Bringing beauty home

As a stylist and mother of three, Yazmin Cavale knows the feeling of being pulled between family time and looking beautiful.

About six months ago, the Ross Bridge resident said she was thinking about ways to take the business she runs out of her garage — offering hair, makeup and spray tan services — to the next level. But instead of opening a store, she and husband, Jim Cavale, hit upon a different idea — an app.

“I have three kids, and I just want someone to come do my hair. I don’t want to go somewhere and do it,” she said.

That was the start of Glow, the beauty-on-demand app that the Cavales are launching in August. Glow will connect users with hair, makeup and tanning professionals — called Glow Pros — who can bring those services right to their door.

“I call it the Uber of beauty because you can either order it a day before, a week before or an hour before,” Yazmin Cavale said. “I don’t feel like celebrities should be the only ones that get glammed up. I think everyday women are celebrities, and so I think they need to feel like they can get someone to come to their house and do these beauty products or these beauty services.”

Glow will be free to download, and Birmingham residents can read biographies and reviews of each of the Glow Pros, whom Yazmin Cavale has handpicked both from freelancers and existing beauty businesses. Messaging, scheduling and payment can all be done in the app, and every Glow Pro can serve clients either from their own business or at the client’s home for an additional fee.

Yazmin Cavale said she plans to use it for her own clients.

“It would cut my time from answering emails and giving directions and instructions. It would just make my life so much easier. I can just show up to a place,” she said.

Jim Cavale, who is the president of Iron Tribe Fitness, said he sees this as a way for beauty businesses in Birmingham to expand their reach through technology.

“We’re not going to try to compete with them; what we’re going to try to do is open up the marketplace to them,” he said.

Since coming up with the idea, Jim and Yazmin Cavale have worked with Platypi, a Birmingham startup, to build the app. Yazmin Cavale brings the beauty knowledge, and her husband brings the business background. So far it’s been a smooth process, but the Cavales know the real challenges will begin once they open Glow up for beta testing and for the initial launch.

While managing a business and team of stylists is a change of pace for Yazmin Cavale, Jim Cavale said he looks forward to seeing her rise to the occasion.

“She has the unique ability to not only be great at these services … but she has the ability to recruit people and attract people to be just as good as her and lead them,” he said.

Yazmin Cavale said she thinks Birmingham is a great market to start an app like this with the success of services such as Uber and Shipt. Jim Cavale said eventually they’d like to expand Glow “from the South out,” starting with cities like Nashville and Atlanta and growing from there.

“I’ve lived everywhere. I’ve lived in L.A., New York and Miami, and I find that women here in the South just love getting ready. They love putting on makeup; they love doing their hair; they love spray tans, and I think it’s a great market for it,” Yazmin Cavale said.

The Cavales want to have about 1,000 clients and about 24 Glow Pros ready to start beta testing in July. They said they plan to fully launch the service by Aug. 31. To learn more, visit glowout.io or search Glow by Yaz on Facebook.