According to Glamour, Nancy Twine is one of 35 beauty superstars under 35. Nancy is the founder and CEO of Briogeo, a natural haircare line based out of New York City that launched in 2013.
Briogeo was inspired by Nancy Twine’s grandmother, who raised eight children on a farm in West Virginia. Her need to find an affordable solution for her family led her to creating her own homemade products, including soaps, lotions and haircare products, which became one of the inspirations that motivated Nancy to create Briogeo.
I spoke with Nancy Twine recently, and she shared the story of the grandmother who inspired her to launch her business, her challenges and her tips for understanding and finding balance.
Briogeo described in three words
“Honest, effective and fresh. Honest because we’re transparent about the types of ingredients we use in our products and even notate on each bottle the exact percentage of natural ingredients used in each formulation. We’re effective because we don’t just stop at natural. We only put products on the shelf that do what they say and that’s really important to us. We’re fresh because we bring a lot of energy and creativity to the products we design and formulate, which gives us a unique edge.”
More: How to make a simple skin cleanser to calm sensitive skin
Why Briogeo appeals to beauty consumers
“Beauty consumers are becoming more ingredient savvy and are avoiding potentially hazardous ingredients such as parabens, phthalates and sulfates — to name a few. Briogeo’s ingredient methodology — a phrase we’ve coined as 6-Free Hair Care — appeals to this audience. Our 6-Free promise means our products will never contain sulfates, parabens, silicones, phthalates or artificial fragrances and dyes. So, we’ve really taken the guesswork out of having to read ingredient labels.”
The inspiration for Briogeo
“Briogeo was inspired by a few aspects of my life, but the one that’s closest to home is the inspiration of my grandmother who used many of the ingredients on her farm to create various personal care products to provide for her family of eight. She had a lot of responsibility and really made use of the limited number of resources she had to make ends meet. It reminds me of the story of many young entrepreneurs — the need to do more with less.”
More: 15 Pieces of advice from entrepreneurs under 30
Listen to the whole conversation below or on iTunes here!
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