Beauty Entrepreneur Sophia Mantell Is A Girl’s Girl & Her New Haircare Brand Proves It

After cutting her teeth with skincare brand Daily, beauty entrepreneur Sophia Mantell has turned her attention to haircare.

Beauty entrepreneur Sophia Mantell is known for her range of affordable, efficacious skincare with Daily, which launched in Aotearoa New Zealand in 2023.

Sophia repositioned the brand within the market a year later to democratise skincare by offering the same high-level formulations but at a fraction of the price.

In the time since, Daily has experienced exponential growth locally and internationally, having been picked up by retailers including Walmart Canada, Priceline and Woolworths. Five new products are on the horizon for October.

But beyond luxurious cream cleansers and cosseting moisturisers, what Sophia is really selling is confidence.

And if you’ve had the pleasure of chatting to Sophia you’ll understand why.

The success of her skincare brand is underpinned by an immovable sense of self-belief, something that has stood her in good stead as she steps into fresh territory with the launch of her new haircare brand, Girl’s Girl.

Entering the market with four products, Girl’s Girl zeroes in on the hair gloss movement – a dye-free sheer gloss designed to envelop hair in moisture and leave it shining with health.

A girl’s girl by name and nature, when Sophia isn’t travelling the world to pitch her beauty brands to global retailers she’s at home in Sydney with her three daughters, aged 15, 14 and 7.

ASHLEIGH COMETTI: The haircare market is highly competitive. Did you have any apprehensions about breaking into that space?

SM: I think every category is so different that I’ve had to be really calculated and aware of the different challenges. I did a deep dive into the international markets and found that gloss as a product is mainly an in-salon treatment. It was only a couple of years ago that certain brands launched gloss or bond repair products within supermarket channels. I’ve watched very carefully what brands have done in the last year. So I was confident that by the time we had finished formulation, I was providing a product that people wanted. Girl’s Girl is, on average, between 1.5 to two times bigger than the products that are available at the moment within the gloss category.

AC: Was being a mum of three girls one of the reasons you decided to name your haircare range Girl’s Girl?

SM: There’s a real strength in community that is specific to women. I have really close female friendships that have always lifted me up and been extremely supportive, and I have three daughters, so that is a very strong tie. My mum is my best friend. I think it’s really important to be a woman who lifts others up, to be a girl’s girl and to share. Girl’s girls don’t gate keep: if you find a great pair of pants on sale and someone asks you where they’re from, you tell them. That’s really where it comes from – wanting to provide products for women that work and they’re not out-of-this-world expensive. It’s about bringing great things to all women, sharing that knowledge, sharing that kindness. Being kind to other women is super important.

SM: We have trademarked our own glossy glaze technology, so I can’t go into the proprietary ingredients, but it is a glycolic formulation. It’s a technology that’s been around for a while, but we’ve created our own blend that adds in a few other beautiful ingredients that help strengthen the hair. We have our glossy glaze technology within all of the shampoo, conditioner, mask and gloss. It’s not just one product that is a gloss that’s going to actually create an impact on the hair, it’s all four of them together which is really different to what exists in the market at the moment.

AC: What do you hope your children learn from witnessing you build these brands like Daily and Girl’s Girl from the ground up?

SM: I want my girls to feel like they can achieve anything, even if it seems completely unattainable. I want the girls to feel like, if they’re interested in something, that they can absolutely do it. I tell my girls to be absolutely ridiculous in their goals. Because the thing is, the path shows itself on the way. It never shows itself when you’re sitting there going, “I wish I could do such and such”. You just have to start. Men have an easier time of doing that, because they’re not so worried about it. Meanwhile we’re just sitting there like “But what if I can’t”, “what if they think this?” “What if this?” Get on and do it.

AC: Are there any other female-founded beauty businesses that you aspire to or draw inspiration from?

SM: Someone I admire or have respect for in the industry is Anna Leahy. She owns Vida Glow. She is a genuinely lovely person and does not feel the need for constant comparison or competition, which I think is really refreshing.

AC: What is your blue sky plan for 2025 and beyond?

SM: I wouldn’t say they’re even like blue sky plans – I will do it. Girl’s Girl will go through the channels we’ve set up in New Zealand and Australia with Daily, and I’m already in conversations with Walmart Canada as well. The dream for me would be being able to create the business on a global scale, where we expand into the US or the UK in the next two years. I think that the products and their offering is really exciting for the international buyer. I am confident because I have been really intentional about the way I’ve built products and brands.

AC: What advice would you offer other budding beauty entrepreneurs?

SM: I’ve had so many no’s and I’ve just refused to accept it. Ultimately, in this business, you have to be a little bit delusional. It isn’t easy, but when you finally get that yes, momentum does come and so it’s worth sticking it out. And I would highly encourage other businesswomen to stick with it, if they believe in it. Make sure you know what market you’re selling in. Make sure you know your numbers. Make sure you know that your products are efficacious and that they’re not going to disappoint. Knowing that you have done that back-end work gives you that confidence to keep pushing. If you get a no, just keep going.

Girl’s Girl is available online now at Girlsgirlhair.com, and coming soon to selected supermarkets nationwide.

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