The Glowgetters: Meet Ireland's new wave of beauty founders, like Peigín Crowley and Joann Mahon

Meet the Irish beauty founders forging their own path and changing the beauty landscape for the better

Sat, 08 Apr, 2023 - 02:00

Simone Gannon

PAMELA MORRISSEY, SOBE BROWN SUPERFOOD HAIR OIL

A hairstylist, business owner and product developer, Pamela Morrissey is the woman behind acclaimed Cork salon Sobe Brown. In 2021, she created Superfood Hair and Scalp Oil.

Although her first product came to life in Cork, the story of its beginnings is in New York. “I worked as a stylist in Manhattan for four years,” explains Pamela. “It was a completely different experience for me as a stylist. The level of service was very much a 360-degree approach. Every client required, almost insisted on being educated about my thoughts on their hair and scalp and if I was aware of any issues they couldn’t see. I loved it and it forever changed my approach to client care.”

When Pamela returned to Cork in 2006, Sobe Brown was born. “It was a little atelier studio, to begin with,” she says. “Just me, where I worked one to one with my client, considering their lifestyle, goals and hair health and type.”

Pamela’s approach only strengthened over the years, and Sobe Brown is known for its personal and individual, almost therapeutic service. “We have a concept called your ‘full potential and natural best’,” explains Pamela. “We want each client to leave the salon at their full potential, with the best version of their natural hair; vibrant, rich, healthy, and easy to manage at home.”

However, stress is one of the most prominent antagonists to hair looking and feeling its best. With salons closed during lockdown, Pamela was inundated with questions related to hair loss, hair thinning and scalp issues. She says: “When the body is stressed, circulation is affected, and the hair and scalp don’t get the nutrients it needs and isn’t as nourished as it should be. Our hair is the last thing to get nourished, so it’s the first thing to suffer.”

With help from wellness expert and friend Peigín Crowley, Pamela created Superfood Hair and Scalp Oil to continue caring for her clients both in the salon and out, and it was a profoundly mindful experience. “I gained a deep understanding of essential oils from Peigín, the benefits, and how they fit together. It was quite intuitive. If something didn’t sit well with me or feel right, it was back to the drawing board. It was important to me that what I created would be easy to use and appeal to everyone, would treat stress issues and hair problems and provide holistic benefits at the same time.”

A blend of Ashwagandha and Clary Sage, along with Lavender, Rosewood, Frankincense Bergamot and Ylang Ylang, made the final cut. Each with unique benefits for hair, scalp, body and mind. “It helps to calm and detox the scalp, hydrate and hold moisture in the hair shaft, and create a healthy environment for hair growth,” explains Pamela. “I always thought I would create a styling product, but this is so much more. It’s everything I believe in. The health of your hair is more important than any tool or styling product, and good hair health starts in the scalp.”

Sobe Brown Superfood Hair & Scalp Oil retails at €38 from www.sobebrown.com.

PEIGÍN CROWLEY, GROUND WELLBEING

Aspa industry luminary, Peigín Crowley has spent over 25 years in the world of wellness, designing spas and concept treatments for award-winning locations like Adare Manor and The Cliff House Hotel. A lifelong love of aromatherapy, coupled with a professional quietness during lockdown, propelled Peigín to create Ground Wellbeing at the end of 2020 (at her kitchen table, no less).

A wellness brand with a difference, Ground is rooted in the principle of “going forward to basics” and truly minding yourself in the process. “I wanted to do wellness in my own way,” says Peigín. “In a way that would be inclusive and solution-driven rather than pampering and indulgent. During lockdown, I was gifted a beautiful freedom to develop products and design packaging to the beat of my own drum, and so that’s what I did.”

And solution-driven, it certainly is. Ground’s stunningly beautiful range of products and spa treatments prioritise self-care for all, including children and those with compromised health. Using natural, botanical, plant-based ingredients, Ground’s product offering and treatments are designed to bring relief from insomnia, anxiety, burnout, gut health, pregnancy and menopausal symptoms.

Developing products suitable for women going through menopause was a particularly personal project for Peigín. “After having one of my ovaries removed, I was thrust into early menopause and really began to understand its effect on a woman’s body, particularly the decreasing production of oestrogen and how that impacts our brain, bone and heart health,” she explains. Ground Wellbeing’s bestselling Balancing CBD Balm and The Balancing Ritual came about after that; both created to balance hormonal fluctuations and provide relief from symptoms associated with menopause and PMS.

And she wasn’t finished there. The response to the Balancing Collection drove Peigín and her team to develop Barróg (which means hug in Irish), a range of treatments and products to support those living with and beyond cancer. “Those going through cancer treatment have been turned away from spas for so long,” she explains. “We wanted to address this by not only making a treatment safe for someone going through cancer but making it effective and solution driven at the same time.”

Unsurprisingly, the reception to Barróg has been overwhelmingly positive. The uptake in bookings for Barróg Rituals at Hayfield Manor Spa, the first spa in Ireland to offer the treatments, was over 20%. “The feedback and messages that people take the time to send in gratitude and awe of this team of ladies who’ve spent time learning and developing to craft and zone in on people with compromised health to give them sincere relief, even at the end of life stage, it’s been overwhelmingly kind.”

As Ground’s product range grows, its mission remains the same. “To encourage ourselves and each other to focus on self-care at home,” says Peigín. “This allows us to feel empowered in tackling the stress, anxiety or burnout we may be experiencing. All of which will exacerbate any health-related symptoms we are dealing with. Once we are prioritising our sleep and learning to manage our anxiety, the rest falls into place.” Amen.

Find out more about Ground Wellbeing’s range of products and treatments by visiting www.groundwellbeing.com

ANNA FORDE, HAUMEA SKINCARE DEVICES

Skincare professional and beauty therapist Anna Forde has been treating and enhancing women’s skin across Ireland for over 16 years. An important driver for Anna has always been harnessing the latest technologies and treatments to get the best results for her clients.

When faced with closing the doors of her salon due to covid-19, The Beauty Suite Laser and Skin Clinic in Galway, and clients that struggled to maintain their in-clinic results, she decided it was time to bring the clinic experience home.

“I always knew I wanted to create my own brand, something that went side-by-side with my daily work as a skincare professional,” she says. “But when lockdown arrived, I realised it was an opportunity for me to help women optimise their skincare routine at home, too.” She adds, “I knew exactly what I wanted to create, the results I wanted to achieve, and the technicalities and specs needed so that anyone could easily use them at home.”

But unsurprisingly, thanks to a global shutdown, it wasn’t all plain sailing. “I spent over a year focussed on creating the devices. I went through multiple samples, trialling each,” she explains. “I was running online consultations for my skin clinic, packing orders and trying to keep the door open on that business. I was the sole owner, running this new business by myself, so having the time to do both was difficult. Finding the right production company wasn’t easy, but once I found them, I was confident that they could create devices to my standard, which was the most important thing for me.”

Haumea launched two devices in October 2021; Smart Sonic Facial Brush and LED Light Therapy Mask Device. Designed to be used individually or together, both help users harness the power of advanced skin treatments and get the most out of their skincare ingredients in the comfort of their own home (and they look super sleek, too). “The design was very important to me,” says Anna. “I had a very clear idea of what I wanted the brand look-and-feel to be. Clinical, clean and consistent. And I think we achieved that.”

Haumea’s Smart Sonic Facial Brush levels up at-home cleansing with 12 adjustable vibration settings to blast dirt from within the pore with no irritation or harsh abrasion. Anna elaborates, “it delivers a really effective cleanse and is gentle enough to use

daily.”

The LED Light Therapy Mask, on the other hand, targets a range of common skin concerns. Everything from fine lines and wrinkles to breakout activity, inflammation and irritation, and best of all – it’s designed for use with your favourite serum or sheet mask. “It’s a

handheld LED device, so it allows you to adjust LED setting to specific areas of the face,” says Anna. “Our red and yellow mode heat up to 43 degrees for an enjoyable treatment that allows products to sink in deeper and work harder.”

Since the launch, Haumea has shipped all over Ireland,

the UK and further afield, and as a result, we can expect more from Haumea this year. “Particularly in Q2’, says Anna. ‘Keep your eyes peeled.”

Find out more about Haumea and shop all devices by visiting www.haumeaskincare.com

JOANN MAHON, MILLIES

Joann Mahon is the owner and managing director of Millies Salons and millies.ie, one of Ireland’s leading online destinations for professional skincare and haircare.

At 16 years of age, Joann was diagnosed with polycystic ovaries, a condition that brought with it a wealth of skin problems and a newfound interest in skin health that set her on the path to where she is today.

“I remember desperately seeking solutions for my skin issues,” recalls Joann. “I read anything I could find about skin health and treating various skin issues through advanced ingredients and treatments. When I saw the impact that the right products and salon treatments were having on my skin, I knew I had to help other women with their skin issues too.”

Before opening Millies first salon, Joann worked as a fully trained skin therapist in a clinic setting, eventually plucking up the courage to open her own business in 2007. “My family business was in retail,” she explains. “I grew up in that environment. This, coupled with my obsession with skincare, meant that the Millies business was an obvious route for me.”

Joann felt there was an opening in the market for a salon that was more geared towards retail, selling not just salon treatments but the correct products for specific skin types and concerns. “I believe that your skin health is down to how well you look after it at home and the products you use on your skin every day,” she says. “Eighty per cent of the results you get from advanced skincare is what you do yourself at home, and 20% is what I can do for someone in the salon. I wanted my customers to see the results and achieve skin confidence, and I knew the product side of my business was critical for this.”

From bricks and mortar, Millies Salon grew into an online business in 2010, as Joann realised she could look after clients’ skincare needs outside of regular business hours. Less than a year later, she acquired another location that allowed her to expand her offering to online and offline customers, growing the salon business to 90%, eventually allowing her to focus solely on Millies online in 2019.

And then, very shortly afterwards, came covid-19. One of the lowest points for Millies and Joann, personally. “I had to close the salons, not knowing when I would open them again, which was a very worrying time. I am also a mother, which is my most important role in life. So, trying to parent and home-school my daughter while working insane hours was tough, and then I lost my mum. It was one of my life’s most stressful and saddest times, but I got through it.”

With the pandemic came a surge in online ordering, and luckily, Millies was well positioned with the e-commerce business to meet demand. “I feel incredibly fortunate in that sense,” says Joann. “In saying that, there were still challenges. In the early days of the pandemic, my partner Paul and I and a handful of our team worked around the clock fulfilling orders and trying to keep up with the sudden increase in orders. It was a crazy time.”

Post-pandemic, Millies continues to go from strength to strength, but the core of the business will always be helping their customers find solutions to problems. “We pride ourselves on the expert knowledge of our team and the knowledge that the products we stock are tried and tested and actually work,” says Joann. “Our customers are at the heart of everything we do.”