During her seven years in commodity sales and trading at Goldman Sachs, Nancy Twine learned a very important piece of life advice: “Just figure [it] out.” Her career since has had several arcs.
Twine left finance to build Briogeo—a line of clean, high-performance hair-care products inspired by the formulas she and her chemist-physician mother would make in their kitchen. Back in 2013, sustainable, naturally derived hair care was not commonplace; so much so that Briogeo became the first-ever clean hair-care brand stocked at Sephora. Fast-forward a decade: Twine operated as Briogeo’s CEO, sold the brand to the Wella Company, and launched her Dream Makers Founder Grant (a self-funded $1 million grant providing early-stage funding to underrepresented female founders). Twine is as passionate about hair care as she is about mentorship, and, eventually, the time came for her to exit Briogeo in favor of new pursuits.
And that’s where her story begins today. If you were to meet Twine right at this very moment, she might laugh that she’s giving birth twice this month: to a baby girl (any day now!) and a new hair-care brand called Soulstice, officially available to shop today.
While sitting next to her at Sant Ambroeus in New York, Twine is as light and calm as ever, despite experiencing such pivotal life accomplishments in such quick succession. “It’s kind of cool to launch this brand while I’m this pregnant,” she says with a smile. When I ask her how she does it all, she returns to that old mantra: “I just go figure it out.”
Through Soulstice, Twine saw an opportunity to offer the clinical performance, sophisticated formulations, and elevated experience consumers expect from prestige hair care at a more accessible price point. One could say Twine’s passion for mentorship and advocacy inspired Soulstice. Inclusion for all hair types and textures was, of course, a nonnegotiable start to the five-piece collection. As was price accessibility (the Moisture Muse shampoo and conditioner are $18; Base Layer Smoothing and Wavelength Curl creams are $20; and the Buttersilk Restorative Mask is $26). Each product features the brand’s patent-pending VitaMega Complex, designed to deliver essential nutrients to the hair shaft—ensuring hair’s hydration needs are met throughout the entire regimen.
“I’m only putting myself through the rigor again of being an entrepreneur—literally, honestly—because my soul is in it,” she says. “I always tell entrepreneurs, the only way that you can withstand all of those challenges is that you have to have heart.” This idea around having soul is so personal to Twine, she imbued it in the brand’s name. “Soul is the lifeblood of the brand,” she continues. “The summer solstice is the highest point at which the sun reaches each year, and for me, that is so symbolic of the concept of reaching for your higher self. It’s what drives me.”
Soulstice, then, is hair care for your highest self. Losing her parents in her mid-20s and early 30s, she says, reframed how she thinks about time. “This life is so precious. I don’t put things on hold waiting for the perfect [moment] to do things,” she adds. And while she’s confident her new venture will deliver the high expectations consumers might have after the success of Briogeo, becoming a mother has changed her sense of achievement. Now she thinks more internally: “How do I feel? And do I feel like I’m doing the best that I can do under the circumstances? And to be honest with you, I’ve never felt that way before.”
Pregnancy hasn’t, however, changed her definition of beauty. She has always resonated with a less-is-more philosophy—focusing on simple, not overcomplicated practices. Twine wakes up at 6:15 a.m. each morning and is in the gym by 7. “I always do my workouts first thing in the morning,” she says. “I have a trainer who I meet with Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I like the commitment of it.” After a quick breakfast (say, eggs and spinach), she prepares for a lot of time behind the screen with her team: “Something I’m really passionate about is, I really want to make sure my team feels supported and that they’re clear on my vision.”
