Frédéric Fekkai wants more for consumers suffering from thinning hair.
The hairstylist and salon owner is launching Fekkai More in February, a four-item hair care line under the brand’s Advanced HairCare series. More is formulated to increase hair density, said vice president of product development Kris Cryer.
The technology involved in the making of More’s shampoo, conditioner, styling product and leave-in night treatment is the result of a partnership with scientists Elaine and Myron Jacobson from the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy, a husband-and-wife team who have dedicated 25 years to researching DNA damage. Fekkai heard of one of their key findings, Niaplex, through a mutual business contact of the couple, and began a correspondence with them several years ago to bring the technology into a hair care line.
Niaplex, explained Cryer, uses technology based on niacin, a key factor in hair and scalp health. Nicotinic acid, one of the two forms in which niacin occurs, was used to create Niaplex, a patented continuous-release molecule that has been proven in clinical studies to increase hair density, Cryer said. Formulas are designed to deliver the benefits of niacin when applied topically, such as reducing buildup of a naturally occurring hormone, dihydrotestosterone, one that can shrink hair follicles until they no longer produce hair. Niaplex also aims to increase oxygenation and facilitate transporting essential nutrients to hair follicles.
More’s results were supported by two self-funded clinical trials, overseen by an independent dermatologist, Dr. Zoe Draelos, who recently won the Lifetime Achievement Award by HBA Health & Beauty America. Clinicals proved that, during a six-month period, 69 percent of females using More showed increased hair density.
The first clinical study was published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology in December. Findings from the second clinical study are to be published in the next six months, Cryer said.
Fekkai is proud of the technology his latest line bears.
“This is beyond having a chemist behind us. And [the Jacobsons] aren’t marketers,” Fekkai said.
Fekkai said the More line was founded because he’s “seeing much more of these cases,” adding that hair loss is not related to increased salon visits or color treatments or blowouts.
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“That’s abused hair. That results in hair breakage and [poor hair] texture,” Fekkai said.
The four-step hair care system is meant to be used together. It includes a Scalp-Purifying Shampoo ($24.50), a Root-Nourishing Conditioner ($24.50), an All-Day Density Styling Whip ($25) and a Nighttime Follicle-Boosting Treatment ($35). Items can be purchased separately or in a kit, which will retail for $100.
More is meant to appeal to men and women, hence its gender-neutral packaging. And since the items are from Fekkai, they have been packaged so they can be displayed on a bathroom shelf.
“There is a seriousness to this technology, but we wanted to give something that was also glamorous,” Fekkai said.
Fekkai More will enter all U.S. Sephora stores in February, as well as Frédéric Fekkai salons. The company would not comment on first-year sales estimates, but industry sources said More could generate between $5 million and $10 million in sales next year.