Hairstory was founded in 2015 when co-founder Jackie Bauer was fed up with her decades-long struggle with scalp psoriasis. Faced with the condition since childhood, Jackie tried everything to remedy it, from special shampoos to steroids, but nothing worked well or for long. Her situation was further exacerbated as she developed her career in haircare, and constantly struggled with flakes and dryness. Upon discovering that detergents in shampoos are irritants that contribute to the severity of scalp struggles, Jackie tested one formula after another until she found a fix—and the Hairstory New Wash was born. From this original innovation, Hairstory has grown to offer additional cleansing creams and styling products that adhere to the brand's mission of creating a small, but mighty, range of quality products that keep the hair and scalp healthy. Hairstory is unlike any other haircare range, with each product specifically developed to work with the microbiome of the hair and scalp, rather than against it. The brand marks a new category of haircare and a huge step toward beauty that is clean, sustainable, and embraces the body instead of attempting to alter it.
Founder: Eli Halliwell, Michael Gordon, Mauricio Bellora, Jackie Bauer
Founded: 2015
Leadership:
2023 Full Year Expected Revenue Range: $30 to $50MM (estimated by industry experts)
Categories: Haircare, Salon Services
Distribution Channel: DTC, Professional
Funding Rounds: Private Equity
Total Funds Raised: $24.3MM
In October 2021, Hairstory has took its first investment, selling a minority stake to growth equity firm Summit Partners
Notable Investors: Summit Partners
Notable Advisors / Board Members:
What are some of your key business initiatives for 2023?
Since launching in 2015, Hairstory has grown rapidly, so it was necessary to take a step back and make company-wide education our top priority in 2022. New Wash is the new way to wash hair, meaning that a new routine and behavior must be taught. We’ve done a lot of work to identify our Hairstory persona and align on new brand messaging. This initiative included reevaluating who we are and what we stand for since launch. Then, we identified what this looks like for consumers, stylists, and employees, so that we could position the brand strategically across each platform.
While 2023 will likely be a challenging economic climate, we put in the work this past year to be well-positioned to appeal to new customers and champion our existing loyal base. Plus, we’re significantly investing in evolving our unique Hairdresser sales program. We will continue to rapidly expand our hairdresser network and a major element of this is to help them grow their personal brands on social media. Finally, our new product launches this year pair perfectly with New Wash and will further differentiate Hairstory as a disruptor in the market.
What are you most proud of having accomplished?
At Hairstory, we’ve built a business by introducing a new category that rethinks everything about hair, from how people wash and care for their hair to how hairdressers retail to their clients. We are redefining what it means to be a truly sustainable business in the context of an ever-changing political, social, and economic environment. Hairstory has been an environmentally conscious company from day one—with clean ingredients and regular donations to environmental organizations. We’ve also transitioned away from plastic bottles and are soon to become the first beauty company to switch entirely to recyclable refill pouches, saving over 91% of plastic consumption.
What has been the biggest surprise since the brand was founded?
Since the brand launch in 2015, the biggest surprise has been how truly needed New Wash was. Founded on the need to address scalp psoriasis by offering a detergent-free alternative, Hairstory has since blossomed to be a staple in the haircare regimens of hundreds of thousands of people across multiple continents. The brand’s continued success and momentum throughout the last seven years has withstood the test of time, as well as other brands releasing their own cream cleanser formulas. Imitation is the highest form of flattery and we’re pleased to see the popularity of the Hairstory brand only continues to grow, even as the market continues to get more competitive.
What aspect of your brand DNA fuels your competitive advantage?
Hairstory’s mission is to change the way people wash their hair through education about the hazards of shampoo and the benefits of detergent-free cleansing. The brand’s less is more approach, ingredient transparency, focus on sustainability, and investment in innovation support this mission in addition to fueling the competitive advantage that Hairstory has in the space. Hero product New Wash cleans without the use of detergents, which are stripping to both the hair and scalp, making it healthier and 100% biodegradable to protect wherever the water from the shower ends up. Further, Hairstory lists every single ingredient on the packaging and on each product page on this website—including fragrance components for complete transparency. The nontoxic ingredients, refillable packaging, and charitable donations—a portion of New Wash purchases are donated to water-related conservation nonprofits—embody the brand’s ethos to be clean and sustainable. Hairstory is an innovator in the field, with a drive to create positive change through continuous improvement. This dedication to improving not only the products and user experience but also the environment and industry as a whole set Hairstory apart.
Please share your insight on the future of the beauty industry.
The biggest change in the beauty industry over the past decade has been that brands have lost their voice. Brand authority has been replaced by social proof, with consumers shifting their trust from the brands themselves to the people who use them. It has almost become a liability lately for brands to say anything at all, and messaging now needs to be channeled through the voice of product and brand advocates—both paid and organic.
In the next seismic shift, artificial intelligence (AI) proof will replace social proof. The ability of AI to diagnose with incredible accuracy which products you are most likely to love (as defined by repeat purchase rates) and which have a high risk of being one-hit wonders you never even finish. As data is anonymized and aggregated, AI will gain access to massive databases that include both customer attributes and customer purchase histories. Consumers will upload their personal data—their physical appearance, beauty goals, and beauty concerns—which will be matched up against what they actually buy. AI will see through the current day obfuscation of paid influencers and manipulated reviews to accurately recommend exactly those products that will deliver joy. Marketing broadly and social influencers specifically will lose importance, and product experience and perceived efficacy will dominate.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
I have been fortunate to have received a lot of great advice and life lessons. I believe we all have an obligation to help others advance in their careers, just as others have done to help me. Perhaps the most influential piece of advice I have received is to lead with empathy while creating an environment of success. Our standards should remain at the highest level, but understanding what motivates others enables us all to work stronger together. I received this advice while being part of a professional sports team, which felt surprising at the time, but I have found that this formulaic approach transfers well into a corporate workplace setting.
Paying it forward, what advice would you give to someone contemplating launching a beauty brand?
Products and innovations are driven by necessity. Hairstory was founded on the need for a detergent-free hair cleanser that works with the hair and scalp and not against it. Many people suffer from skin conditions, like scalp psoriasis, and New Wash was created with these people in mind, to allow them an experience without dryness and irritation. If you are contemplating launching a beauty brand, assess what is missing from the space. Many beauty markets are oversaturated with similar products that don’t have any real differentiation, so finding an empty space that needs to be filled is key.
Hairstory only launches products that are needed, choosing to have a small but intentional range. If your product or service isn’t solving a problem or filling a gap then there isn’t a necessity for it. Now, more than ever, it’s important to prioritize the planet over profit and refrain from creating products that aren’t needed in order to reduce waste, carbon output, and so on. Ultimately, what it comes down to is finding a need, and addressing that need with the best possible solution. If you have a great product, then the consumers are sure to come.
If you could change one thing in the beauty industry, what would it be?
The beauty industry needs to change to be more sustainable. It is still one of the industries that, despite some sustainable initiatives, is rife with greenwashing. Ultimately, brands need to work towards developing cleaner formulas that are just as effective, in addition to striving to reduce their carbon footprints. Transparency is the first step to achieving this, and requiring companies to share their ingredients, carbon emissions, packing materials, and so on will, in turn, hold them accountable.
For example, Hairstory chooses the least toxic ingredients available to ensure that the products are healthy for our bodies and the environment, while still being highly efficacious. Considering the term "clean beauty" as aspirational, not absolute, the brand constantly strives to improve products and offer the very best. Further, only 100% natural fragrances composed of natural, essential oils are used in New Wash and all styling products—going beyond the legal requirement and listing those oils on the ingredient list. In 2023, Hairstory will release a comprehensive sustainability report and, hopefully, other brands will continue to follow suit to make the beauty industry cleaner for the environment and the consumer.
