The Secret Brow Society, a Sheffield beauty salon formerly based in Walkley, has recently moved to Kelham Island (where the old Exposed HQ was actually!) Specialising in the secrets of great brows – a look many of us strive to achieve, The Secret Brow Society is known for its microblading success and is not short of glowing reviews.
We had a chat with Maria Dallagiovanna, the owner of The Secret Brow Society to uncover a little more about her business.
So how did this all begin?
I always knew that I wanted to open my own place, especially when I couldn’t do certain things my own way when working at other places. I used to live in a townhouse in Lower Walkley so we converted the bottom floor into a salon and everything kicked off from there! It wasn’t long before I went on to training my sister Francesca because of the demand, she was definitely a big part in helping me grow my business as she took some of the workload off me which allowed me hone my skills.
And what made you decide to move to Kelham Island?
It got to the point where I was working non-stop which was especially hard because I had my baby son to look after too, I was turning away clients because it got so busy so I thought it was time to move into somewhere bigger. I was looking everywhere for a premises, something about town just seems dead to me, nothing excites me there and Kelham Island is very trendy and up-and-coming. The venue also fits perfectly with our name as it is quite hidden; we always get customers coming in saying “Wow it really is a secret isn’t it?!”
What is the most popular treatment?
At the moment, we’re getting a really good reputation for micro-pigmentation which is basically a form of semi-permanent tattooing. We mimic individual hair strokes by implanting pigment into the skin which gives a real natural look. It has taken me a long time to get the hang of it with it being a cosmetic procedure, there’s seeing how it heals and then learning about the various depth, colours, and techniques. Now I’m noticing a massive influx of people coming to me for this and that’s just through word of mouth.
Are there any other treatments that are worth a mention?
We offer a range of other treatments such as light therapy, lash extensions and hair removal, we will also be bringing in a nail technician soon. But one thing that is a massive hit with our customers is dermaplaning which blew up when we posted a video of us doing the treatment. It is a manual method of exfoliation; we use a blade to remove vellus hair and dead skin cells leaving you with a brighter, clearer and smoother complexion. It’s not been around very long and it’s an amazing treatment, skin is a massive deal at the moment and I never bring treatments into the salon that I don’t believe in.
What would you say is the secret to your success?
Without being big headed – me! It’s all about customer service. You could have the best treatments in the world but if your customer service isn’t done right, you will fail. I’ve learnt a lot off my previous workplaces, my clients, people I’ve trained with and even TV. It’s all about how you are with people and how you treat them. I have never had a bad experience with a customer here, you get difficult people don’t get me wrong but it’s all about how you handle it. We try to rectify things before it gets to the stage of someone getting upset. We are a very welcoming bunch, very chatty, and definitely not pretentious. Sometimes we struggle to get people to leave the salon after their treatment!
Any plans for the future that you can reveal?
I’m definitely going to bring in some new treatments. There is another skin treatment coming in September but for now my main focus is concentrating on Abigail and Robin my two full-time therapists. I want to get them to a standard where I don’t need to check their work, there’s a reputation to uphold here and every customer that leaves here needs to be 100% happy, this takes time, they are producing good brows already of course, all they need is a little supervision, practice and guidance.
To find out more, check out their Facebook page here and to book, head here.
