LOS ANGELES — For Marco Pelusi, getting into the hair care business was almost a given. His family owns a chain of more than 15 upscale salons on the East Coast, and he virtually grew up in the industry.
Now Pelusi, who has a year-old salon on trendy Robertson Boulevard here, last week launched his first product line, which combines his expertise as a colorist with collagen, a first for hair care.
“I’ve always wanted to know more about the chemistry and science behind hair color,” said Pelusi, who previously worked for Joico as national chemical trainer dealing with chemists and testing different color products on hair.
In compiling the six-stockkeeping-unit Marco Collagen Color Guard HairCare System, he called upon chemists whom he knew through his family, and specified that he wanted to concentrate on color-treated hair.
“I’m a colorist, and I wanted to achieve the best possible ingredients for my clients. I wanted to come up with something that would protect the hair from fading, to treat it like silk, using collagen as a basis.”
He said there were a few isolated collagen products on the market, such as those by Sunsilk and Biotin, but not an entire range.
“Everyone has one product in their line that’s good for color-treated hair, maybe using some extra sunscreen or an extra ingredient that they throw in. But collagen is the thing that really helps color from fading. It has to penetrate into the hair shaft rather than just being on the outside, and all the ingredients have to be in balance to create a healthy hair and scalp.”
According to Pelusi, coloring hair “makes it like a road with potholes in it.”
“And when you put collagen in, it goes in and temporarily fills those holes, closing the cuticles and allowing the color to shine through. It constantly reinforces the true vibrancy of the color that was applied.”
He formulated the line to provide something for all haircare needs. These include the Marco Color Health Shampoo with Collagen Color Guard, which contains rosemary, clove and peppermint essential oils that provide antiaging benefits. A Hydrate Conditioner has French lavender and apricot oils and aloe vera, while the Control Gel helps lift and give definition using a combination of rosemary, clove, peppermint and borage seed essential oils. There is also a hair spray, a smoothing gloss and an anti-frizz leave-in conditioner; the latter contains cetrimonium chloride derived from coconut.
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“I wanted the products to work on multicultural hair and to help with antiaging,” Pelusi said.
The line is available in Pelusi’s salon and online, as well as at Le Meridien Beverly Hills Gift Shop. Pelusi said he was also targeting department stores and high-end beauty specialty stores.
Next year, he plans to launch a product for especially fine color-treated hair.
The line ranges in price at retail from $18 for the control gel to $35 for the leave-in conditioner. There are also travel sizes from $7 to $10.