Following a five-year search for more sustainable and healthy hair care solutions, this month Cris Dios, cosmetologist and co-founder of Laces and Hair, recently launched Brazil’s first range of 100 percent natural hair colour solutions. As well as nourishing hair fibres without fading them, they are an excellent solution for people who suffer allergic reactions to products containing chemicals.
Last month at SB**’**16 Bangkok, Maria and I presented the Laces and Hair case study, and I recently had the chance to speak in depth with Cris about the importance of these new products, and how they are part of a more systemic solution within a wider ecosystem.
Laces and Hair is a beauty salon with four different locations in São Paulo, designed to be “an oasis in the hustle and bustle of the metropolis.” Each one is constructed with natural wood and brick and adorned with natural vegetation, and clients are welcomed with a table of organic dishes, fruits and cakes. Using sustainable technologies, such as water recycling, solar energy and natural sunlight for lighting, clients are able to relax and feel as if they are at home, rather than in a more artificial salon environment.
The ingredients of the company’s new natural hair dyes come from India, while the technical solutions came from the French cosmetic industry. Following her years of study and research, Cris was able to evolve the products further to create the new line, Coloração Vegetal LCS.
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The natural dyes not only colour, they also nourish the hair, and are important for the preservation and regeneration of damaged hair. Their properties do not change the structure of hair, they preserve the melanin; they respect the keratin of the hair, which helps with strengthening; they have a balanced pH; they do not fade with exposure to sun and washing, and they can be used by pregnant women, nursing mothers and people unable to use products with chemicals.
“I always had the great desire of being able to apply natural hair dyes, and now I am realising this dream, which is the essence of Laces and Hair,” she said.
The hair care philosophy of the salon is based on the idea of “slow beauty,” which follows in the footsteps of the slow food movement. The focus is not on creating a momentary hairstyle for when the client steps out of the salon, but in teaching clients how to care for their hair at home. For Cris, inner beauty reflects and impacts our outer beauty, and for this reason the salons also run regular meditation sessions.
The ability to offer this level of experience has come not just from Cris’ leadership, but from her family as well, starting with her grandfather, who came to Brazil from Spain in the 1920s. He was a greatly sought-after barber who was visionary for his time, developing his own natural shampoos and creams designed to help cure medical issues related to people’s hair and scalps, something which the medical profession at the time was not able to offer.
The experience of Laces and Hair is whole; its approach to beauty epitomises our concept of Customer Experiences with Soul. Its philosophy is lived fully not just by Cris, but by her family, the company’s investors, suppliers and manufacturing partners, and of course every team member in each salon. It is a wonderful example of activating purpose, a purpose that the company now is looking to extend to new cities in Brazil in the coming years.
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Published Nov 13, 2016 1pm EST / 10am PST / 6pm GMT / 7pm CET