THE HAIR SYRUP STORY
Born from a tale of damaged hair & DIY oil blends, Hair Syrup is redefining the way we nourish our locks & care for our scalp with natural, effective solutions. Here’s how Hair Syrup has flourished from a student side hustle into one of the UK’s most viral hair care brands:
1. The Spark
In 2019, Lucie Macleod, then a 21-year-old student at the University of Warwick, was frustrated with her unhealthy, frazzled hair. After years of bleaching & heat damage, it was brittle, dry, and damaged. After wasting money on products that promised the world but delivered very little in terms of lasting results, Lucie embarked on a hair care journey, wherein she was introduced to the potential wonders of natural ingredients.
2. The Formula
Unable to find an all-natural hair oil mask within her tight budget, Lucie set to work in her student kitchen perfecting different blends to help her growing hair & scalp concerns. Through trial and error, she eventually perfected a formula that began to completely revitalise her hair.
3. Word of Mouth
What started as a single formula soon expanded as Lucie refined her syrups to address specific concerns like dry ends and scalp issues. Friends and family took notice, and soon they were asking for their own bottles.
4. Going Viral
In 2020, during the height of the UK lockdown, Lucie innocently posted a TikTok to her then handful of followers, showcasing her hair transformation, imparting her favourite tips & tricks & praising her DIY oil mixtures as being the key player in this. Expecting little attention, she was blown away when overnight, the video went viral, amassing 600,000 views and an influx of requests from online strangers to buy her "magic syrup."
5. The Launch
Initially cautious & somewhat baffled, Lucie touted these comments as ‘humorous’ & thought very little of them & continued pursuing her undergraduate degree. However, around six months later, when Lucie told a friend she was still being bombarded with messages about purchasing these oils, he jokingly said, “Well, why not? Imagine if you did start selling them?”. Driven by a clear realization of the demand, Lucie decided it was time to transform her kitchen project into a business. She scaled up production, launched a website, and began curating social media content from her parents’ conservatory. At first she perceived Hair Syrup as a craft-hobby, something to do to combat lockdown boredom, express her creativity, enhance her marketing experience & as a bonus, possibly even make some extra cash.
6. Expansion
Lucie’s initial modest vision for the brand quickly vanished as her following grew by the thousands & customers started to rave about her products. Hair Syrup quickly gained momentum, catching the eye of major influencers & then retailers like ASOS, LookFantastic, Boots, and BeautyBay. What started as a one-hit-viral-wonder rapidly evolved into a leading, trusted brand for pre-wash treatments, with a growing community of loyal customers & hitting a milestone of becoming one of tiktok’s top 3 UK SMB hair care merchants.
7. New Beginnings
With success came the need for bigger space. Hair Syrup outgrew its humble kitchen roots and over 18 months, moved into several new warehouses across North Pembrokeshire to meet rising demand. Today, Hair Syrup is an international brand delivering results-driven haircare worldwide.
8. The Future
But, we’re just getting started. With new products in the pipeline, plans for global expansion, and more retail partnerships, Hair Syrup is set for even greater things. Our mission? To transform the natural haircare market, one syrup at a time.
FROM THE FOUNDER
I started this brand with nothing - no experience, no money, no real understanding of business & I’ve managed to catapult it into the multi-millions. When you manage to grow a brand from a student kitchen to being stocked by Boots, you really feel like the sky’s the limit. That’s how I feel about Hair Syrup. When I see customer before & after photos I can reflect on how special this brand actually is - we sell high-performance, results-drive, all natural products within an affordable price range; we’re already miles ahead of the competition".
From a student’s experiment to a global brand, Hair Syrup proves that passion, creativity, and a bit of TikTok magic can go a long way. Ready to join the revolution?
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