Hair Together is celebrating five years as it unveils plans to open the world’s first trading-for-impact salon and academy in Dublin later this year.
Founded in 2020 by Eileen McHugh, the social enterprise provides unique programmes that blend wellbeing activities with hairstyling and barbering to support young people and adults in Ballymun and the surrounding areas.
Its goal is to help those facing challenges in finding employment or continuing their education by equipping them with valuable skills for a brighter future.
As well as going into schools and prisons, Hair Together also offers corporate team-building programmes and has worked with the likes of AIB and Deloitte.
It is supported by Rethink Ireland, philanthropic donations and corporate support. Earlier this year, it also received some support from Dublin City Council.
Small steps
According to McHugh, Hair Together began as an idea and she didn’t have any sort of strategy to grow it into what it is today. “There was never a big masterplan – it was just a case of putting one foot in front of the other,” she says.
A qualified stylist, McHugh began her hairdressing career in her early 20s when she trained with Peter Mark in Dublin. Having struggled with drugs from a young age, she says that hairdressing gave her an outlet away from her addiction, and set her on a path to recovery. “I started doing hair and it was the first time that I didn’t want to take heroin. I was only focused on the hair and being creative.”
She went on to work in various salons, including Hair Cafe Salon in Smithfield. She has also worked as a freelance stylist covering events such as Paris Fashion Week, and as a Kevin.Murphy educator.
As a native of Ballymun, she was involved with the local Setanta GAA Club, coaching the kids and serving as vice-chairperson. The Hair Together programme started out as a pilot and grew from one of the club’s programmes, which had the aim of keeping teens learning.
McHugh, along with barber Tony O’Reilly and psychotherapist Gemma McCabe, devised the initial 10-week course and it has evolved from there. Kevin.Murphy distributor National Beauty has helped out with products, and House of Colour owner David Campbell is a member of the board.
Meanwhile, Hair Cafe Salon owner Anita Kucsera has been hugely supportive, offering her salon space for the programmes. Hair Together recently named Kucsera Supporter of the Year at a special event honouring those who have contributed to its success.
McHugh was still working as a stylist and educator up until about 18 months ago, when she decided it was time to make her role as Hair Together CEO a full-time one. Along with two staff, the enterprise also employs six sub-contractors.
The initiative has received numerous accolades over the five years, the most recent being one for McHugh herself when she was named Social Entrepreneur of the Year – Community Impact at the Image PwC Businesswoman of the Year Awards 2025.
In 2022, Hair Together won the Kevin.Murphy Icon Award, which is run every two years by the hair brand to honour everyday heroes in the industry.
Hair Together also recently received its People+Planet First approval. People+Planet First is a a global verification that uses five standards to verify social enterprises, businesses and other organisations as being part of its mission to build an economy that puts people and the plant first.
A global first
If there wasn’t any masterplan in the beginning for Hair Together, there is one for this year as it prepares to open the world’s first trading-for-impact salon and academy. Located in Ballymun and launching in September, the Hair Together team worked with MBA students from Trinity Business School on the marketing plan for the initiative.
McHugh says the journey since 2020 has been one of “building something from nothing” and she gets a massive sense of fulfilment from the work she does with Hair Together.
“It has been a wild five years full of extreme highs and super hard lows, but I didn’t once give up. We adapted, changed, pushed back and pushed forward to get to where we are today. I wouldn’t say it’s getting easier, but I’ve grown stronger and more confident through the years. I’ve an amazing team around me and now we’re ready to take the next steps with the new salon and academy.
“We have been mobile until now, working from my mam’s garage, so this is our last year homeless as we sign a lease for our premises on Main Street in Ballymun. We’re ready to open the world's first trading-for-impact’ salon and academy, with a third space for our community to connect and thrive. It will be a place with with purpose, where skills, creativity and connection come together, and we cannot wait to welcome everyone into it.”
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