publive-imageHair4Good is a philanthropic hair care company that offers elegant, fashionable, upscale hairbrushes and accessories. The company's goal is to help make the world a better place by helping children in need. Launched on March 17, 2020, the company donates 50% of its profits to children's charities. Hair4Good's supported charities include St. Jude Children’s Hospital, Autism Speaks, Lifting up Westchester, and Circle of Care. 

A True Innovator

Mary Ahrens is the Owner of Hair4Good. She started her career at Conair in 1986 as a secretary, where she worked for almost 27 years and held several positions. For the last 15 years, Maryserved as Vice President of Sales. She was the youngest corporate officer ever appointed and the first female VP of Sales. Over her tenure, Mary, with her team, orchestrated an eight-fold sales and profit increase, which enabled Conair to become the market leader in the hair accessory business.

She has been included in Marquis Who's Who in America, 2021. In all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals are selected based on their current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process. 

From the start of her sales career, she fell in love with the industry, in every aspect, from P&L management, budgets, and particularly all facets of sales, ranging from long-term sales strategy, top to top meetings, and especially face-to-face customer sales calls.

After her successful tenure at Conair, Mary decided to give back to children in need. Inspired to contribute, she identified a need for more upscale, innovative products at an affordable price. She founded Beauty Forward LLC in 2017. Under the umbrella of her company, she launched Hair4Good in 2020 with the mission to donate 50% of the profits to children's charities.

Today, Mary is affiliated with the Connecticut Women's Business Development Council, the Retail Management Executive Group and Human Trafficking Awareness Heroes. She is a true innovator in the hair goods industry. Looking ahead to the future, in addition to her online business, Mary aspires to become a significant player in the brick-and-mortar retail industry which will give her the opportunity to showcase her products with national retailers. Mary attributes her professional success to her tenacity, hard work, critical thinking, risk-taking, people skills, and a true unbridled passion for the business.

Remarkable Traits of Leadership of Tomorrow

Marybelievesa leader's most valuable asset is to possess kindness and compassion. A leader must have the ability to make mistakes, learn from them and grow in knowledge. They also must have the wisdom to learn from others and recognize each member of an organization deserves to be heard and their ideas considered.

Confronting Intricate Challenges 

When Mary was in 5th grade, she was diagnosed with dyslexia. To this day, she believes that facing this challengeinstilled in her a work ethic beyond reproach. She had to work more diligently to accomplish tasks that came easy to others. No matter how difficult the challenge, working hard and not giving up is part of Mary's DNA.  Mary considers her disability a gift in a sense because it tested her ability to overcome obstacles early in life.  

Making a Difference

Hair4Good was started with the vision of generating a continuous flow of charitable contributions that significantly increased year after year. Mary has been so fortunate in her life, she believes it is her turn to give back.

When Mary started Hair4Good, she had multiple new challenges. She never had direct involvement in the designing of logos, acquiring trademarks, developing a website, or designing, tooling, and sourcing products. Starting this business has been an intricate journey that has afforded her a fulfilling undertaking and a great learning experience.

Outlining the Future Success

Mary competes in an extremely competitive industry dominated by a few national brands with few barriers to entry.Hair4Good will succeed by offering unique, innovative products, with superior quality and fair prices. The philanthropic nature of her business model, using recycled packaging, and being a 100% female-owned entity give the company greater consumer appeal.