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‘Hairdressing saved my life’: Eileen McHugh on resilience and building Hair Together
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Eileen McHugh, IMAGE PwC Social Entrepreneur of the Year – Community Impact, is the founder and CEO of Hair Together, a social enterprise delivering hairdressing and barbering training for young people from challenging backgrounds and women who have experienced prison.
She set up Hair Together in 2019, drawing from her own lived experience with addiction and educational disadvantage. “I suppose hairdressing saved my life, and business and entrepreneurship have been another kind of spiritual journey for me too, finding out about myself and facing lots of new challenges.”
Hair Together offers 10-week personal development courses that combine creativity with practical hairstyling and barber training to get participants job-ready, while also building their confidence and resilience. Eileen hopes that going forward, social enterprises like hers will see more structural support.
“Being a social enterprise, we tend to fall through the cracks between charity status and a business… but change is happening, especially with more businesses getting involved through corporate social responsibility and government support opening up to us.”
Honestly, winning the IMAGE award was surreal. When they called my name, I wasn’t prepared at all – which probably led to the best speech I’ve ever given! Standing there, hearing Hair Together’s name, I thought about the journey from heroin addiction and horrific mental health to now leading a social enterprise that’s changing lives. I felt proud, humbled, and deeply grateful. It wasn’t just my win – it was for every young person who’s walked through our doors, every woman who found her voice again, and everyone who believed in us when we were just an idea.
Hairdressing gave me belonging at a time when I felt completely lost. I grew up in Ballymun in the ’90s, surrounded by addiction and chaos, and when I picked up a pair of scissors, I found purpose. I trained in Peter Mark and had a manager who saw something in me I couldn’t yet see in myself. Years later, I started Hair Together because I wanted young people and women to experience what I had: a place where creativity, skills and connection come together. It began with one small course in 2019, and I never imagined it would grow into what it is today.
There have been so many pinch-me moments since then. Signing our first lease. Watching a troubled 14-year-old who was ready to leave school start with us, then at 16 working in a salon after school, and now sitting on our Youth Advisory Board. Or the time a woman we were working with in prison actually got released – but stayed an extra night in the Dochas to finish our course. And yes, winning the IMAGE award was huge, but honestly, it’s the little things too, like when someone looks in the mirror and can finally see themselves differently.
One young man comes to mind. He came to us angry, disengaged from school and convinced he wasn’t good enough. Through Hair Together, he built his skills, his confidence and his sense of belonging. Today, he’s thriving — working in a barbers, shaping our programmes through the Youth Advisory Board and mentoring others coming through. That’s what Hair Together is: transforming hair, transforming lives.
Of course, being a social enterprise means we don’t fit neatly into a box. We’re a business, but we measure impact, not profit. Funding can be tough because you’re always explaining why we’re not just a charity or just a business. But the model is growing because it works. Our community knows we’re not a charity, and they know we’re not a private business. That sense of ownership is why it works.
Entrepreneurship has been another kind of spiritual journey. I’ve grown more in the last three years than I did in my first 14 years in recovery. Building Hair Together has pushed every boundary – my resilience, my leadership, my capacity to hold space for others while still holding space for myself. I lead from the heart, always. Entrepreneurship isn’t just about strategy; it’s about heart, courage and becoming who you need to be to lead well.
The answers to our social issues are already in our communities. It doesn’t work when people come from the outside, thinking they know what we need. We need funding and policies that empower community-led solutions, that trust local knowledge, and that back organisations like ours to make lasting change.
It wasn’t just my win — it was for every young person who’s walked through our doors, every woman who found her voice again, and everyone who believed in us when we were just an idea.
Supporting others takes so much energy and empathy, and I’ve learned to protect my own energy too. Nature saves me. Hiking, wild camping, freezing swims – that’s where I reset. My daughters keep me grounded, and Frankie, our new Cavapoo, forces me to slow down. I’ve learned that you can’t pour from an empty cup.
Looking ahead, my dream is for Hair Together hubs across Ireland. Our Ballymun Academy and Salon are just the beginning. In five years, I see spaces nationwide where creativity, skills and wellbeing come together – empowering thousands more young people and women, while staying rooted in community. It’s all about transforming hair and transforming lives.
If I could give one piece of advice to anyone going through a tough time, it would be this: nothing lasts forever – not the good times or the bad times. Every hard time I’ve faced has taught me something, and I’ve grown from all of it. Knowing it’s temporary helps you ride the storm. And never, ever be afraid to ask for help. There’s no need to suffer in silence.
We’re interviewing each of our outstanding winners from this year’s IMAGE PwC Businesswoman of the Year Awards. To hear more about their career journeys, expert insights, and more, visit image.ie/pwc.
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