History

Alex and Isabelle Hair Ties began as a fun family experiment: two moms who work as rehab therapists in Vermont wanted to teach their seven-year-old daughters, Alex and Isabelle, about making money and giving back. One summer break back in 2010, the mothers helped the girls create and sell pretty elastic hair ties with the goal of donating half the profits to a nearby children’s cancer foundation and using the other half for horseback-riding lessons.

To everyone’s pleasant surprise, the hair ties were a hit. The girls have been selling them ever since at local events, and their moms are now heading up retail sales to boutiques across the country. Better yet, the girls followed through with their pledge: at the end of their first summer, they made a $300 donation to the Connor B. Turnbaugh Foundation, where the company continues to donate a portion of its sales.

Philosophy

To create beautiful, comfortable hair ties that hold their shape and color.

Birchbox Extra

Hand-dyed in lovely colors, Alex and Isabelle’s heavy-duty elastics look like a pretty loop of grosgrain ribbon and create a put-together look you can wear all day — not just at the gym!