The Sleep Styler: What Happened To The Product After Shark Tank?
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In a perfect world, we could go to bed and wake up with beautifully styled hair, no hot hair tools required. This is the fantasy that entrepreneur Tara Brown envisioned when creating The Sleep Styler, a product that appeared on ABC's "Shark Tank" in March 2017. Not only has it become one of the most successful "Shark Tank" products, but it's also considered to be one of the shortest times that an entrepreneur spent in the tank, according to Success.
As a working mom, Brown wanted to find a way to make her mornings easier and tame her frizzy hair. "I was tired of every day being a ponytail day," she said during her pitch. She was inspired by her daughter after taking out her braids that had been wet the night before, and she noticed the hair was still wavy from the braid. With this in mind, Brown created heatless hair rollers for people to wear to bed so they can wake up with freshly styled hair and save time. She developed this business all while working as an ophthalmologist and being a full-time mom. Just months before going on "Shark Tank," Brown launched her product on Kickstarter, a crowd-funding site many entrepreneurs use to get started. She exceeded her $10,000 goal in 12 hours and reached $47,000 by the end of her 30-day campaign on the site, giving her a solid start that would then lead to her appearance on "Shark Tank."
What happened to Tara Brown on Shark Tank?
Tara Brown went on "Shark Tank" seeking $75,000 for a 20% equity stake in the company. She confidently entered the tank wearing her own rollers, demonstrating The Sleep Styler for sharks Mark Cuban, Robert Herjavec, Lori Greiner, Barbara Corcoran, and Kevin O'Leary. All of the sharks loved Brown's pitch, with O'Leary cracking jokes about how he styles his bald head. In her pitch, Brown explained how the rollers are made of soft, absorbent yoga towel fabric and memory foam, allowing them to be comfortable enough to sleep in. She truly showed her dedication to her idea, telling the sharks how she enrolled in fashion school — on top of being a mom and a doctor — to help her navigate the manufacturing and sewing processes that went into creating The Sleep Styler.
Shark Robert Herjavec even asked her why she needed the money, considering she was already doing well on her own. Brown explained she needed someone to guide her through business decisions, as she was receiving tons of offers after showing the product at Cosmoprof, the world's biggest trade show for beauty products. This guide would turn out to be Lori Greiner, who said the product was "genius" and made Brown an offer of $75,000 for 25%, per Insider. Brown accepted and began working with Greiner. "Within five minutes of watching Tara pitch, I had already visualized a great plan in my mind," Greiner told Success in a 2017 interview.
The Sleep Styler after Shark Tank
Within hours of the "Shark Tank" episode airing, The Sleep Styler quickly began selling out. In an interview for the Video Marketing For Business Podcast, Tara Brown explained that in preparation for the episode's airing, she ordered 4,000 sets of rollers. By midnight on the night it aired, The Sleep Styler did $1 million in sales. Brown had to place backorders on the site to keep up with the influx of orders coming in. "There was a lot of anger from people about the wait, and I felt so personally responsible that people were unhappy. We tried to do whatever we could..." she explained. The rollers received some media attention after the "Shark Tank" episode, with articles from San Diego's ABC 10 News as well as the Today Show.
Tara Brown first sold The Sleep Styler exclusively through her website. As Lori Greiner took over the manufacturing side of the business, the product became licensed to a group called Allstar Innovations, as Brown explained in the podcast interview. The Sleep Styler became distributed to Amazon, QVC, Walmart, and other retailers, where it's still sold today. According to USA Today, The Sleep Styler achieved over $100 million in sales within two years of being on "Shark Tank." From the Kickstarter campaign to the post-"Shark Tank" sales, it's clear that these rollers came a long way and proved themselves to be one of the most successful "Shark Tank" beauty pitches.
Is The Sleep Styler still in business?
It's been six years since The Sleep Styler was pitched on "Shark Tank," and though the buzz has died down, the company is still in business today. The Sleep Styler website is still up but only used for wholesale inquiries, and the product is primarily sold through large retailers, including Amazon, QVC, and Walmart. You can choose from either the 12-pack of 3-inch rollers for shorter hair or the 8-pack of 6-inch rollers for long hair.
The product has received mixed reviews, with an overall rating of 3 stars on Amazon. In the negative reviews, the consensus seems to be that the rollers aren't comfortable to sleep in, they didn't save much time getting ready, or they aren't suited for all hair types. Positive reviewers, however, had great results using the rollers and found them to be comfortable and easy to use. With most hair products, it comes down to preference and trial and error.
If you want to try a heatless curls method you won't need any extra products for, The Sleep Styler may work for you. There are tutorials on The Sleep Styler YouTube channel available to help customers use the rollers effectively. The brand's Instagram and Facebook pages haven't been active since 2022, and there have not been changes made to the original product. Considering that they're still in business, people continue to use The Sleep Styler years after "Shark Tank."
What's next for founder Tara Brown?
Though founder Tara Brown found a ton of success with The Sleep Styler, she has been primarily focused on being a physician. It appears that Tara Brown is no longer involved in the day-to-day operations of The Sleep Styler, but she is still listed as the CEO on her LinkedIn page. According to her Instagram and website, Brown has expanded her medical practice from ophthalmology to facial cosmetic surgery, specializing in lid lifts, neurotoxin injections, dermal filler, radiofrequency treatments, micro-needling, plasma pen, and other treatments. She is the medical director at Opulence Salon and Med Spa in La Jolla, California.
Brown was able to use her entrepreneurial success to pursue what she's most passionate about — helping her patients feel like their best selves. She has not spoken about creating other businesses in the future, but she seems to be doing extremely well for herself as a physician. Being a mom, entrepreneur, and doctor, Brown can truly do it all.