Great hair is an essential need. Seriously. Before quarantines were lifted (and now that they’re being reinforced yet again), the question on many lips was “When can I see my hairdresser?” But has COVID-19 harmed the haircare industry? We decided to find out, and enlisted the expertise of some of the biggest names in the haircare industry: Frédéric Fekkai, Sally Hershberger and Harry Josh, who joined us to repercussions of the pandemic on their industry, how their brands are evolving and how they’re pivoting to accommodate the needs of celebrities and consumers alike.
FREDERIC FEKKAI
Photo Credit: Fekkai
Frédéric Fekkai, the Executive Chairman & Founder of his eponymous brand, rapidly rose through the beauty ranks since hitting the scene, becoming well known for his modern approach to cutting hair and luxurious salon experiences enjoyed by Hollywood’s elite, including Cindy Crawford, Madonna and more. Extending his vision beyond the salon, with a nod to prestige skincare, Frederic extended his luxury hair experience from his salon into clients’ homes with a product collection. From packaging and texture to fragrance, the products have always asserted “luxury cues” for a sensorial experience. Frederic’s most recent endeavor has been reclaiming his namesake brand with the launch of FEKKAI. The high-performance salon-tested collection includes fifteen new shampoos, conditioners, and treatments. Every bottle is made with 95% high-grade repurposed plastic and is 100% recyclable. Each product is free of parabens, sulfates, silicones, phthalates and 100% vegan and gluten-free.
KEY QUOTE
Photo Credit: Fekkai“The one thing that I learned is a very important to me is coming back. You know, I just bought my company back 20 months ago. And you know, I was going to run into this like anybody else. But one thing I knew is that I was not going to do the same thing as I did before. And to do a product, but a product that takes care of the people, makes people great, but also helps the planet, that was very important.”
SALLY HERSHBERGER
Photo Credit: Sally Hershberger
Known for her trendsetting vision and unmatched talent, Sally Hershberger is one of the most influential and sought-after hairstylists across the globe. Sally is a personal favorite of celebrities, photographers, designers and directors alike and travels coast-to-coast to meet the needs of her personal clients. She has had the privilege to work with photographers and celebrities including Herb Ritts, Steven Meisel, Annie Leibovitz, Helmut Newton, Patrick Demarchelier, Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman, Sandra Bullock, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Meg Ryan, Jimmy Fallon, Tom Cruise and beyond. Her salons in New York and California include: Sally Hershberger Hudson Yards, Sally Hershberger NoMad, Sally Hershberger Uptown, Sally Hershberger Los Angeles and newly launched Supreme Head Agency. Sally realized her goal of offering every woman the tools to recreate her coveted styles with the introduction of Sally Hershberger 24K wet goods and styling tools. Next up, the legendary hairstylist and entrepreneur will be launching a new concept as her solution to clients’ requests for more options when it comes to hair services in our ‘new normal’: Supreme Head Agency by Sally Hershberger, an alternative business model that will provide both additional work for the hairstylist community and offer services to those clients that may not want to step out for their beauty services just yet.
KEY QUOTE
Photo Credit: Sally Hershberger
“I had a very successful quarantine. I’d be oddly wasn’t plan. Nothing I do is very much plan. Because so many things are always changing, but Jimmy Fallon actually called me and he said, ‘I want you to do a virtual haircut on the show.’ So you know what I mean. I talk them through it. And so I brought all my stuff down we rushed it and then he got like tied up and then Miley Cyrus wrote on my Instagram. She just ruined her bangs. So then I guided her through a haircut, which is so hard. And then I did vote I did Lena Dunham for Vogue, and then it became like this thing that I was doing on people. I started doing a lot of virtual haircuts and there was a lot of buzz around that and a lot of conversation about how to open the salon, so I was literally doing press every single day, literally. I was the busiest I’ve been… it created something new and I’m doing a lot more from that.”
HARRY JOSH
Photo Credit: Harry Josh
Harry Josh knew by the age of 15 that he wanted to be in the world of fashion. In pursuit of that dream, he set out from his native Vancouver, Canada for New York City, where he quickly landed a position as a casting director for Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton. Throughout the decade that he worked as a casting director, Harry not only forged close relationships with models and fashion insiders thanks to his energetic personality, but also began acquiring hair clients within the industry when models requested his services. His unique process of coloring and skilled hand at cutting encouraged many of the top models as well as industry professionals to venture to his walk-up apartment for styling sessions. Harry cut and colored out of his home for lack of another place to do it, and word of mouth traveled all the way to Vogue—who gave him his big break in 2002. Before long, Harry made the art of hair his full-time job, tending to the tresses of famous faces like Gisele Bundchen, Rose Byrne, Kate Bosworth, Helena Christensen, Irina Shayk and Karlie Kloss and countless others. His range of hair tools are consistently considered to be must-haves by any stylist.
KEY QUOTE
Photo Credit: Harry Josh
“By creating products, we as hairdressers are serving people to making them feel good about themselves every, every day. So, whether it be if you feel bad about your frizzy hair or your flat hair or you’re not enough texture hair, that’s what we do. We create products that are going to make people feel good about themselves and empower themselves a lot and we all have experience. And I think that plays a big part in who we’re going to listen to going forward in this new code time, you know, any mean, I think we’re, we have had a wonderful time of having influencers grow and expand with, you know, real people trying real products. But I think the pendulum might just shift back into experts people that truly were at the front lines, if you will, of cutting hair styling, Hair understanding what women’s needs are. And I think that because as hairdressers we work on a multitude of people we really do have a different narrative and a different voice than maybe an influencer who might have 10 million followers, but she’s doing the products and looks on her one set of hair. So I do think we do value and bring value to them, as they do to their audiences as well. There’s room for everybody. And I‘m excited for us as hairdressers, to be able to dive into this coven and really empower women to take care of themselves and not rely you know so much on having to, you know, be high maintenance ladies.”
