Four Questions with Dianne Austin of Coils to Locs

FEBRUARY 26, 2018 - 9 MINUTES READ

We’re putting the spotlight on local businesses that focus on health, wellness, and community. This month, get to know Dianne Austin, co-founder of Coils to Locs:

The evolution of your business, Coils to Locs, follows a very personal journey for you. As a cancer survivor you recognized a health-care disparity for women of color — lack of access to and health insurance coverage for Afrocentric, natural wig styles. Your company is poised to be a direct supplier of these types of wigs for Boston area hospitals. How does it feel to be creating the very product that you needed during a very difficult time in your own life?                                                                                                                                        

Sometimes it seems surreal.  I have always been very entrepreneurial but never in a million years did I ever think that I would build a business around an illness. 

The whole thought process of creating Coils to Locs happened similar to the proverbial “light bulb” moment:

It was so important to me to not look like a cancer patient, as this experience was hard enough as it was.  I wanted to look like “me”, so I was excited to be able to at least get a wig; the cost of which was covered for up to $350 with my health insurance. What I truly wasn’t prepared for was the fact that I would not be able to find a wig that looked like my hair, which I wear, natural (un-straightened). All of the cancer center boutiques at hospitals featured straight and wavy haired wigs.  When you go to these cancer center boutiques, if they have wigs on display the wigs are straight and wavy.  Even the catalogues did not feature any Afrocentric styles at all (kinky/curly, braids, locs, twists and relaxed straight wig styles).  It seemed so incredible to me that in 2015 that this was the case. 

After a period of feeling like hospitals just didn’t get it and being quite irritated if I am being honest, I decided to do some research by cold calling major cancer center boutiques at hospitals across the country.  I actually thought that it was just that Boston hospitals were culturally insensitive in this space but to my surprise, I found that this was the case at major hospitals all over the country. That’s when the light bulb went off.  As I like to say: When served lemons, make lemonade and Coils to Locs was born.

I know that you’ve worked with Dorchester Bay Economic Development to get Coils to Locs off the ground. How has this and other community partnerships changed the ways you do business?                           

Dorchester Bay has been incredibly supportive and continues to be.  Jim McSherry in particular has become a mentor to me and has opened doors to influential people in healthcare that I likely would not have had the opportunity to meet.  DBEDC also created a video featuring the Coils to Locs journey that was very popular on social media and raised the profile of the business and they did this free of charge for Coils to Locs as well as other businesses. I would recommend that anyone who is an entrepreneur check out this organization.

I am also thankful for the partnership and support of The Fairmount Innovation Lab under the leadership of Liora Beer and TLE Consulting Group, SCORE, Ujima Project, and the Dorchester Food Co-op!

I entered a pitch competition held by the Ujima Project to win free office space at the Fields Corner Business Lab in Dorchester and lost. Much to my surprise, the Ujima Project contacted me with the news that the Dorchester Community Co-op, the actual winners of the free office space wanted to share the prize with me!  It is this type of support that has been so incredible to me and I am extremely appreciative.  Whenever possible I have and will always try to pay it forward.

Coils to Locs is currently offering free health and wellness workshops for women of color touched by cancer. Can you tell me a little bit more about how this series came about? Where can people share more information or sign up for the next workshop?

This is an example of my interest in paying it forward. I had a huge concern about the fact that I lost my lashes and brows as well as my hair.  When I would express my concern, I often heard, “it’s just hair, it will grow back”, or “you are lucky to be alive”.  One, that is not always the case, (my lashes and brows never grew back fully).  Two, telling cancer patients that they should feel lucky to be alive negates the fact that this does not mean that they should be unhappy with chemotherapy side effects like hair loss, or blackened nails and discolored skin.  Appearance is an important part of our well being.  I wanted to create a safe space for women to engage in health, wellness and beauty activities without feeling judged.

The Women of Color with Cancer & Survivors Health, Wellness, and Beauty Group offers a series of exciting health, wellness and beauty workshops over the next few months. You can get information about upcoming workshops at http://coilstolocs.com/workshops 

The Dorchester Community Food Co-op also supports community health and wellness. What are you most excited to see the Co-op bring to Dorchester and its surrounding neighborhoods?

I grew up in Roxbury when there were only two supermarkets and not the major supermarkets.  Both of these markets carried substandard produce, old meat and expired canned goods and the prices for this food was too high.  I remember one supermarket that always smelled as well. One needed a car to go to a major chain supermarket and you had to go to a white community if you wanted to get fresh produce, edible meat and products that weren’t expired. Things have changed a lot since then in communities of color in Boston, as there are now major grocery chains, neighborhood gardens and more. What I love about the work of the Dorchester Community Food Co-op is that community members have access to good, healthy food and that members have a voice in the process through direct involvement with the Co-op at various levels. We have the power to drive our food choices in ways that impact our health.

Is there any other information you would like to share?

Coils to Locs is in the pre-launch stage and we hope to launch the business before the end of 2018. To learn more about our business launch, keep up with our progress, and be alerted when we launch, we would love for readers to sign up for our email list at http://coilstolocs.com/lets-connect/

Thanks, Dianne!