Each morning, Sophie Leah looked in the mirror and saw an unrecognisable reflection staring back at her.
She’d been taking strong medication to cure her acne, but it had come at a cost.
The prescription had left Sophie’s hair in terrible condition; stringy, thin and utterly untamable.
No matter what formula or shampoo she tried, nothing seemed to fix it.
One day, utterly out of options, Sophie decided to take action herself and created her own concoction.
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She did some digging around in the cupboards and found a few different ingredients that could potentially help, throwing some coconut oil into the mix for good measure.
Amazingly, it worked a treat.
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After a number of uses, Sophie realised her hair was starting to look better than it ever did before.
Sophie showed the results to her partner – who was equally impressed – and the pair came up with an idea. Maybe they could share this formula with others and make a business out of it.
They called their creation ‘Hola Coco’; setting up a social media account and encouraging friends to spread the word.
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Within months, momentum had gathered and the item was picked up by the tabloid press – being featured in the Daily Mail and on various beauty blogs around the UK.
What began life as a humble Instagram page has since blossomed into a popular brand, with their flagship product – the Coconut Oil Hair Mask – being lauded by customers as one of the best contemporary solutions on the styling market for dry or damaged hair.
Containing Coconut Oil and Shea Butter (which are said to have extreme hair nourishing qualities) the mask works by penetrating hair follicles, adding intense softness and silky shine.
The solution is left in for around 15 – 20 minutes (or longer) before rinsing – and is suitable for all hair types. It can also be left on overnight for an intense reparative treatment and shampooed off in the morning.
Hola Coco is also 100% vegan and ‘cruelty-free’ – packaged in recyclable 500ml containers sold at £29.99 a pop (lasting customers 100% longer than comparative products).
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The hair mask is stocked in several salons across the UK and Ireland and stockists have been recommending it as an at-home treatment to keep their client’s hair healthy while hairdressers have been closed during lockdown.
The look of the brand is fresh and exotic, but what’s catapulted Hola Coco into successful territory is the fact the product promises results. They are so sure customers will love their coco-creation that they offer a 30-day money back guarantee.
The success of the Coconut Oil Hair Mask has given owners the capacity to widen their product range.
Additions include the Bamboo Wide Tooth Comb – described as “working perfectly alongside the hair mask distributing it from root to tip” – and the Hola Coco Microfiber Hair Towel – which is outlined as being “extremely gentle on hair and super absorbent”.
The couple behind the brand claim there are “definitely more products in the pipeline,” in the months ahead.
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But for now, Hola Coco is committed to turning their little Manchester brand into a household name.
Music charity launches exclusive giveaway after naming Liam Gallagher as newest ambassador
Danny Jones
A local grassroots music charity is holding a special giveaway of exclusive Oasis x adidas Originals merch to celebrate Liam Gallagher becoming their latest ambassador.
The legendary British frontman and global rock icon is no stranger to teaming up with charities, but this latest project is seeing him focus on his hometown and the Manc music scene more than ever.
Brighter Sound, who are based right here in Manchester city centre, announced the one and only Liam Gallagher as their latest collaborator on Monday, 1 June, but that’s not all.
As mentioned above, they’re also holding a prize draw to raise funds for the cause, with some special kicks up for grabs – and they’re a model that became collectors’ items almost instantly.
The local music development organisation, which has been helping support young artists and aspiring creatives for more than two and a half decades at this point, revealed Liam would be teaming up not only to help promote fellow Mancunians in and around the music industry.
But there’s still much more to it than that.
With this special fundraising initiative also on the table – as are a limited edition pair of his sold-out adidas Achille SPZL trainers (including the extremely rare and highly sought-after Japanese-exclusive version) as part of the giveaway – this marks a commitment to supporting up-and-coming talent.
All proceeds from the charitable prize draw will go towards a crucial pot of money that will then go directly towards backing rising musicians across the region.
In case you haven’t seen the shoes in question, both Liam and his elder sibling Noel teamed up with adidas Originals during the Oasis Live ’25 merch boom and reunion tour phenomenon as a whole, each creating their own special ‘Spezial’ design. You can see more of them down below.
They obviously flew off the shelves rather quickly.
Speaking in an official statement, the 53-year-old said of the fresh partnership: “I’m honoured to be an Ambassador for Brighter Sound and support the new generation of creatives launch their music projects. We need more help for the arts, especially for the working class.”
Getting to work in and around his native territory across Greater Manchester will no doubt be an added bonus for the Burnage-born Gallagher brother.
As for Brighter Sound, the organisation’s director, Kate Lowes, added: “It’s a real honour to be working with Liam and his team on this special prize draw, and to welcome him as an ambassador for Brighter Sound. Manchester is an incredible place for music – and Liam and Oasis are a huge part of that story.
“This partnership reflects a shared commitment to making sure that more amazing talent continues to grow from the city and find its place on the world stage.”
For anyone looking to enter the prize draw and help support Brighter Sound’s work across Greater Manchester, you can do so right HERE.
Featured Images — Brighter Sound (supplied)/Jonnysmirth (via Wikimedia Commons)
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Manchester United reportedly set to release first-ever fourth kit for 2026/27 season
Danny Jones
In what will be a club-first, it’s being claimed that Manchester United will be releasing a fourth kit for the 2026/27 campaign.
And no, we don’t mean a special one-off pre-match jersey or training shirt; this will be an additional alternative Man United strip to be worn in games next season.
With the current term set to conclude in just a couple of games’ time, and the Red Devils having now secured a return to the Champions League, they’re marking their comeback with their inaugural fourth kit – one for each of the competitions they will be playing in this year.
Football clubs often rotate between two or even three kits, but it’s not all that often that you see a side springing for another one.
💣💣💣 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆: Adidas to Release First-Ever Manchester United 4th Kit in 26-27: https://t.co/xDJa8inmPG
As broken by reliable football fashion source, Footy Headlines, while there isn’t much information around what the kit will look like, or even what the colour will be just yet, it is believed it will be a variation on the classic trio of red, white and black used for home shirts, shorts and socks.
Historically, most teams that have opted to take on an extra kit usually do so when competing in more tournaments than most terms – such as Manchester City in the most recent Club World Cup – for special anniversary matches, milestone derbies, cup-ties or some kind of limited-edition collaboration.
However, according to the online outlet, this fourth kit will be match-worn at some point in 2026/27, though we are yet to get a clear timeline.
Meanwhile, posters for the new MUFC home shirt are currently going up outside Old Trafford.
Footy Headlines state that the launch is expected in early next year, rather than for the start of 26/27, and many supporters are already speculating that it will be worn primarily for European/cup fixtures.
Shirts like these are always likely to become collectors’ items, and it goes without saying that, besides being a helpful rotation when it comes to potential kit clashes, this will no doubt serve as yet another money spinner for both them and Adidas.
United’s current deal with the German kit manufacturers runs until 2035, and if this proves to be a popular addition to their sportswear lineup and the ever-growing ‘casual culture’ among fans, we wouldn’t be surprised if you see even more fourth shirts coming out of Manchester in the future.
Speaking of footy kits, for those who haven’t seen it already, he’s a close-up look at the aforementioned Manchester United home strip for next season.
The Manc -
21st April 2021 
