Mindy Hobley

Founder | Ringletts Salon
Co-founder | Useau Haircare
Profiled: May 2015

⏮ REWIND

The cover feature for the May 2015 issue highlighted the journeys of seven area “Mompreneurs” — entrepreneurs that were juggling the demands of business and motherhood.

Among those highlighted was Mindy Hobley, owner of Ringletts, New Orleans’ largest multicultural hair salon. Founded in Lakeview in 2005 (just five months before Hurricane Katrina), the salon took on 10 feet of water. In 2008, Hobley reopened with a 1,700-square-foot salon that included 14 stylists and one esthetician. Among the salon’s stylists was Hobley’s 20-year-old daughter, Morgan.

“She’s the reason I do everything,” Hobley said. “If I make this work, I will have this legacy to leave to her.”

At the time of the interview, Hobley was looking forward to opening a salon inside the Hilton Riverside Downtown hotel.

⏭ FAST-FORWARD

Hobley will celebrate 10 years at Ringletts Salon at the Hilton Riverside Downtown next year. Looking back, she said the opportunity was a dream come true that came together through a mix of courage and patience.

“One day I was at the Hilton’s gym working out (my husband is a trainer there) and I went upstairs to go to the deck and saw it was a salon,” she said. “I thought that it would be so incredible to work in a spot like that. It gave me butterflies — the idea of being able to see people all over the world, with all the vast textures of hair.”

Hobley talked to her husband about her idea and it wasn’t long before the hotel’s general manager came in to get his hair cut.

“I talked to him about my idea, and he said, ‘Maybe one day,’” she said. “Two years later, the salon owner retired and I jumped at the chance.”

Ringletts Salon now operates out of about a 1,000-square-foot glassed-in enclosure with a vibe Hobley describes as urban industrial. Besides Hobley, the salon has five stylists, one of which she’s happy to report, is still her daughter, Morgan, who is also Hobley’s business partner.

“We see clients from all over the world,” she said. “A few years ago, a lady from Australia brought her curly-haired daughter in. It turns out her daughter had been following Morgan on social media and she was a huge fan of her work. It’s astonishing. I feel like the world is so small now.”

Hobley has also expanded her business with her own hair care line, Useau, which she developed during the pandemic with the help of government funding.

“I’ve been doing hair since 1987, so I’ve used every product out there. Over the years, I’ve come up with what I really wanted in a perfect line, and when the shutdown hit, I decided to go for it.”

Hobley found a chemist to help her develop a plant-based, cruelty-free hair-care line that uses clean ingredients designed specifically for curly hair. She currently has four products; an oil, wash, conditioner and hair glaze, that are all produced and bottled at her home. She also sells her own branded hair picks, hair wraps and a “hair wellness cap” — a satin lined baseball cap with a large back opening for curls.

“Sales are going great,” she said. “I can’t keep our hair-care line on the shelves. We’re really starting to build a brand.”