Sally Hansen doesn't have a Wikipedia page, but what I dug out of their website was that they were founded in 1957 in New York. It doesn't say what Sally's background was, but that was when she and her chemist husband came up with the original Hard As Nails. Sally Hansen (the company) is now owned by Coty.
Interestingly, Zoya was also founded by a woman with a chemist husband, but somewhat more recently. (I knew that one because I had read an article somewhere about her.) Zoya and Michael Reyzis came to the U.S. in 1979, and Zoya, who had a background as a classical pianist, became a cosmetologist. At her request, Michael began to develop products that Zoya saw a need for in her salon, such as fast-drying topcoat and nontoxic polish.
OK, I've done four of these little mini-histories now (OPI and Revlon were the other two) and I'm starting to see a pattern. I suppose it's how many companies get started - you identify a need for a product and you know somebody or find somebody who can make you that product. Revlon started with a chemist with a new nail polish formula. OPI sold acrylics to salons and saw the need for a better adhesive. Sally Hansen, presumably, wanted something to improve weak nails, and Zoya Reyzis wanted a more natural nail polish. Of course that's not the whole trick, is it? Because then you have to do the work to make it a success. But having a good product that there's a market for gets you on the way, at least!
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I didn't find a similar story so far for Sally Beauty, but here's their original store in New Orleans. (Their timeline becomes a somewhat less heartwarming tale of acquisition and expansion, after that. Reading histories of big retail companies is not something I generally find all that exciting, and that one is pretty typical.)
Added: Consumerist says Sally Hansen may not have existed. Which I guess might explain why you can't find much about her.
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