This is the story, at the start, of a teenage girl “complexed” by her curly hair that she does not manage to style or enhance. A few years later, Laureen Schein took her revenge. This 26-year-old Lyonnaise has made a sensational entry into the hairdressing market. By opening last summer
The Beautiful Loop, show which sells out two months in advance. It is she who drives Instagram into a panic with each of her publications. A look back at a success story born on the heights of the Croix-Rousse hill. The story of a young woman who nevertheless intended to be an optician.
“I have no training in hairdressing,” she explains straight away, laughing. But, as soon as I finished high school, I already had the idea of opening a business ”. His years of work-study taught him how to manage a business and develop online customer service. “My second passion is IT. I was born with a computer ”, confesses the one who holds a bac + 5. The first one, you guessed it? “The curls,” Laureen smiles.
194,000 followers on Instagram
Not accepting her curls and shying away from the brush, which could lead to a real hair disaster, the teenager straightens her hair by default. “But, at 18, I realized that I had lots of small wicks burned because of the iron”, says the young woman. Determined to find the miracle solution likely to repair and restore shine to her hair, she will conduct intense research for three years. Developing at the same time “a real passion”.
“I was testing natural recipes in my kitchen. I was my own guinea pig and I got all my girlfriends drunk, ”she laughs. Until the day when her friends suggested that she share her advice and findings, as influencers do. Laureen launched in December 2017 by creating the “Le Belle Boucle” account on Instagram. The success is immediate: 10,000 subscribers in nine months. 194,000 today.
“After a year, I often had the same question: where do you buy your products? Initially, I referred people to addresses I knew, ”continues Laureen, who then decides to take the plunge in May 2019: open an online store and resell only organic and natural French products. Here again, the success is dazzling. Requests “explode” during the first confinement: + 300% increase.
A full show two months before
“The next step was to open a salon because there were few offers in this area, apart from salons specializing in African hairstyles,” explains Laureen. Everywhere else, most of the time, you are always offered a brushing when you come to have your hair cut. “
In his salon, open in July at the bottom of the slopes of Croix-Rousse, smoothing is formally banned. Each client benefits from a “hair diagnosis” and leaves with her practical advice sheet to “redo the same treatments at home”. But the truth is, you have to be patient. The meetings, open, online two months in advance, are snapped up like hot cakes.
“January is already full. The 300 slots we offered were gone … in four minutes, reveals Laureen. This shows that there is a real need in this area. Contrary to popular belief, cutting curly hair requires real technique. Today, 80% of her clients say they haven’t found the right hairdresser before pushing open the doors of their establishment.
Develop a franchise and export
Laureen’s small business, which has 14 employees, does not know the crisis. 6 million turnover for the 2020-2021 fiscal year on the e-commerce part, one million for the show. “The ideal would be to be able to develop a franchise and to be able to duplicate the concept in other cities in France”, exposes the young woman who launched her own products in October.
In 2022, it aims to open a second location in Lyon “to meet demand”. Then try the experience, the following year, in the south of France through a pop-up store [magasin éphémère]. “This will allow us to test the enthusiasm. If successful, from 2023 we will be able to develop in other cities, ”she concludes.