3 mins
BIOLOGY FIRST
HJ’s Editor Charlotte caught up with CEO and Co-Founder of K18 Suveen Sahib and Senior Director Global Education Jordan Alexander, to chat innovation and the future of beauty
Charlotte: It’s been a tough few years for the hairdressing industry, how are you as a company helping support stylists and salons?
Suveen: A stylist is a micro entrepreneur, so we must create products that truly work, save time, are simple to use, and versatile enough to work across every service.
Jordan: I think probably one of the most important aspects of K18 is every single product we create, we want it to be universal. We always want to create something that’s not only very effective in the way that it repairs, retains moisture, and reduces frizz, but we also want to create something that is lightweight enough that it can be used on every single hair type.
S: We’ve seen that a stylist can save hundreds of hours a year using K18. That’s more time for you as a creative artist and frees up time for more clients. When a stylist wins at every level, we as a brand benefit and the hairdressing community wins too.
C: What particular innovation is helping hairdressers?
J: Our Molecular Repair Hair Oil. Stylists are pretty good at using a lower heat setting on their electrical tools, but at home clients turn up their tools as high as possible. So, by sending them home with this product, which contains heat protection of up to 232°C, they come back to the salon with better hair. In between appointments a client should be a walking advertisement for you as a stylist.
S: At K18 we don’t launch something new every season. We are more inspired by the Apples and Teslas of the world. We are looking at how to build new technologies, not create lots of products.
C: What do you think are the most pressing issues for our industry?
S: We have to talk about sustainable ingredients. We talk a lot about sustainable packaging, but the conversation about sustainability is bigger than that. It's fundamentally about how biotechnology can drive sustainability in a way nothing else can. Let's take natural ingredients. Every time you use a natural ingredient, you are going back to the plant. Let's take the example of rose oil. Every rose oil product requires a certain amount of oil. Say that's hundreds of petals and thousands of plants. Of course, 99% of the plant is discarded. In my mind, that's just not sustainable… And that's where biotechnology can come in. When you talk about purity, nothing works better than biotechnology. When you talk about sustainability, nothing works better than biotechnology. We’ve been using biotechnology for thousands of years – cheese and wine making is biotechnology. In the case of beauty, it's taking that to a new level, but the principles are the same.
C: Who are you working with to get across your brand message?
J: We work with Jack Martin. He'll spend 10 to 14 hours on a client, the artistry is incredible. We love to partner with people who thoroughly think out what they do.
C: How would you describe K18 in three words?
S: It brings the most damaged hair 'back to life'. J: I’m going to say ‘less is more’.
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