Nez Hasan: "How I became a beauty boss"

She’s the woman behind one of the beauty industry’s biggest brow accounts and her incredibly realistic work has won her legions of fans and loyal customers. Here's how she made it happen...

If brows are your thing, you'll probably know who Nez Hasan is. As the woman behind one of the beauty industry’s favourite brow accounts (@nezhasan_ if you haven’t seen her work) her incredibly realistic brow strokes and Insta-worthy microblading salon (it's worth a trip just for the decor tbh) have seen her grow a cult following on social media, with a eye-watering waiting list to boot. Here, shares the advice she’s learned along the way.

Ditch the backup plan

As a woman from Turkish heritage, there are plenty of beautiful elements to our culture which I’m very proud of. But being a divorced Turkish Muslim single mother hasn’t been easy. When my daughter was four years old, I started my career in microblading, moving from a job in distribution (yes really!). Put frankly, I needed to stand on my two feet. It wasn't an option to fail. I wanted to show my daughter how to be strong and how success is achieved - to be a mother she could be proud of. Because I needed it to work so badly, I didn’t have another option. I knew I just had to make a success of it.

Find a niche (and care about it)

Microblading as a career came to mind when I was looking into getting my own brows microbladed. I came across somebody in Istanbul - where I’m from - as I couldn’t find anyone in London who did natural-looking strokes. There was no such thing as a lash lift here, yet it was a huge deal there. I knew these sort of treatments were slowly moving towards London and the trend of naturally beautiful brows (versus that nineties thin, overplucked look) was going to be huge. That passion - of truly loving what I do - is what keeps you going when things get tough. I don’t think you’d succeed without it.

Turn lemons into lemonade

In December 2015, I was holding my young daughter and fell on a wet floor in a supermarket. It was awful - luckily my daughter was OK but I hurt myself quite badly. It meant I was compensated £5000 - which felt like a huge amount of money at the time. I knew immediately what I wanted to do and invested the money back into a a microblading course I had seen advertised. That same supermarket have since contacted me to work together in a professional capacity. I choose to see it as a sign I’m on the right path. If something awful happens, make the most of it because you might not get a second chance.

Become comfortable with change 

“Being your own boss isn’t easy or stress-free. I’ve honestly never been so challenged in my whole life running a business during the pandemic, having only just opened my salon in Kensington. At first, I was terrified and feared the worst, but slowly I’ve begun to see it as a lesson. None of us have control over what happens around us, but we always have control within ourselves in terms of how we react to it. So far, I’ve been shut for a total of seven months and it’s currently ongoing. It means I’ve chosen to focus my efforts on things I can control - like social media or working with brands instead. There are always other options, if you look for them.”

Network like your life depends on it

The way we network has changed thanks to social media, but it’s just as important today as it ever was. Building a strong relationship with your clients and networking is key. Play the long game. Go to events (be it virtual or real life) and follow people in your field to learn more about the industry you’re in. Never stop learning and don’t be afraid of approaching somebody and asking for help. If they say no, it’s not the end of the world but it could lead to serious opportunities. Instagram in particular, has been hugely instrumental in building my business.

For more information on Nez's work, visit Nezhasan.com.