From DIY Oils to social media star: How Lucie MacLeod and Hair Syrup captivated the beauty industry
From DIY Oils to social media star: How Lucie MacLeod and Hair Syrup captivated the beauty industry
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Lucie MacLeod didn’t set out to become a business mogul, social media sensation, or household name in the British beauty industry. Yet in just a few short years, her brand Hair Syrup has become all three. Since launching her first product in 2020, MacLeod has taken her homemade hair oils from her conservatory to major retailers and TV screens, culminating in an unforgettable appearance on Dragon’s Den that catapulted her into the public spotlight.
Before her television debut, Hair Syrup had already found success online. But the real turning point, she says, came after her episode aired earlier this year.
“When I was filming my Dragon’s Den episode I spoke to Stephen Bartlett afterwards… he said, ‘prepare yourself now Lucie… you’re about to become a mini celebrity,’” she recalled. “And I said, why? And he was like, ‘oh, just trust me.’”
Bartlett’s prediction was spot on. “Every big newspaper, the Sunday Times, Sky News, BBC, they were literally blowing up my phone saying we want to talk to you, who is this girl, where have you been hiding?”
Since the episode aired on January 31, MacLeod has scarcely spent a day in Hair Syrup’s Pembrokeshire office. “I’ve just been shooting podcasts, so many interviews. People want to know, so I get invited to be a panellist for a lot of stuff, talking about business, marketing… which is a bit insane really, because I don’t really know what I’m doing half the time.”
Despite the public attention, the journey wasn’t all smooth sailing. The wait between filming and airing the episode was nerve-racking. “It was horrible, to be honest. It was eight months I was waiting. I had no idea,” she said. “I knew that my [episode] would be between 10 to 20 minutes. I didn’t know what parts of those three and a half hours they’d show… They could have taken all the bad parts.”
Still, MacLeod remained hopeful. “I knew in my gut I had no agenda going in there… I just genuinely wanted to go in and see what would happen. And I knew that something good would come of it.”
She didn’t get a deal on Dragon’s Den, but the rejection was a blessing in disguise. “I thought if I got a dragon to invest, they’d take my business and I’d be sorted then. Obviously, that’s not what happened,” she admitted. “But it’s more satisfying in some ways because the business has skyrocketed since I’ve been on there.”
She also gained something arguably more valuable than capital: a powerful network. “I’ve got loads of people who I can call… whatever happened to Hair Syrup, I’ve got someone who I could ring and be like, can you help me?” she said. “Although a dragon would have been nice, I think who I’ve met has been even better and probably more relevant for me.”
From industry insiders to founders of top brands, MacLeod’s post-show network has helped her shape the next stage of Hair Syrup’s growth. “I’m in contact with this guy from a very very big hair care company… I’ve also just met this guy… who works as a kind of middleman between retailers and brands… He’s American. So yeah, just a lot of very, not necessarily famous, but they’re important ones.”
But the business itself began with nothing more than curiosity and an accidental viral video. Back in 2020, MacLeod shared a TikTok about her hair transformation, casually showing off oils she’d mixed herself. The response was overwhelming. “Unbeknown to me, I was essentially throwing out a mega sales pitch to hundreds of thousands of people on the internet. When I woke up in the morning it was very strange. Last thing I expected to happen.”
Requests to buy her homemade oils flooded in, but initially she ignored them. “There’s that really famous phrase that I love ‘If it’s your calling, it will keep knocking’. That is what happened with Hair Syrup.”
Eventually, a direct plea from a desperate customer forced her to reconsider. “She messaged me, and she said look, I’m begging you, please help me. And at that point it was like, okay, people really want this stuff. And my instant reaction was, well, why don’t they just go and buy something similar? But there was nothing on the market.”
It was meant to be a hobby, “a little bit of good fun”, but quickly became an obsession. “I was coming up with a brand name, coming up with a logo, coming up with brand colours, getting my formulas tested and then I went and told my parents and they were mortified.”
Despite initial family scepticism and a demanding English Literature degree, MacLeod managed to juggle both. “I don’t know how I managed it, but I did. I think I just did it out of spite.”
She built her website, bottled the oils herself, and marketed through TikTok. “Very Etsy, cutesy, nothing fancy and that’s what it was. That’s how it started.”
Though she never planned to be in the public eye, her accidental rise has required adapting to new pressures. “I didn’t mean to start a business. My motives for selling this oil were to help other people with their hair concerns and to make a little bit of money as a student,” she said. “I thought I can put this on my CV.”
Now, she’s a recognisable face both online and on the street. “Since Dragon’s Den, people walk up to me in airports, train stations, people stare at me, people take pictures with me on the street. And I am just a girl who wanted to sell some hair oil.”
Her rise has been so unexpected, even she struggles to explain the public’s interest. “I knew I’d do something big just maybe not in this way,” she said. “Maybe there is just something interesting about my character.”
What’s clear is that MacLeod has no plans to slow down. With a booming business, a growing network, and a fiercely loyal following, Hair Syrup is no longer just a side project, it’s a bona fide brand led by one of the UK’s most compelling young entrepreneurs.
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