- 3 minutes ago
First business. First big move. First time on the Beautycon stage.
Alopecia advocate and Baldie Bean Beauty founder Chloe Bean joins Lauren Ashley Beck at Beautycon 2026 for a live wig installation and an honest conversation about confidence, entrepreneurship and betting on yourself through every first.
Chloe opens up about her journey with alopecia, moving to Los Angeles, building Baldie Bean Beauty with her customer in mind, and learning to choose confidence even when stepping into something new.
From turning her personal experience into a business to creating products for a community she knows firsthand, Chloe shares what it looks like to build something of your own—and trust yourself along the way.
This conversation was presented in partnership with First Response.
Learn more about First Response:
First Response
ABOUT REFINERY29: Refinery29 is a modern woman’s destination for how to live a stylish, well-rounded life.
Alopecia advocate and Baldie Bean Beauty founder Chloe Bean joins Lauren Ashley Beck at Beautycon 2026 for a live wig installation and an honest conversation about confidence, entrepreneurship and betting on yourself through every first.
Chloe opens up about her journey with alopecia, moving to Los Angeles, building Baldie Bean Beauty with her customer in mind, and learning to choose confidence even when stepping into something new.
From turning her personal experience into a business to creating products for a community she knows firsthand, Chloe shares what it looks like to build something of your own—and trust yourself along the way.
This conversation was presented in partnership with First Response.
Learn more about First Response:
First Response
ABOUT REFINERY29: Refinery29 is a modern woman’s destination for how to live a stylish, well-rounded life.
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:03How are you guys doing today? Happy Saturday. I'm Lauren Ashley Beck, and I want to welcome
00:07you guys to a conversation called First Things First, Bet on Yourself with Miss Chloe Bean.
00:13This conversation is going to be all about putting yourself first. Whose first beauty
00:18con is it? Okay, I see you guys. Welcome, welcome. It is my absolute honor to introduce
00:25someone who literally inspires me on the daily through her honesty and her authenticity.
00:30She's built a community where people feel celebrated and seen and heard and empowered,
00:35myself included. She's a visionary. She's an entrepreneur and literally the definition
00:40of a girl boss. The founder of Baldi Bean, beauty con, please welcome Miss Chloe Bean.
00:53Hello, hello. Say hello to your audience. Hi. All right, you guys, so Chloe's gonna walk
01:00us through her business, Baldi Bean, and she's going to be applying a wig while we get to
01:05know about her story a little bit, okay? You ready, Chloe? Yeah, this is the first time
01:10I am installing a wig live with you guys, so bear with me. But this conversation is all
01:14about first, so what better time to do it than now? This is actually my first time moderating
01:18a panel, so we're in this together, sister. Describe who you are, your story, and how you
01:24got here. All right, hi, guys. My name is Chloe Bean. I am 27 years old from Midland, Michigan.
01:32Do you guys know where Midland, Michigan is? It is tiny, like with a population of 42,000 people,
01:39okay? I have a twin brother who took all the hair from me. I'm a beauty creator. I have
01:47been bald three times and diagnosed with alopecia at the age of eight. So can we throw to your
01:52first wig, Miss Chloe Bean? I know we have it on the stage up here. Okay, you guys, I got
01:57my first wig when I was eight years old, and it was an awful experience. It's right here.
02:06This was, this was very long on me. This is as good of a wig as you could have got
02:09back
02:10in the day. She's shedding a little bit, but that's okay. She's had it for a minute.
02:14When you first shared your experiences, Chloe, about being bald, what was the, or having alopecia
02:19and having to go bald, what was the response?
02:23So the reason I, I first shared my story in high school, because as you guys know, I'm from
02:29Michigan and no one was bald there. No one knew anything. So I kind of shared it for
02:34me as validation and like just trying to cope with the fact that I'm bald and to let people
02:40know. And then from there, I started sharing more stories and I posted a montage of myself
02:48on TikTok. And that is what blew up. I think today I was like 36 million views. Yeah. And
02:55then from that, I realized there's like a bigger community that I didn't even know existed.
03:02Tell us a little bit about what you're doing too right now, Chloe.
03:05You guys, talking and installing a wig with glue is not that easy, but I'm going to spray
03:11now.
03:13So she's attaching the girly on. For all my non-wig girlies out there, we got to keep
03:17it on. So she's adding the adhesive. So you said the response was crazy. 36 million views.
03:22When did you realize that like, okay, I really can't help people out there that are just like
03:26me that have alopecia?
03:29So honestly, you guys, I forgot to mention. The reason I'm here, I'd have to say, is from
03:35a ton of firsts. The first time I went bald, the first time shaving my head, the first time
03:41I posted myself on the internet bald. And the response, I mean, honestly, in the small town
03:48of Michigan, I was terrified of what people were going to say, but obviously the response
03:56was amazing, you know?
03:57Yeah. Yeah. Let's talk about Baldy Bean and just bringing that to the public. Were there
04:03any fears going into that? Like, what are people going to think?
04:06Baldy Bean Beauty?
04:07Yes.
04:07Okay. So I have to give credit where credit is due. My partner at the time, he owned a company
04:15and he is the one that saw me struggle with things that I didn't even know could be like
04:22a business from it. And he was like, you know, if you're struggling with this, there's a ton
04:26of other people that are also struggling with it as well. So he had the entrepreneurial side
04:32and I, as the consumer, lived with it personally.
04:37Yeah.
04:37Yeah.
04:38So you could speak from experience.
04:39Yeah.
04:39Love that. What does prioritizing yourself look like in your life? Chloe, maybe then when
04:45you first started, because I know starting a business, even pressing play on a TikTok
04:48to show the world who you are, like, what does it look like to prioritize yourself in those
04:52moments and now?
04:54I'd have to say self-doubt is a big thing. And so I try to always move my body, stay
05:02focused. And I don't know, what would you tell me?
05:07Prioritizing yourself.
05:08I mean, I need to really work on that. Like I moved to LA for the first time. It's not
05:12been an easy transition.
05:14Yeah.
05:15Yeah. I mean, I think that's fair and I think that's very relatable. That's a lot of people's
05:18stories. You know, we just kind of go through it. What would you say to a woman who feels
05:22like she's behind because her life isn't happening in the order that she imagined?
05:28That's a good one. And I think a lot of people, this kind of comes with self-doubt. A lot
05:34of
05:34people compare themselves to other people's timelines. But the thing is, you can't compare
05:39your chapter one to someone's like chapter 27. Like you have, your timeline is unique.
05:47You literally, you guys are unique. And you're on this earth as yourself. So anything you do,
05:53it's for the first time. No one's done it before.
05:56Yeah. I think in this day and age, we're so exposed to everyone else's life that we forget
06:00that it is okay to have first and to put ourselves first and experience things in our own timeline.
06:06What's something you thought you would have figured out by now that you're still figuring
06:10out?
06:10Wig is on, by the way, you guys.
06:12The wig is on.
06:13Amazing. You want to go over here?
06:14Snatched. Let me pull it a little bit. It's good.
06:16It's snatched.
06:16Oh yeah, you can pull it in everything. But so something I have to-
06:23Can I say everything?
06:25You can say everything. That's fine. That's real.
06:28Honestly, I'd have to say self-discipline.
06:32Here, go over here.
06:33Yeah, let's sit down. Let's have a little seat.
06:37Self-discipline. Let me tell you, I thought-
06:39Oh, here, here, here.
06:40Skirt's a little short.
06:40I don't know the sign.
06:41I thought owning a company meant freedom, which it does.
06:45But the thing is, it also means you have to do the hard thing that you don't want to do
06:51at 9 p.m. when no one's watching.
06:53Yeah, have a seat.
06:55So what does building a business actually look like?
06:58Because I know we talk about girl bosses, and it just seems very easy.
07:02You show up online.
07:02But what does a business, what does a day in the life of Chloe Bean look like running
07:06Baldy Bean Beauty?
07:07So it's actually just me and my mom.
07:10But when we first started, my partner at the time, we, so I sell eyebrow products, the eyebrows
07:16I'm wearing.
07:17I have no hair, you guys.
07:18Alopecia, you know, Rosales.
07:20I have wigs, eyebrows, temporary lower lash tattoos.
07:24And my partner at the time and I were literally, we bought a printer.
07:28And we were trying to print out the design of eyebrows.
07:32And it wouldn't work.
07:33So we figured out that we need manufacturers and everything.
07:37So yeah, it starts with that.
07:38Yeah.
07:39And then day in the life of Chloe Bean.
07:40What are you doing?
07:41So a day in the life, you guys.
07:43First time I'm in L.A. living here.
07:46I'd have to say I'm still getting, you know, used to a routine here.
07:49Sure.
07:50It's definitely crazy here.
07:52I don't know.
07:52What do you guys think?
07:54It's hard to have a routine.
07:56Yeah.
07:56Self-care is important, though.
07:57Yeah.
07:57How has your definition of success changed as you've gone along and built your brand?
08:02I know you said you started it with an X.
08:03Now you're self-made, doing it by yourself.
08:06What is that like?
08:08It's pretty amazing.
08:10I had to, so I'm no longer with that partner.
08:12I had to learn how to do literally everything that I didn't go to school for.
08:17Like, I wanted to be my dream job, if you guys really want to know.
08:20I wanted to be a pop star singer.
08:23Can I sing?
08:24No.
08:25Like, first concert, Hannah Montana.
08:28Yeah.
08:29But, um...
08:30You got the wigs.
08:30Yeah.
08:31I want to say, like, it changed with confidence because I thought confidence was something you had to, like, achieve
08:39and then you just had at a point.
08:41But actually, it's like, to me, confidence is, like, choosing it every single day.
08:45Yeah.
08:46Like, I love being bald.
08:48I love wigs.
08:50I love makeup.
08:51But that doesn't mean I don't, like, no one is better than the other.
08:54Sure.
08:55And I get to choose who I want, and I think that's a beautiful thing.
08:58Are there any, like, mantras or things that you say to yourself to sort of build yourself up?
09:02I know we touched on it a little bit, and we said that comparison is the thief of joy.
09:06But have you ever gotten caught up comparing yourself to others?
09:08And how do you overcome that?
09:10And then also, what advice would you share with somebody that's trying to overcome something like that?
09:14Have I compared myself to others?
09:16I am a woman with a phone, absolutely.
09:19Absolutely.
09:21I mean, literally, you go on your phone in five minutes.
09:24You're comparing yourself.
09:25You look online, you're like, oh, this person has more followers than me.
09:28This person is way more prettier than me.
09:31Like, I think it's something that I'm still learning with, but, like, I'm learning how to catch myself and stop
09:38comparing because, I mean.
09:42Thief of joy.
09:43Yeah.
09:44Yeah.
09:45What's one mistake that you see aspiring entrepreneurs make?
09:50Ooh, self-doubt, self-doubt.
09:53And I say that because people think you need to be ready for something, but you're never going to be
10:01ready, like, exactly when you want to.
10:03And I've experienced that myself.
10:05I've, like, waited, delayed, but you just have to do it.
10:09And, like, all of my firsts that I've been terrified of, like, everything good comes out on the other side.
10:14Let's talk about some of those firsts, Chloe Bean.
10:17What's a first that you've experienced this year that you were like, oh, my gosh, I'm so scared to do
10:22this.
10:22And then you did it and everything was fine.
10:23Oh, does this have to be about my business and everything?
10:27No, no, it can be real life, yeah.
10:29I'd have moving to L.A. with my boyfriend and then no longer having the boyfriend and him going back
10:38to Miami.
10:38That's a first.
10:39Yeah.
10:40Yeah.
10:40Yeah, and how do you go through something like that while still holding a business and still having to be
10:44Chloe Bean and, like, be amazing?
10:46Yeah, it's been a hard transition.
10:47I'll tell you that.
10:48Yeah.
10:50What's the next big move that you want to make, Mrs. Chloe Bean?
10:53What do you want to do?
10:53Where do you want to take Baldy Bean Beauty?
10:56I want to, so I'm kind of in the process of, like, evolving my company.
11:01Okay.
11:02I want to take it to the next level of, like, the Baldies who doesn't even know Baldy Bean exists.
11:08Okay.
11:08So I want to put it in more people's hands.
11:11I want to, like, expand my products as well.
11:15Yeah.
11:16Eyelashes next.
11:17Okay.
11:18Brows, too, maybe?
11:19Girl, that's my product.
11:22Yeah.
11:22Yeah.
11:23If you were to tell Chloe that was first moving to L.A., first starting out her business anything, what
11:31would you tell her?
11:31I would have to say it's going to be a roller coaster and hang in there because it will get
11:40better.
11:41It's going to get better.
11:41Yeah.
11:42It's going to get better.
11:42Yeah.
11:43All right.
11:43So we want to open it up to audience questions for Miss Chloe.
11:47If there's anyone in the audience that wants to ask something, I'd love for you guys to hop on that
11:52mic.
11:52We've got this beautiful queen right here with a mic.
11:54She's ready for y'all to ask a question if you have one.
11:57Come on, guys.
11:57Please.
11:58Don't be shy.
12:01Okay.
12:03I'll never shut up.
12:04Okay.
12:05Yes.
12:05We love a yapper.
12:06So my question to you is, what was the hardest thing to overcome in your career?
12:12That's a really great question.
12:15The hardest thing I had to overcome in my career is fully believing in myself because I think back at
12:23the eight-year-old me who did everything to hide her alopecia, her baldness.
12:28I would wear wigs, headbands.
12:31I tried to cover it up.
12:32So I think you have to fully, you have to bet on yourself.
12:36I mean, you have to believe in yourself.
12:37And from there, good things will happen.
12:42It's true.
12:43Did I answer that?
12:45That was beautiful.
12:45Who's next?
12:46Go, go, go.
12:49Hey, Chloe Bean.
12:50Hi.
12:51Do you have a favorite wig?
12:54Ooh.
12:54Okay, okay, wait.
12:55I just, okay.
12:56So over here, they're backwards.
12:59It's okay.
13:01This is my, wait, no.
13:03This is my second ever wig I ever got in high school.
13:08But I think my favorite one, I got this one customized and everything to look like my old hair.
13:13This one, however, this one I wore so much that she is literally starting to get bald spots.
13:20Do you guys see that?
13:21Like, learn from me.
13:22I thought it would be a great idea to put extensions and wigs.
13:25It's not, you know.
13:27But I'd have to say this is my favorite wig.
13:29Through and through.
13:30She's a little busted right now.
13:31Does she have a name?
13:33What's her name?
13:34Her name is ASU because I went to Arizona State University.
13:39So, yeah.
13:40Love that.
13:43All right.
13:44Hello, hello.
13:46You obviously have a very thriving career.
13:48I'm right here.
13:49Oh, hi.
13:50You obviously have a very thriving career.
13:52But if this social media to brand navigation never happened, do you believe that you will be dealing with alopecia
13:59the same way?
14:00Wait, say the last time.
14:02Do you believe that you would be dealing with alopecia the same way?
14:05Do I believe I'd look at alopecia?
14:07You would be dealing with it in the same way.
14:09Navigating it the same way.
14:10Oh, okay.
14:11So, I forgot to totally mention to you guys, I've been bald three times in my life because I tried
14:18to do everything to get it back.
14:20Like, do I miss having hair sometimes?
14:23Yes.
14:24But I feel like without social media, I always knew I wanted to help people.
14:31I went to school for exercise and wellness and biological sciences.
14:36Did I want to be in the health field?
14:38No.
14:39I don't even like a hospital, but I knew I wanted to help people.
14:42And it just happened to align in the way that I never thought it would.
14:49Oh, we have another question.
14:53Hi.
14:54So, we're talking about wigs, but do you want to share your scalp care?
14:58Ooh.
14:59Oh, okay.
15:00You guys, I have not, I'm growing my hair, my hair is growing back somehow.
15:05Don't know how.
15:06I have not had hair since I was 21.
15:09But my scalp care, I'd have to say, like, if you guys have an exfoliation cream in your shower for
15:16the body, I do put on my scalp.
15:19And, I mean, it's not that tedious or anything, but, like, anything, like, my skin care I do to my
15:26face, I'm just, like, also on my scalp, so.
15:34Anybody else?
15:35It says zero.
15:36Yeah.
15:37Okay.
15:37Well, it looks like that's time.
15:39Thank you so much to everyone that asked questions.
15:41Let's give a loud round of applause for the amazing Chloe Bean.
15:44And I hope you guys have a wonderful BeautyCon.
15:46Thank you so much for joining.
Comments