Nancy Twine

I really admire Nancy Twine. She is the founder and CEO of the hair care line Briogeo, which she started in 2013. The name of her company comes from two words, which are “Brio” an Italian word that means vibrant and full of life and “Geo” a Latin word that means of Earth or nature. For many years I have been searching for products to make my hair softer and to keep my curls under control. At some point I stumbled upon Nancy Twine’s Briogeo products at Sephora. Her products are for all types of hair and they have helped me with my hair concerns. Her products called “Don’t Despair, Repair!” have made my hair healthy and manageable. I am glad I have been supporting a Black-owned business for years but I had no idea who the owner of Briogeo was before preparing to write this article. I was not purchasing the products based on who the owner was but because they are great, quality products that actually do what they claim. But this was Nancy Twine’s plan all along, she wanted people to purchase her products based on the quality and effectiveness, not because they were made for a particular ethnicity. In one of her interviews she was discussing how in the past Black hair care products were commonly separated in a small section in stores. By focusing on hair texture rather than ethnicity this allows the Briogeo products to reach a much larger group of people because there are many different hair textures. Briogeo hair care products are all natural. Nancy Twine noticed that natural hair care products were being overlooked in the hair care market so her products give people who want natural ingredients that option.

Nancy Twine doesn’t seem to mind sharing her knowledge of how to start a new business with others. Her presentations and interviews are so interesting and she is so generous with advice to people interested in starting their own businesses. Prior to running Briogeo full-time, she was a Vice President at Goldman Sachs in New York City in the Commodities Sales Division. So she was obviously successful before Briogeo and probably had connections and resources to help with the start of her business. However, she continued working while putting a business plan together doing research and attending hair care conventions at night and on weekends. She did not quit her job until Sephora started carrying her products. That was a goal she was working towards and when she reached it she felt comfortable focusing full-time on her hair care products. She is the youngest Black woman to ever launch a product line at Sephora. That is a great accomplishment!

In one of her interviews she said passion for her products was one key to her success. She learned about creating beauty products from her grandmother, who raised eight children on a limited income. Her grandmother made products, like soap, for her family from natural ingredients. A very sad note is that her mother, who was a chemist, died in a car accident. Her mother was about to release a skin care line before she died. It isn’t hard to see that success with beauty products runs in Nancy Twine’s family. The recipes developed by her grandmother are not used in the Briogeo products because they are not advanced formulas that would perform to a high level. This is important since Briogeo is described as a performance-based hair care line. It is not enough that they are natural but they need to actually perform well on hair. Briogeo hair care products are reasonably priced considering their quality and they are even priced slightly below similar premium hair care products. Some of the products are also Allure Best in Beauty Award Winners, which is a great honor in the beauty product industry. The company has also been profitable with revenues for 2020 estimated at 40 million.

“CREATING A PRODUCT ISN’T ROCKET SCIENCE, BUT IT DOES TAKE A TON OF PERSEVERANCE, DEDICATION, AND FOCUS. IF YOU HAVE THOSE THREE THINGS ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE”. - Nancy Twine, founder and CEO of Briogeo hair care products.

Briogeo hair care products can be purchased at various places, like the website www.briogeohair.com or at Sephora. I highly recommend these products. They certainly have had a positive impact on my hair just like Nancy Twine is a positive role model and inspiration for anyone wanting to start their own business.