Probation Officer Turned Beauty Exec Empowers Women to Glow and Grow
goGLOW Chief Government Officer Melanie Richards learned the classes of resilience, tenacity and tricky function at an early age. Elevated by a single mom in the northern Minnesota city of Esko, Richards watched her teenage mother of two persevere, from welfare checks and meals stamps to college or university graduation and business enterprise possession. “She did not skip a conquer,” Richards says of her mom. “I feel so blessed to have witnessed her growth and achievement.”
Early in her occupation, Richards served as a Hennepin County probation officer and part of its Crisis Response Group. For additional than a decade, she worked tirelessly to alter how the felony justice system addressed victims of domestic violence. Passionate and devoted to building a distinction, Richards aided a great number of ladies get back on their ft and find the self esteem to reclaim their life.
“In some cases existence is really hard, and a simple beauty cure can assistance make factors a small easier.” Melanie Richards, CEO of goGLOW

Motivated by the transformation she observed in the ladies she served, she decided to pivot to elegance, a further marketplace wherever women’s empowerment is understood. Continuing her felony justice perform throughout the day, Richards set apart evenings and weekends to review skincare and entrepreneurship at the Aveda Institute. Although she was not sure of her actual route ahead, she remained dedicated to empowering ladies and supporting them experience very good about by themselves.
A Lightbulb Instant
As she prepared for her graduation celebration, Richards preferred to wander the phase wanting sunshine-kissed devoid of any genuine publicity to the sunlight. “In all those days, the only sunless tanning alternative was to get hosed down with a toxic, pretend-wanting spray. It was like a human car wash,” she laughs though bemoaning the acquainted orange hue of previous spray tans. At some point, Richards discovered a makeup artist to airbrush a tan on her entire human body. She beloved the way it looked but didn’t like the price tag tag.
She searched substantial and reduced for a value-effective, healthier alternate, only to notice that these a company didn’t exist. “I was identified to find, or in this case, invent a improved solution,” she states. Richards experimented with plant-dependent resources, creating a spray formulation that swapped substances for organic, plant-based mostly components. Then, she created a unique spraying approach that created the flawless tan she experienced been seeking.
After months of screening her product on good friends and spouse and children, term of her improved spray tan commenced to distribute. To meet up with the increasing demand from customers for her services, she designed a cell salon and named it goGLOW.
Given that then, goGLOW has continued to elevate the sunless spray tan to a specialist pores and skin care remedy. Via oxidation, Richards’ proprietary formulation provides a purely natural-looking tan without having the dangerous chemical substances.
An Empowering Opportunity
With a loyal clientele and glowing reviews (which includes the coveted Attract Journal Most effective of Magnificence award), the small business has developed to incorporate four salons, three in Minneapolis and a person in Chicago. Now, Richards is established to provide her self confidence-creating treatment to people throughout the region.
By providing franchising opportunities with a low barrier to entry and a very good return on financial commitment, she hopes to encourage folks to join her movement of instilling confidence in many others as a result of natural beauty. “Sometimes lifetime is difficult, and a uncomplicated magnificence treatment can aid make points a small simpler,” she states.