fabric is different, to accommodate the different hair types.
- Catcchii curly is used in conjunction with curly products and keeps the moisture in the hair while the product works its magic and gives you that curl that is yours.
- Catcchii for straight hair takes most of the wetness out of your hair and reduces the blow-drying time.
- Catcchii’s are extremely light on the head. Feedback from one of our customers in Taiwan who likes to keep her towel on her hair for long, stated that it is so light and her head does not get cold like when she uses a traditional towel.
- They travel well and are light in your travel bag and folds or rolls into a tiny bundle. It takes less or similar space than underwear.
- Catcchii’s do not show moisturising and base stains as with traditional white towels.
- Catcchii’s are easy to wash and dries quickly
I never thought that I would replace the hair towel I found in Manhattan and with Catcchii the switch was pain free.
Another plus for me personally is that it provides jobs in our beautiful country and this design is proudly developed and made in South Africa. Our country has so much to offer and I have made a vow to support local businesses where possible and therefore my handbag and make-up bag are local and of a much better quality and more beautiful than the international ones available in the market.
I am taking stock of what I have in my house; what is locally made and what isn’t and what we can do in supporting our country. We do it in sport and now we should do it with our Proudly South African inventions.
Our slogan at Duvibuddy is I want this… and I want South Africans to stand up from the ashes and prosper through its amazing people.
