From Stylist to CEO: How Cari Eggen Launched a Multi-Million Dollar Hair Extensions Brand
By Nathan Davis
In the highly competitive world of luxury hair and beauty products, it seems new brands are popping up daily to try and cash in. Hair extensions have become wildly popular in the past decade, worn by just about every celebrity, and featured as a best-selling product for salons and stylists globally. And despite a sputtering economy, the hair and beauty industry is showing no signs of slowing down. According to Fortune Business Insights, the global human hair extension market was valued at just over $4 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow to $7.90 billion by 2030. However, there is one company in particular that is showing its ability to stand the test of time by topping the hair extensions industry year after year: Bombshell Extension Co.
For Cari Eggen, founder and CEO of Bombshell Extensions, building the company has been a labor of love. Eggen spent years working as a stylist at the sought-after Salon Bellagio on the Las Vegas Strip, and it was there that she first had the idea to create her own line of luxury hair extensions. “While working behind the chair with high-end clients, I noticed a hole and, therefore an opportunity in the hair extensions market,” Cari says. “I knew what I needed as a stylist, I knew what my clients wanted for their looks, and I always had a hard time finding consistent quality hair extensions.”
So in 2009, Eggen founded Bombshell Extension Co. to fill that gap in the hair extensions space. While it took countless hours and years of research to build the company into the industry leader it is today, Eggen began to make a name for Bombshell Extensions with the release of its signature, best-selling product: the Bombshell Weft. Hair extensions traditionally come in a variety of different methods, such as hand-tied wefts, clip-in, tape-in, or halo hair extensions, to name only a few. The Bombshell weft is unique as a hybrid weft of hand-tied wefts and machine weft, that requires no tape, glue, or heat for application. The Bombshell Wefts are used by stylists to add fullness and length to their client’s hair, all while blending seamlessly with natural hair and texture.
Hair extensions are a great option for clients who have thin hair that are looking to add volume, short hair that needs to be transitioned to an instantly longer look, or simply for those who are looking to mix up their hairstyle without the long-term commitment of a drastic change. Bombshell Extension Co. has made its name by simplifying the selection process and educating its stylists on how to provide the best results for clients and customers alike.
“We built our business on the belief that consistency in the hair extensions is the key differentiator in terms of quality,” says Eggen from Bombshell’s warehouse headquarters in Utah. “I want to make sure that our stylists and customers continue counting on us because they know they’re getting the best quality batches of hair extensions in the industry.” While the hair extensions market has become highly competitive online, Bombshell Extensions Co. has managed to separate itself from the pack by offering a wide-ranging variety of methods in an extensive color collection that allows salons, stylists, and consumers to find a comfortable and natural-looking hairstyle for any occasion.
In addition to providing best in class hair extensions, Bombshell Extensions Co. offers hands-on certification opportunities for professionals in order to best educate on how to use Bombshell Extensions. Using their high-grade hair extensions, Bombshell conducts education courses from Bombshell Educators with over a decade of experience using their top-tier selection of products. Bombshell Education guides its “Bombshell Babes” in methods of installation that have been refined over the brand’s years of experience in various types of extensions and performance. The company’s education program conducts itself under the mantra that declared it “values healthy hair in conjunction with extensions, and the values that hair extensions do not and should not have to damage a client’s hair in order to look amazing.”
Moving forward, Eggen says she has high hopes for Bombshell Extensions to continue innovating in the hair extensions space and providing luxury products for its worldwide network of salons and stylists.
“We started Bombshell with luxury standards in mind, and that’s something we’ll continue to ensure we deliver year after year,” says Cari when asked about Bombshell’s plans for the future.
With its roots in the luxury hair world and a reputation among salons and stylists for creating “Insta-famous” luxury hair extensions, Bombshell Extensions Co. has gone from a startup operation to an 8-figure empire that is making waves in the luxury hair and beauty industry.
