Entrepreneurs make big splash in the beauty industry

TAMPA, Fla. - Go to any nail salon, and you'll most likely find the brand known by three letters: OPI.

"OPI has been recognized for its high standards, durable polishes", said Chic Image Lounge owner Liz Galdamez

Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, a Hungarian immigrant, co-founded OPI 40 years ago in California. She said what's made the product so sustainable is something used in the dental industry. 

"We saw all these artificial nail extensions that salons were doing all over in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles using dental acrylics. It was easy to work with, the setting time was perfect for shaping the nail," she said.

The name originated from a small dental supply company, Odontorium Products Inc.

"So we said okay we'll take the first three letters, OPI", said Weiss-Fischmann. 

Each polish has its own tongue-in-cheek name like "Mad About You," "Funny Bunny" and "Don't Bossa Nova Me Around."

"We wanted to make it personal. Nail color personal to women to make it fun, sexy, aspirational," said Weiss-Fischmann.

And what OPI has been for nails, the Invisibobble has been for hair. It's different from the typical hair tie, and It resembles a phone cord.

Co-Founder Sophie Trelles-Tvede said there's good reason for that. She said she got the inspiration in college when she used a telephone cord to tie up her hair as part of an outfit for a bad taste party.

"It left significantly less of a mark than a tiny regular hair tie would have," she said. "I've always gotten migraines when I put my hair up. The tension. My scalp was just really susceptible to tension."

"Because they are in a spiral they are able to grip without having to put a lot of tension on the hair and regular hair ties you have to use tension to hold the hair," explained Tiffany Lambert, Chic Image Lounge cosmetologist.

Like the OPI nail polishes, Trelles-Tvede wanted a creative name for her product.

"My friends they kept calling hair ties "hair bobbles," and I thought this word was really funny and cute somehow," said Trelles-Tvede. "I thought okay if I add the word invisible the idea of that is that you put the product in your hair, you then take it out and because it doesn't leave a mark."

"They are good for all hair types. They can handle thin hair all the way to thick hair. They're good for hair extensions," said Lambert.

They're products that continue to stand the test of time.