Building a business from scratch is never straightforward, but Only Curls founder Lizzie Carter proved that with creativity, passion and a clear sense of purpose, it is possible to turn a simple idea into something extraordinary.
What began at her kitchen table with a single microfibre towel has grown into a thriving business with a loyal community, a complete haircare system and national retail listings. Along the way, Lizzie has navigated rapid growth, regulatory hurdles and the realities of scaling, all while staying true to her mission: helping people embrace their natural curls.
Spotting the gap and starting small
“My background is fashion design,” says Lizzie. “I used to design bras, underwear and pyjamas, initially at smaller companies.”
Lizzie Carter, founder of OnlyCurls
A move to the US brought experience with major retailers such as Abercrombie and Nordstrom. “What I found being a designer in those big companies was that you had to be entrepreneurial. It’s all about looking at last year’s trends, shopping the market, seeing what’s out there, trying to fill gaps, trying to beat last year’s sales.”
That ability to spot gaps would become a core strength when building her own brand. By 2015, Lizzie had returned to the UK, ready to create something of her own with Hugo, her now husband. The spark came from a Shopify article about starting a business with one product. “I took that away and thought, ‘right, I need to simplify this.’”
The first product came from a personal need. Lizzie had been experimenting with ways to care for her naturally curly hair and remembered advice about using a special towel to reduce frizz.
“I was trying to find this product and it wasn’t available in England. So I decided I was going to start selling the towels myself and it all sparked from there.”
It was the right idea at the right time. For years, sleek, straight styles had dominated, leaving curls overlooked. Social media was beginning to change that, creating space for a new conversation about embracing natural texture. Only Curls tapped into that shift early, giving people both the tools and the confidence to love their curls.
Starting small kept risk low and learning high. “We set up a Shopify store that cost us about £100. We took pictures at home on our iPhone. I got a sample run of towels, sending them out to influencers.” That original product is still one of the brand’s best sellers.
Building a brand with purpose and community
At the heart of Only Curls was a clear mission: “It really is just about making people feel good about their naturally curly hair” explains Lizzie. That meant challenging old norms. “The trend has been sleek hair. Culture has made you feel that that is more professional, and I wanted Only Curls to change that.”
Customer service became a core growth engine. “We reply to every single DM, we reply to every single comment. We have always made customer service our number one priority.” In the early days, that was intensely hands-on: “I was answering over 200 curl care questions a day while trying to grow the business.” The first hire reflected those priorities: “Our first employee hire was a customer service manager who is still with us today.”
Community built credibility beyond social media. “Hairdressers are among our best advocates. We support their small businesses and, in turn, they’ve become powerful brand ambassadors.”
From towels to haircare and laying the foundations
Listening to customers revealed a bigger opportunity: a full routine that worked together. “I couldn’t find a single brand where all products worked for me. I liked certain products from some hair care lines, but I couldn’t find a full system.”
Lizzie built a brief around real-world use and found the right manufacturing partner. “Our manufacturer has been absolutely phenomenal. We still work with them today.” Timelines were realistic, not rushed: “From start to finish to our first delivery was probably just over a year.”
The foundations laid in 2018 have proven to be robust and proof from customers soon followed. “We’ve got something like 42,000 incredible reviews,” says Lizzie.
Operationally, this was also the point where Only Curls invested in the basics. “We put barcodes on our products when we launched the hair care line because we knew that long term we would need them if we were going to sell to retailers.”
Joining GS1 UK gave Only Curls the GTINs it needed to work with retailers and third-party logistics providers. “We knew that to be set up for success logistically we would need them.”
Scaling up and staying agile
From 2018 to early 2024, Only Curls was a purely D2C brand, building growth through community and performance marketing. Lockdown accelerated that growth as people embraced their natural curls. “People were searching for curly hair products and we were there to pick up those customers.”
The numbers tell the story: “we went from 5 to 9 million pounds in just one year. It was insane.” But Lizzie kept a grounded perspective. “Now we’re a normal business that’s continuing to grow steadily, and the fact that we’ve been able to diversify our revenue streams and achieve this without any external investment is actually incredible.”
As the brand grew, retail became the next logical step. “Boots landed in our inbox in 2024. We decided to go for it and we are now one of their top brands.”
That shift brought new complexity. “We used to know when people come and to our website and made a purchase. Now they’re buying in lots of different places. Going from a single-channel business where all our data was very clean to then being multi-channel has definitely been challenging.”
Amazon also became part of the mix. “It now generates about 10 per cent of our total sales. People were searching for us on there. We felt like we were doing all the work encouraging people to embrace their natural curls and then they’d go to Amazon, search for our products and if we weren’t there, they’d pick up something else.”
“Building a business over the past few years has not been without its challenges,” says Lizzie. "Last year to ensure profitability we had to put our prices up for the very first time. The product used to be £16, and we went up to £18.” The decision wasn’t taken lightly. “I always assumed our cost of goods would go down with volume, but they didn’t. Everything went up—raw materials, packaging, shipping, even national insurance. Then came new taxes like the recycling levy, which will cost us a lot each year. EPR is taking up so much of our time to navigate.”
Looking ahead
Lizzie’s long-term goal is clear: “my end goal is the US.” Nearer term, Europe is in motion: “We’re looking at distribution through Europe. We’re just about to go into a Spanish beauty store.”
Digital discovery keeps evolving: “We were early adopters on TikTok,” and the team is watching new buying journeys including AI very closely.
The focus remains pragmatic: “We’ve almost just been planning the year ahead. We can be quite reactive and that suits me.”
On leadership and structure, Lizzie is candid: “As the team gets bigger, for me personally, it’s a lot of people management. While I’m lucky to have a passionate and dedicated team, that management takes me away from the areas of the business that I love - like product development. Finding my place as a founder has been quite tricky this year.”
Top tips for fellow founders
Lizzie believes that perfectionism can hold people back. “Sometimes not being such a perfectionist and just going for it is the best thing you can do. You’d never start if everything was premium and elevated. Don’t compare yourself, just start.”
She also values a measured approach. “Going slower and steadier rather than aiming too high has worked in our favour.”
Finally, Lizzie stresses the importance of building a team early. “Recruit sooner. I always wait till I’m absolutely so stretched. I wish I’d brought in more help earlier on.”