Nancy Cavanagh, entrepreneur and owner of Belle Hair salon in Galway, opens up about her career, the women who inspire her and what keeps her going.
What inspired you to choose the hair industry as a career?
Growing up, I personally hated my hair. It took a massive toll on my confidence as it was extremely unmanageable, and it just never grew because of it. I taught myself a lot about hair and started to enjoy it. So, in a strange way, me hating my hair made me want to get into a career of allowing other people to love their hair.
How has your career progressed over the years?
Belle Hair started five-and-a-half years ago – I went from doing house calls to becoming one of Galway’s largest hair salons with a team of 12. It’s been the most incredible journey with highs and lows. We launched our own haircare line The Belle Brush which is now available in stockists nationwide, including Dunnes Stores, McCauley Pharmacy and Shaws Department Stores.
You also developed your own range of extensions, why did you decide to do this?
I absolutely love what I do. In Belle Hair, we are all obsessed with hair extensions. New mixes, new colours, longer lengths, shorter lengths. We all genuinely love what we do so it was the right fit for us to develop our own line and we had full control of what we wanted.
What is the biggest mistake people make with their haircare routine?
There are many and that’s why it’s so important to get advice on your hair, even if it is virtually. I’ll always ask people to send photos of their hair before giving advice. These days a lot of people are using a repair product when their hair isn’t damaged, it’s actually in need of hydration. Using a repair product for too long or on hair that’s not damaged can do more harm than good.
What business woman do you most admire and why?
Sara Blakely, the founder of Spanx. Her podcast of her journey is just incredible. I would recommend everyone to listen to it, but right now I admire every single business owner in Ireland who is weathering this storm. The innovation and pure determination to keep business afloat is just incredible. I’m so proud of our industry.
What keeps you going in these challenging times?
My team. Everything I do is for them. My clients. Our salon may be shut, but we are never closed. We are always there for them. I recently did a podcast with The Vision Vixen and talked about this. A stone in your journey can be put in front of you. You may not be able to turn it on the first day, or first week, but if you work on your strength, you’ll get there. Turn it away and carry on stronger than ever.
As a boss what three words would you like to be used to describe you?
Our ethos is for people to love their hair. We provide products and services which make this happen which has led to the success of Belle Hair and The Belle Brush. A huge amount of people sit on our chair for the first time and talk for at least five minutes about everything they don’t like. It’s our jobs to change that. Everyone has a pair of jeans in their wardrobe they won’t throw away, but when they put them on, they hate them. They don’t fit. They’re not comfortable and they don’t make you feel good, so you choose not to wear them every day. The same goes for your hair. You wear it every day so make sure you love it!
Anything else you would like to add?
If you need personalised haircare advice, pop us a DM on Instagram.
Instagram: @bellehairextensionsireland and @thebellebrush
