Hair Loss Awareness Month: Helen Owens of Her Secret Hair is a Modern Day Miracle Worker
It goes without saying that hair is one of the few key things that makes you, YOU. But what if that got taken away? What if you never even got to experience it to begin with? Doesn’t feel very good, right? Now imagine how the 50% of women in the US who experience some form of hair loss must feel. With a number that high and how popular the beauty industries have grown recently, you’d think the number of genuine hair loss/restoration businesses would also be significant, but that’s actually not the case. In fact, its surprisingly slim.
Her Secret Hair, founded and owned by sisters Helen and Jo Owens, is revolutionizing the resources available to women (and men!) experiencing hair loss, whether due to medical, genetic, or personal reasons. In honor of Hair Loss Awareness Month this August, we had the opportunity to connect with Her Secret Hair to discuss the past, future, and all things hair loss and restoration. Read on to discover how this remarkable place is making dreams come true, healing hearts, and helping people feel whole, sometimes for the first time, ever.
A History of Hair: How the Her Secret Hair Story Began
Helen was only 11 years old when she started experiencing the side effects of alopecia areata, a form of hair loss that causes sudden circular bald patches to form on someone’s head. It wasn’t until a neighborhood maternal figure and long-term cosmetologist, Granny, sat down with Helen and explained what alopecia was that Helen was finally able to experience some peace, and brace for the journey ahead. During a conversation with her mother soon after, Helen learned her family had a history of hair loss, which helped kindle the passion that was beginning to grow in Helen’s soul for hair restoration.
Did You Know?
Androgenetic alopecia is the most commonly experienced type of hair loss, which affects around 30 million women in the US alone.1
Jo Owens, Helen’s sister and business partner, shared a similar battle to her sister’s, having not grown up with alopecia, but instead, incredibly thin hair. Both Jo & Helen knew what it felt like to want their hair to look, feel, and be a certain way, but never be able to have it. “It felt like we’d been cheated.” Jo explains. That was until Helen realized she possessed something both her and sister call the gift.
The Gift
What’s the gift? It’s Helen’s natural ability to perfectly craft hair pieces for women that don’t just cover up or mask their physical & mental hurdles—they solve them. The gift is Helen’s way of visualizing and stepping into someone else’s dream, and making it a real, tangible hair prosthesis.
Did You Know?
Helen & Jo are also co-authors of the award-winning novel, Finding Our She-Compass, a motivational self-help guide, inspired by their experiences in the hair restoration industry and as business owners.
Artistically Building Confidence, One Strand at a Time
Helen’s commitment to women experiencing hair loss is unwavering, serving as a beacon of hope and love to those who need it most. Your hair is your crown, it’s an incredibly huge piece of who you are. For anyone experiencing something like lupus, alopecia, trichotillomania (TTM), or an alternate form of hair loss—that piece of you isn’t whole, or might be missing completely. That’s where the magic; the art that Helen creates comes in.
It’s more than putting someone in a chair and charging them a fee. You have someone’s life in your hands.
Let’s get one thing straight before we continue any further… Helen doesn’t just create wigs for her clients, she’s making entire hair prostheses that are able to flex around the different side effects that come with each type of hair loss. She’s a hair doctor.
“Patients," clients, and customers visit Helen for a variety of different hair loss causes. In fact, Helen mentioned that she still sees different things or cases to this very day—even after over 20 years of experience. One thing remains a constant: Helen’s aptitude for seeing someone’s dream the way they do; her vision; her gift.
While Helen’s working her magic with clients, Jo is keeping the business side of things in tip-top shape, ensuring the same professional, personable experience that clients receive during their hair restoration services flows through every aspect of the client journey. How does she do it? Well, Vagaro is a big piece of the equation! Jo mentions that while she loves the bells & whistles that Vagaro has to offer, like appointment reminders and deposits, the real value is in the marketplace and its ability to raise consumer awareness.
When an existing or potential client searches for you, a type of service, or their city on the Vagaro Marketplace, they’re able to see all of the relevant businesses nearest to them that offer what they’re looking for! In a business where raising awareness about the services, impact, and use-cases is paramount, the Vagaro Marketplace serves as a great place to educate and acquire clients.
What Does the Future of Hair Loss Entail?
Helen and Jo share the sentiment that there needs to be more effort going into not only raising awareness about hair loss & its impact, but also more effort, from a cosmetologist standpoint, into learning how to create a safe environment for any clients potentially experiencing hair loss. “It’s about strengthening the world and industry for generations to come," as Helen nobly puts it.
As new developments in tech or beauty allow us to connect & understand more about one another, its important we’re still putting in the human effort to do so, especially when it comes to something as personal, vulnerable, and at times, excruciating, as hair loss. The NAAF, or National Alopecia Areata Foundation, is bridging that gap, providing the community with volunteering, donating, and educating opportunities. Be sure to visit their website for a complete understanding and breakdown of their program!
What a pleasure it was to sit down and chat with you, Helen and Jo, to discuss the very real severity of hair loss, and the lives you change behind-the-scenes at Her Secret Hair. If you’re a business owner or beauty professional, connect with Her Secret Hair and visit Helen's Instagram to learn more about their amazing initiative, how you can refer clients experiencing hair loss, and what you can do as a hair professional to empower said clients as their stylist.
If you’re looking for a business management software that can flex, scale, and grow with your vision, consider a 30-day complimentary trial of Vagaro and see what you can accomplish!
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