Olaplex is embracing new hair types on its home channel.
The hair care brand debuts salon treatments and complementary retail products using Bond Shaping Technology, a new innovation focused on curly, wavy and coiled hair textures.
This is the first major launch for the brand’s chief executive officer, Amanda Baldwin, who joined the company in late 2023. This is part of her larger effort to double down on both new technology and the professional channels the brand started with.
“Our history and our future are all about being pro-first. That’s the philosophy. Pros are our most powerful muse,” Baldwin said in an interview. “A brand’s destiny begins with its origins.”
According to reports, the hair care brand’s net sales decreased 13.1% to $98.9 million in the first quarter. At the time, Baldwin said on a conference call with Wall Street analysts that in 2024 he would focus on stabilizing the business, with sales slightly ahead of plan and the top-selling hair care product in the U.S. prestige market. He pointed out that four of the five products are manufactured by Olaplex. .
Baldwin this month named Katherine Dunleavy as chief operating officer and chief financial officer and Katie Gorman as its new chief marketing officer. Once the darling of luxury hair care, the revitalization of the business begins with Baldwin triangulating a path forward between scientific advances, consumer needs and the brand’s salon heritage.
“There’s a huge unmet need in curly hair, but we wanted to make sure we weren’t just doing it to get curly products.” There are a lot of people using the products,” Baldwin said. “With this, we started with science. This is emblematic of our approach.”
The in-salon treatment, called the Bond Shaper Curl Rebuilding Treatment, is a three-step service that incorporates bond-building technology to enhance curl definition and contains 23 different amino acids and peptides.
The product, which retails for $30 on Olaplex’s website, is named the No.10 Bond Shaper Curl Defining Gel and boasts features such as 72-hour frizz control and a 52 percent improvement in both curl retention and frizz reduction. Proudly backed by clinical evidence. 85% each.
“When you think about the brand going forward, it started with a molecule that did something amazing and went from the lab to the chair,” Baldwin said. “When your hair is curly, it often requires more treatment because it’s actually more delicate.
“From a stylist’s perspective, learning how to work with curly hair and knowing how to work with it is a unique skill and an opportunity to expand that skill set,” Baldwin continued. “There’s also a macro movement, and there’s a lot of interest in embracing your natural hair and creating the best version of it. For us, ‘best’ means the healthiest.” ”
Although Baldwin is focused on the professional side of business, it does not take a one-size-fits-all approach to future innovation.
“Does that mean all products will be salon services?” No, it doesn’t really serve the widest possible consumer base, and even stylists don’t sell products to the end consumer. We can send them home,” she said. “It’s a cycle of salon treatments and home care. All these worlds are connected, and it’s important how we connect them.”
