0:00 "You're not wearing one": the topper nobody can spot

Lauren: I'm wearing one right now. You can't even tell. A lot of times customers would come into the events and they would say, “You're not wearing one. Why should I get one?” And then I would unclip my hair and they would go, “Oh, I do need one.”

0:17 What makes a stylist-designed hair topper different

Lauren: One of the biggest things that is different about The Lauren Ashtyn Collection than any other brand is that we are a stylist-led brand. So I created the product being the customer and also being the professional. And so to my knowledge, we're the only ones in the industry that are created by a stylist and actually designed by a stylist.

0:40 I had thinning hair too: why I built this for myself

Lauren: I created the product for myself just as much as I created it for every other woman that was like me, that was struggling with hair loss. When I started the company, my hair was much thinner than it is now. And it was something that was more of a need for me than just a want for me. I feel like from the very beginning of the company, I've really tried to change that.

0:57 “It's just a push-up bra for your hair”

Lauren: One of my first slogans for the company was, “It's just a push-up bra for your hair.” No one's embarrassed to go and buy a push-up bra. Why are you embarrassed to go and buy a topper or a wig? Be comfortable in your own skin. We're definitely not the company that sits here and tells you you're not beautiful without a topper or a wig. We're here to just enhance your natural beauty that you already have. It's just a little hair helper.

1:25 Looking in the mirror and feeling like yourself again

Narrator: We want you to feel like you're yourself. You're the best version of yourself when you leave and you look in the mirror and you're like, “This is what I was always supposed to look like. This is exactly what I've always wanted to look like.” So we wanted to create a seamless experience, whether you're on tour or at one of our stores, or even talking to a consultation team member online.

1:43 The consultation, color match and fitting experience

Christopher: Not only did she create a fantastic product, we also created a great customer journey and service behind it that can give people the comfort to come in to talk about their issues and what their hair goals are, so that they get a little piece of themselves back at the end of the day, because they're already going through so much.

1:59 Postpartum shedding, weight loss and cancer hair loss

Narrator: We have so many women that come to our tour events, come to our salon, and even call in on our phone line that are so defeated in their process of losing their hair. And what are they supposed to do? Whether it's the woman that just lost a lot of weight, or went through COVID or postpartum and she's just having a lot of shedding and her hair is thinning, or the woman that has just been diagnosed with cancer and she knows she's going to lose all of her hair. They don't know where to turn. They're desperate for help. Knowing they're going to lose their hair is a lot harder for them than the diagnosis of cancer, because when they look in the mirror, they immediately see something's wrong with them. And everyone else does too, by looking at them without their hair.

2:48 Starting the company with almost nothing

Lauren: Christopher and I almost had nothing. I had kind of put everything into this in the very beginning of doing it, probably naively. And I had something happen. Sorry, I get kind of emotional talking about it.

3:07 The drive home from Nashville and the prayer in the car

Lauren: I was traveling back from Nashville and I was following him. He was in his car and I was in mine. And I remember crying in the car, just asking God, “Why? Why are you letting all these things happen to me? I really thought this is what I was supposed to do.” And I said, “I really need you to tell me right now, clear in black and white. I don't need a subtle sign from you. I need you to slam my car brakes on and have me almost eject out of the car. I need you to tell me what I'm supposed to do.”

3:46 The phone call from a woman in Virginia

Lauren: As soon as I prayed that prayer, I'm bawling crying and my phone rings. It's pouring down rain, just like the worst thunderstorm ever. And I answered the phone and this lady is just bawling crying on the other end of the phone, and she was like, “I'm from Virginia. I've heard about you. I've heard you can help people that have lost their hair. Please, can you help me?” I had maybe, I don't know, 6 to 10 hair toppers to my name in my trunk. And I was like, “I can help you.” And she was like, “Please, please, when can you help me? When can I come in for an appointment?” And I said, tell me what's the fastest that you can get to me. And so within the next two days, she scheduled an appointment with me right then. And as soon as I hung up the phone with her, I was like, “Okay. I feel like that was a pretty good sign.”

4:36 The rainbow that confirmed the mission

Lauren: And then all the rain stopped, and I looked to my left and there was the biggest rainbow that you've ever seen. And I was like, “Okay. Thank you for my not subtle little nudge there. This is what I'm supposed to do.” And I knew from that moment forward, there was never a question in my mind what I should be doing or what my mission was that God had sent me to do. I knew that I had to start The Lauren Ashtyn Collection and I had to bring confidence to women that are losing their hair.

5:12 Opening our Charleston, SC salon

Narrator: Charleston's always been a special place to us, and we've just always gravitated towards this area and kind of grown up here as well throughout our summers. And so we felt like it was a good kickoff spot to be able to implement a new strategy to the business overall.

5:33 50+ tour stops a year and 50,000+ women served

Narrator: Because we've done 50-something tour stops around the country every year, and we've seen over 50,000 women and helped them. And so now we're thinking that this business model is going to expand outside of just tour and just online, but also go into multiple brick-and-mortar locations. And we wanted Charleston to be the first place. This is a permanent location, just like our Spartanburg location. So we are always here Tuesday through Saturday. We will have events here as well, probably one per quarter.

5:57 Raising the standard in the hair replacement industry

Narrator: We only want to continue to be able to take our mission as many places as we possibly can, and create that standard throughout the industry, to make sure that anyone that is going to get something for hair replacement, or just to go in to get a topper or an extension, knows that there's a standard for them. And that whatever professional they're going to, they hold that professional to that standard, because they know that it's out there somewhere.

6:29 How to get started: free consultation, salon or tour stop

Narrator: If you are watching this and you feel drawn to what we do, or you feel like you could be a potential customer of ours, or you see the need in what we do, please reach out to us. We have such an amazing staff. No matter where your touch point is, whether it's coming to our tour event, coming to one of our salons, or just a free online consultation, you are going to get such an amazing experience. Just come try it and see how you feel.