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Instinct can be more powerful than tradition, a takeaway we can learn from Louise Bailey, hair extension specialist and educator. Founder of Beauty Club London, alongside co-founder Moe Harb, Louise carved her career by trusting her intuition at every step and steadily building a reputation long before the industry caught on.
Born out of a deep love for hair, Beauty Club London was created as a leap of faith. Guided by a clear vision, the salon became a space where luxury meets deep technical hair expertise: a true craft.
Now bringing London’s expertise to Dubai, the Beauty Club London fills a clear gap in the city’s hair extension market. In this edition of the GRAZIA Career Edit, Louise shares her journey building a brand driven by courage and craft and taking it international.
My current role is…
Co-Founder of Beauty Club London. I am also a Hair Extension educator delivering professional training for hair extensionists and hair extension specialist salons, including Harrods Hair & Beauty Salon. I’m also a judge for Salon International’s Hair Extensions Competition.
When I was younger, I wanted to be…
As a child, I dreamed of being a pop star, singing into a hairbrush like Madonna. At the same time, I was obsessed with hairdressing – my dolls were often left bald or styled wildly as I experimented from a very young age.
My favourite subject at school was…
I hated school and left at 15 with no exams, but I loved art and design – the subjects where creativity mattered most. I’ve never been traditionally academic, but I’m street-smart, practical, and highly logical.
My first job was…
I started as a Saturday girl in a local hair salon in Essex at 13 years old, sweeping floors, making tea, washing hair, and sneaking in chances to style anyone’s hair whenever I could. I then worked my way up from assisting to styling.
My career path so far has been…
My dad always told me I needed a “proper job” and that I’d never make money doing hair. When I left school at 14 and refused to sit exams, he got me a job as a receptionist at a stationery company and I hated it. I later moved into product development but struggled with being told what to do and working a 9-to-5. I tried everything from selling on eBay and at boot sales to telesales. I even owned a pancake hut and worked in nightclubs. While working in clubs, I began doing hair for the girls there, which reignited my true passion. Through that world, I built strong connections and spotted a business opportunity in alcohol distribution. That venture gave me the financial freedom to return fully to hair, where I truly belong.
In 2002, I began working with hair extensions as the industry was evolving. I started as a freelance stylist in Essex, offering hair extension services to private clients. Over the next decade, I developed my techniques and built a loyal clientele, including celebrities such as Ellie Goulding, Yasmin Le Bon, and Stacey Solomon.
In 2014, I moved to Central London to work at Four London, a hair salon in Mayfair. Taking my experience and knowledge further, I then went on to develop the Extension Professional brand, providing clip-in hair extensions and professional training for stylists.
I later had a dedicated hair extensions area in Harrods, servicing high-end clients, as well as two chairs in a large Oxford Street location. When COVID hit, the owner of the Oxford Street space decided to sell the lease, so in 2020, I co-founded Beauty Club London, a hair salon specialising in hair extensions in Oxford Circus. In 2025, I took the business to Dubai, opening our second salon.
The role the UAE has played in my career is…
Moving to the UAE and opening another salon taught me to stay humble and reminded me of the importance of going back to basics when setting up and scaling a business.
The story of Beauty Club London is…
The story of Beauty Club is simple – if you don’t jump, you can never fly. Moe, my co-founder, and I had a hair extensions area in Harrods, servicing high-end clients, plus two chairs in a large Oxford Street location. We’d seen all of the corporate hair salons in London and wanted to create something different – a more laid-back luxury experience. When COVID hit, the owner of the Oxford Street space decided to sell the lease. It was a huge risk during such uncertain times, but we took the leap, and Beauty Club London was born.
I was inspired to enter the beauty space because…
My dream was to become the best hair extensionist in the UK. Once I achieved that, I gained expertise in every aspect of the hair extension industry, which gave me the foundation to build hair extension brands and assemble a team to expand into the wider beauty space.
My daily routine consists of…
My day starts around 7am with hot water and lemon. I answer emails and WhatsApp messages in between burpees, star jumps, and press-ups, often sipping matcha. I go to the gym about three times a week and try to meditate daily. I’m forever connecting with my operations manager in London, planning my strategy with my PR, SEO, and social media team and meeting new people in Dubai. I aim to be in bed between 10 and 11pm every day.
My role as founder entails…
I focus on the business development side, which touches many areas of the company. I’m naturally good at talking to people about what we do, so promoting the business comes naturally. I work closely with our PR and SEO team to implement strategies that push the business forward in multiple ways.
The biggest hurdle I have experienced in my career…
Taking over a large Oxford Street space at the start of COVID, while businesses around us were closing daily. It was touch-and-go for a long time, and I’m incredibly grateful that we made it and have since expanded to a second location in Dubai.
The biggest milestone I have achieved is…
Professionally, developing Hair Club Extensions. It took Moe, my Co-Founder, and me around four years of testing and trialling to create a product and hair quality we could truly stand behind as the best of the best. Delivering both exceptional extensions and our unique, unmatched application techniques is something we’re incredibly proud of. And personally speaking, my biggest achievement is my son. Balancing life as a single mum while building a business was incredibly hard, but also my greatest source of strength and motivation.
A quote I live by is…
“Your true character is shown in how you treat those who can offer you nothing in return.”
What I hope for 2026 is…
In 2026, I hope we continue to hit the ground running and fill a clear gap in the Dubai market, bringing the very best of London’s expertise in hair extensions, balayage, and specialist free-hand hair colour techniques. Our goal is for anyone moving to or living in Dubai from the UK and Europe to feel completely confident that they’re in safe hands, knowing Beauty Club London is the best hair salon in Dubai for hair colour and hair extensions, and able to achieve a true London result right here.
