Meet Amy Chinian | Founder, My Hair Helpers

We had the good fortune of connecting with Amy Chinian and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Amy, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
The most important factor behind my success is simple: helping people in their greatest need.
Everything I do comes back to making sure that children don’t suffer, aren’t estranged from their classmates, and aren’t impacted in their education because of head lice. I see kids miss a month of school because of this problem, and there’s really no help out there for them. A school nurse hands them a box treatment and that’s it. There are no companies stepping in to truly help these families, and that reality drove me to be the solution.

When I started building my brand back in 2007, I was committed and determined to have the best non-toxic solutions to remove head lice, and also to educate people on how to stay lice-free. But it went beyond just the service itself. I wanted to provide jobs for women. I now employ about 30 women across six locations, training them in a skill they’ve never had before, helping them support their families, and building something they can be proud of.

Great customer service has also been a cornerstone of everything I do. You can see it in our hundreds and hundreds of five-star reviews on Yelp and Google. People trust us, and that trust has been earned one family at a time.

But at the heart of it all, my greatest joy is simply helping people move forward in their lives, whether that’s getting a child back to school lice-free after months of struggling, or giving a woman a reliable skill and a steady income. That mission is what has driven everything from the very beginning.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
My business, My Hair Helpers, is built on something really simple: providing families with a safe, effective, and non-toxic solution to head lice. What sets us apart is everything from our products to our approach. We use enzyme and oil-based treatments instead of the harsh chemicals you find in most store-bought options, and we use a specially designed comb that actually removes both lice and their eggs thoroughly. We also offer in-home services, where my team comes directly to your family, provides hands-on one-on-one care, and follows up to make sure the lice are completely gone. Our customer service is truly unmatched, and you can see that reflected in our hundreds of five-star reviews on Yelp and Google.

What I am most proud of is the impact we have on people’s lives. We had a little girl who had lice for an entire year, and it took us three sessions over three days to get it all out. But she walked out of there a brand new person. That is what this is all about. I am also incredibly proud of the jobs we have created for women. I now employ about 30 women across six locations, training them in a valuable skill and helping them support their families.

Getting here was anything but easy. My husband’s business collapsed during the recession in 2007 and we lost everything, including our home. I started My Hair Helpers with no money, no website, no business cards, and no formal training. Just a small red picnic basket filled with lice removal products I had researched and ordered online. The business grew entirely through word of mouth in that first year, and every step forward was slow but intentional.

The biggest challenges were financial in the beginning, and later, finding the right people. Building a team of dedicated, hardworking, loyal people who genuinely want to help others has been one of the most important and sometimes difficult parts of growing this business. But I feel like I finally have the best group I have ever had, and we are continuing to grow, get better organized, and raise the level of our training.

The lessons I have learned along the way are that perseverance matters more than resources, that faith will carry you through uncertainty, and that it truly is all about people, both the clients you serve and the team you build around you. I also learned that creativity and diligence can take you further than any amount of startup capital.

What I want the world to know is that my greatest joy is helping people move forward in their lives, whether that means getting a child back to school after months of suffering, or giving a woman a skill and a steady income to support her family. We are the number one rated lice removal company in Southern California, and we are just getting started

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I live in Westlake Village, California, and honestly it is one of the most beautiful, picturesque places you could ever visit. It sits about an hour north of Los Angeles, nestled right next to the Santa Monica Mountains, with Malibu just on the other side of the hills. I kind of just landed here, and I feel so blessed to call it home.

I would start the trip by checking into the Westlake Village Inn. It is quaint, cozy, and has fireplaces right in the rooms. The whole property has this beautiful Mediterranean feel that just makes you exhale the moment you arrive. It is the perfect home base for the week.

Right on the same property is a sister spot called The Stonehaus. The moment you walk over there, you feel like you have been transported to a vineyard in Napa. You can sit outside, sip a glass of wine, and listen to live music. It is that good. I would make that a regular stop throughout the week, honestly.

From there I would head over to the lake. Westlake is a man-made lake, but it is absolutely gorgeous. I would take my friend out on a boat ride and just soak it all in. Then we would end the evening having dinner right on the water at a restaurant called The Landing Grill & Sushi Bar, where you can watch the sunset and eat wonderful food with your feet practically dangling over the lake.

And if you want to end the night with some dancing and live music, head back over to the Westlake Village Inn to a place called Louise. It is considered the best bar in town, with a live band, happy hour, and a great energy. The perfect way to cap off a night.

With a full week, I would also make sure to spend some time exploring the Santa Monica Mountains, take a drive over to Malibu, and enjoy everything that this beautiful corner of California has to offer. It is one of those places that feels like a hidden gem, and I never get tired of it.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There are a few people who truly deserve recognition in my story.

First, I want to dedicate my shoutout to Katie Sheppard, who wrote a book called Lice Advice. That book was literally the foundation for the start of my company. When I began, everything out there was misinformation, people were being told to use over-the-counter products, that lice were living in your home, just so much confusion. Her book cut through all of that and gave me the knowledge and confidence I needed to get started. Years later, I actually had the opportunity to meet her in person at a lice convention, and it was such a beautiful moment to be able to walk up to her and share my journey, how we started with nothing and now have six locations and are still growing. That moment meant everything to me.

The second person is Margie Keys. She started out as a client and became the most generous donor to my nonprofit, Lice Free Forever Charity. Because of her generosity, I’ve been able to help hundreds and thousands of people who otherwise couldn’t afford treatment. She is one of the kindest, most encouraging people I’ve ever met, and we became true friends through this work. I am so blessed to have her in my corner.

And of course, I have to recognize my husband, Paul. He has been by my side through everything, through losing it all in the recession, through building this business from the ground up, and now he’s actually joined forces with me to help push us forward. We’ve been married 35 years, and his experience building a successful business prior means he truly understands how to grow something great and, most importantly, how to treat people right.

Website: https://www.myhairhelpers.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myhairhelpers

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-chinian-90697b22/

Image Credits
Kyle Shields