Risa Barash on ‘Fairy Tales Hair Care’, the Hairy Godmother Campaign and Scaling an Eight-Figure Brand
…I would love for young women to really understand their worth. I wish I could make them understand the things I know now as an older person.
It’s about being comfortable in your own skin, understanding who you are, and not shying away from it. It is about experimenting and knowing that that’s okay — to try things, say no to things, or say, “I don’t like that.” I have a 21-year-old daughter, and I’m constantly having conversations with her about who she can be. She can be anything. There’s no such thing as failure, really. It’s just finding out who you are and putting it all together.
I know it’s a long-winded way of saying it, but I want people to be comfortable in their own skin and find out all that life has to offer. There’s no wrong in saying, “I don’t like that, I’m going over here.” I wish I could get people to understand that that is okay…
I had the pleasure of talking with Risa Barash. Risa grew up in New Jersey in a family shaped by business. A fourth-generation entrepreneur, she has often said that owning and building a company felt natural to her from an early age. While she has a brother and a sister, Barash has described herself as the family member who most closely followed her father into entrepreneurship. After leaving New Jersey to attend college in New York, she studied public relations, training that later proved useful in ways she did not yet anticipate.
Before entering the world of consumer products, Barash pursued an entirely different path. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, she worked as a stand-up comedian in New York City, performing regularly and auditioning for television roles. She has since described that period as formative, even though it did not lead to a long-term career in entertainment. Comedy sharpened her instincts as a storyteller and helped her develop a comfort with risk and rejection, qualities that later became central to her work as a founder.
The idea that would define her professional life emerged as her comedy career was winding down. Through her then-husband’s family, Barash learned of a children’s hair salon on Long Island that sold a rosemary-based shampoo believed to help prevent head lice. She noticed how quickly parents bought the product and how urgent the need felt. What began as a simple observation soon turned into the foundation for Fairy Tales Hair Care, a brand Barash co-founded more than two decades ago. At the time, she recalls underestimating the complexity of launching a consumer brand, a comment she now offers with humor and hindsight.
In its earliest days, Fairy Tales Hair Care operated without a website and with only a handful of products distributed through salons in the New York area. One of the company’s most enduring early stories reflects both Barash’s instinct for opportunity and her willingness to act quickly. After hearing a segment about childhood lice on The Rosie O’Donnell Show, Barash delivered her shampoo directly to Rockefeller Center, persuading a mailroom clerk that it was urgently requested. The following day, she saw the product on television, mentioned casually on air. The moment brought a surge of attention but also revealed how unprepared the young company was to meet demand. Barash later described the experience as an early lesson in the importance of preparation.
Over time, Fairy Tales Hair Care expanded beyond salons into national retailers, growing into an eight-figure business. Barash has said that rejection was a constant presence during those early years, particularly in a market where children’s personal care products were not yet common. She recalls trade show meetings where buyers expressed interest but demanded prices she felt would undermine the business. In one such instance, she walked away from a major retailer rather than compromise. Months later, the buyer returned and accepted her terms. For Barash, the experience reinforced the value of confidence and consistency.
As the company matured, a new challenge emerged: staying relevant. Barash has often noted that Fairy Tales Hair Care was founded before the rise of search engines and social media platforms, requiring the brand to repeatedly adapt as technology and consumer habits changed. She has emphasized the need to keep pace with ingredient trends, marketing shifts, and cultural expectations, while still appealing to families who had used the products for years. Today, the brand serves a second generation of customers, parents who grew up with Fairy Tales and now buy it for their own children.
That focus on reinvention is reflected in a recent campaign centered on a new spokesperson known as the Hairy Godmother. Developed with the California-based agency Raindrop, the campaign includes a three-minute anchor video designed to be adapted into shorter segments over the course of a year. The character offers a deliberately unsentimental take on children’s hair care, emphasizing everyday challenges rather than fantasy. Barash has described the project as a tonal shift that reflects how parents actually experience these moments.
Outside of her professional life, Barash has spoken openly about the importance of self-care, particularly as her children have grown older. She has described herself as deeply interested in skincare and ingredients, attends Pilates classes regularly, and maintains a daily writing practice. She has also said that this stage of life feels less like a slowdown and more like a new chapter, marked by travel, creative work, and personal reflection.
Asked what broader idea she would like to promote, Barash often returns to the subject of confidence, especially for young women. Drawing on her own experiences, she has said she hopes younger generations learn earlier to understand their worth, experiment without fear, and feel comfortable changing direction. For Barash, the absence of a single, fixed path has been a constant in both her life and career, one she now views not as a liability but as a source of strength.
Today, Fairy Tales Hair Care products are sold widely across the United States, and Barash remains closely involved in guiding the brand’s direction. More than 25 years after she first asked how hard it could be to start a company, her answer is measured, practical, and shaped by experience. Building a business, she has suggested, requires fearlessness, focus, and the willingness to keep going, even when the outcome is uncertain.
Yitzi: Risa Barash, it is so nice to meet you. Before we dive in deep, our readers would love to learn about your personal origin story. Can you share with us the story of your childhood, how you grew up, and the seeds for all the amazing work that has come since then?
Risa: Well, I am very old, so we’re going to have to go back a long way. I’m a New Jersey girl, born and bred. I am a fourth-generation entrepreneur, so I took to having my business like a fish takes to water. I have a brother and a sister, but I am the only one who is really entrepreneurial in the family besides my dad. It’s just been a long and crazy road. I was in college in New York and majored in public relations, which was super fun, so I knew how to do this when it came around.
My second career was actually in stand-up comedy. I did stand-up for six years around New York. I like to say I auditioned for every TV show that was never made in the late 90s and early 2000s. I don’t think it was meant to be.
When we started Fairy Tales Hair Care, my now ex-husband — that’s a story for another day — had a cousin with a children’s salon out on Long Island. He had a bottle of rosemary shampoo and said it helped prevent head lice. Rob was there one day watching all the moms in the Five Towns come running in and grabbing this bottle of shampoo. He came back just as my stand-up career was winding down and said, “Hey, I think this is a great idea. I think you’d really like to do something like this.” I said, “Oh, start a brand? How hard can it be?”
That was probably the dumbest thing I’ve ever said in my life. Twenty-six years later, here we are. Fairy Tales is sold in all the major retailers, we are actually on our second generation of customers, the business keeps growing, and it’s been a crazy, wonderful ride.
Yitzi: You probably have some amazing stories from all the projects you’ve been on. Maybe this is hard to single out, but can you share with our readers one or two stories that stand out most in your mind from leading your company?
Risa: One of my favorite stories from when we were really just starting out goes back a long way. I’m going to date myself even further, but we didn’t even have a website developed yet. We just had a few products that we were selling in some salons around New York.
I was in my apartment one day watching the Rosie O’Donnell Show — she was still doing her morning talk show. Rosie was talking about her kids getting lice. I said, “Oh my god, I have to bring Rosemary Repel shampoo to Rosie.”
I wasn’t that far from Rockefeller Center where she filmed, so I took a package, brought it over to 30 Rock, and went into the mailroom. I said, “Rosie O’Donnell has requested these products.” There was a massive mail bin — I’m five feet tall, and it was way bigger than me — and the clerk was about to dump it in. I said, “No, no, no! She needs it right now. She’s waiting for it.” He asked, “Really?” and I said, “Really.” So, he called somebody over and took the package.
The next day, I was watching the TV, and sure enough, there was my package on Rosie’s desk. She was talking about how someone sent her this shampoo and spray and she really hoped it worked. I screamed so loud that my doorman came up to my apartment and asked, “Are you okay?” I was so excited. Except, I realized that I didn’t have a website to actually sell any of the products on. That might have been one of the dumbest mistakes I’ve ever made, but I was so excited I didn’t stop to really think about it. I actually do have a picture somewhere of Rosie holding the bottle of shampoo on her desk. That’s definitely one of my favorites.
Yitzi: That’s an amazing story and you’re an amazing storyteller. So what was the lesson you took away from that story?
Risa: Be prepared. No matter how exciting it is, be prepared.
Yitzi: There is a saying that “no” is not a rejection but a redirection. Do you have a story like that where a client or a buyer said no, but that led to an unexpected opportunity or blessing?
Risa: I’ve been told “no” more times than I’ve been told “yes” in this business. We make kids’ products, and it’s pretty standard now, but when we first started twenty-some-odd years ago, I got more nos than yeses. It never really stopped me at all.
I have another “Risa story,” as we like to call them. I was at a trade show and had an appointment with a buyer from one of the largest retailers in the world. He liked the products but said, “I need it at this price.” I told him we couldn’t do it at that price because that’s not what everybody else pays, and I needed to keep it standard across the board. He said, “Well, then I don’t know what to tell you.”
I said, “Well, I’ll see you another time.” I got up from the table and walked away. My knees were shaking, but I walked away. That was a “no” that really hurt until about six months later when he came back and said, “Okay, you win. I’ll take it at your price.”
Yitzi: What’s been the most challenging project or role you’ve taken on so far and why?
Risa: Staying relevant. I think that is a really hard thing to do, especially in today’s world. After 25 years and being on our second generation of customers, we work hard. I remember when there was no Google, Facebook, or Instagram. We’ve had to iterate over and over again to make sure that we stay relevant.
We have to stay on top of trends — whether it’s ingredient trends, social media trends, or influencer trends. Wherever the world is going, we always have to make sure that we’re there. That’s how we’ve managed to stay relevant all these years. That’s why the new website is being developed and our new spokesperson is being announced this week. We need to stay top of mind, and I also like to make sure we’re all having some fun here.
Yitzi: Amazing. So let’s get to the heart of our interview. Please tell us about any exciting announcements or initiatives that you’re working on. We’d love to hear how we could support it.
Risa: That would be great. Thank you so much. We are so excited. We’ve decided that it’s time for a change — time to shake things up, get people excited, and make sure our existing customers are still excited about what we’re doing. There’s always a new generation of parents that need to learn about Fairy Tales Hair Care.
We developed a new website which is launching on Wednesday. Along with it, we decided to film a three-minute anchor video. We did a lot of research and found this amazing agency called Raindrop out in California. They’re responsible for the Dr. Squatch ads, Native, and Gruns. We knew we were in good hands. We had some amazing creative meetings, and a couple of months ago, we filmed our video based on the “Hairy Godmother.”
Fairy Godmothers are all fine and well, but as a parent, you know that fairy tales go out the window when you are worrying about kids’ personal care. Combing your kids’ hair is really not a fairy tale. So, the team came up with the Hairy Godmother.
The video is a modern take on a new spokesperson for the brand. It opens with a mom combing her daughter’s hair, and she is literally spewing fire. If you have a daughter or son with a full head of hair, you know going through that hair is not a pleasant task. Hairy Godmother comes to the rescue to talk about Fairy Tales and ingredients and to show that life is not always a fairy tale. There are hard moments, but we want to show that we’re all in it together and can have a laugh along the way. We’re really excited to launch her this week.
Yitzi: Could you describe what an anchor video is and how it’s different than a standard advertising campaign?
Risa: Sure. The anchor video is a three-minute piece that tells the entire story of the Hairy Godmother from beginning to end. However, it is written, shot, and cut down so you can break it into segments — one-minute, 30-second, and 15-second spots. Raindrop is really talented at filming and editing to make sure you tell the story in each segment. The three-minute piece will live on the site and on YouTube, and then throughout the year, the shorter spots will be released depending on what else is going on. It’s wonderful; we get an entire year’s worth of media out of one three-minute anchor video.
Yitzi: So is this character going to be a mascot?
Risa: Yes, she’s our spokesperson. She is the Fairy Tales Hairy Godmother.
Yitzi: I love the creative play on Fairy Tales Hair Care — Hairy Godmother. What is the origin of the name Fairy Tales Hair Care?
Risa: It was actually not my doing. That is actually the name of the salon that the family owned out on Long Island. It was such a great name and lent itself to such wonderful creative work through the years that we never changed it. It fits for kids, so it definitely stuck.
Yitzi: You’re the leader of a very successful eight-figure brand. Based on your experience, can you share five things you need to create a highly successful brand?
Risa: Sure, I can easily list five.
- You need to be fearless.
- You need to understand that there’s no such thing as perfection; you just have to roll with things.
- You need a lot of Chutzpah. I knew you’d like that one. Always need some good Chutzpah.
- You need good people around you.
- You need to be focused.
I could probably do 40 of them, but that’s five!
Yitzi: On a personal note, can you share some of the self-care routines that you do to help your body, mind, and heart thrive?
Risa: I do a lot of self-care. This is something that I didn’t really do when my kids were younger and I was running at 102 miles an hour, but my children are now 24 and 21, so I can finally take a little time.
I am a skincare junkie. I love getting facials and trying out lots of different skincare products. I’m an ingredient fanatic, so I’m always trying new things. I love my Pilates classes; that’s really important to me. I have tried meditation and failed miserably — I don’t understand how anyone can do that — so that is off the list for the year. I’m also a big writer. I try to write every morning, just a few pages, to really get out what is in there and start the day with a clear head.
Finally, I have a wonderful partner who I enjoy life with. We travel, we go and do things, and we make sure that we are really enjoying this nice time in my life. I thought at my age I would be slowing down, but now I’m just in this new phase, and it’s quite lovely.
Yitzi: This is our final aspirational question. Risa, because of your amazing work and the platform that you built, it’s not an exaggeration to say that you’re a person of enormous influence. If you could spread an idea or inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
Risa: That’s such a good question. I would love for young women to really understand their worth. I wish I could make them understand the things I know now as an older person.
It’s about being comfortable in your own skin, understanding who you are, and not shying away from it. It is about experimenting and knowing that that’s okay — to try things, say no to things, or say, “I don’t like that.” I have a 21-year-old daughter, and I’m constantly having conversations with her about who she can be. She can be anything. There’s no such thing as failure, really. It’s just finding out who you are and putting it all together.
I know it’s a long-winded way of saying it, but I want people to be comfortable in their own skin and find out all that life has to offer. There’s no wrong in saying, “I don’t like that, I’m going over here.” I wish I could get people to understand that that is okay.
Yitzi: How can our readers continue to follow your work, purchase Fairy Tales Hair Care, and watch the anchor video?
Risa: I would love that. They can go on our new site, fairytaleshaircare.com. They’ll have access to the video there, and it will run on YouTube. We are sold in Target, Walmart, Ulta, CVS, Walgreens, HEB, all the supermarket chains, and salons around the country. We should be everywhere a mom and dad shop.
Yitzi: Risa, it’s been an honor to meet you. Wish you continued success and good health. I hope we can do this again next year.
Risa: I would love it. That sounds great.
Yitzi: Have an amazing day and best of luck with the campaign.
Risa: Thank you so much. I really appreciate this. Thanks again.
Risa Barash on ‘Fairy Tales Hair Care’, the Hairy Godmother Campaign and Scaling an Eight-Figure … was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.