Our Hair and Beauty students have had a range of employers join them for their start of year induction and industry insight talks. This allows students to get excited about what might be next for them or open their eyes up to an industry or career pathway that they didn’t know about or consider before.
GloJo Business owner, Johanna Belton came in to talk to the students about her tanning products and why she started her business. She hoped to inspire the students by turning her life upside down from reaching rock bottom to now doing her dream job.
How it all started.
“I trained as a beauty therapist at 16, went travelling and then moved to Jersey to work as an Aramis sales consultant – a men’s fragrance company. However, I wanted to be an air hostess but I didn’t know how to do it. We moved to Brighton and I went to work at Gatwick airport in the perfume section. I was always working in the beauty section, it was my passion. I worked for two different airlines after that.”
The catalyst.
“When I was 26, I had a really bad accident. I had the end of my nose bitten off by a dog, it was really dramatic and it changed my life completely. They sewed it back on but for a year my nose was jet black and I wasn’t allowed in the sun. I was really depressed, It took me 5 years to wear makeup again.”
Building my confidence.
“My mum took me back home and asked me to serve someone in her restaurant. I said, you know I don’t serve people and talk to people but she told me I had to, and told me I’ve got to start being myself again. I went upstairs and got my makeup bag out but everything was made for someone who had a darker skin tone than me, I was so pale as I hadn’t been in the sun. That’s when I started playing with false tans.”
First person in Grimsby to do false nails.
“I decided to open my own salon. I had no clients and no confidence. I was always studying the industry and wanted to know what the new trends were. Even though I wasn’t involved in the industry as I didn’t have the confidence, I was still interested. I decided to do nails. I was the first person in Grimsby to do false nails. The nail bar transformed into a skin clinic and I was a laser technician in the end. But I always wanted my own tan.”
Designing my own tan.
“Initially I wanted a hot tan, but the chemistry behind it meant I couldn’t. I didn’t have time to develop it but lockdown came and I did have time. I worked with a manufacturer and played around with ingredients. I didn’t want the biscuit smell and I didn’t want orange in it. I also wanted it to be accessible to the salon as a treatment, and for the client at home without looking patchy.”
The product range.
“You wouldn’t put a body moisturiser on your face so why would you put fake tan for your body on your face? The mist is for your face, it goes on with a brush and it’s designed to last for 3 days to be part of your skincare routine. The mouse is designed to go on your body with a brush too. We have a pre-product to put on your skin to hydrate and maintain your tan. It’s got colour in it so it will be like a gradual tan as well as maintaining your tan.”
All of the GloJo Tan range is vegan-friendly and recyclable. Find out more about GloJo and follow them on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glojotan/
