LONG BEACH, Calif — With a vibe that was part bazaar, part rock festival, last weekend’s International Salon and Spa Expo closed on a high note.
Some 30,000 attendees passed through the halls of the Long Beach Convention Center Feb. 4-6, checking out the newest and latest in salon hair, nail and skin care products from about 500 exhibitors.
What they found were more and more brands upgrading product development with nanotechnology — the science of creating materials out of single atoms and molecules. There was also a growing trend toward hip men’s grooming products and luxury-driven lines that use pricy ingredients such as caviar from the Caspian Sea as well as diamond dust.
“It’s all about the highest quality of product with the highest concentration of exclusive ingredients, regardless of the cost,” said Michael Shaun Corby, global creative director of Beverly Hills-based Alterna Professional Haircare, which was using ISSE as a platform to officially bow its new Caviar Anti-Aging Volume Shampoo and Conditioner. Alterna is owned by Markham Prestige Group.
“We use the same technology for hair care as skin care, the same principle of working beneath the surface. Women spend billions every year on antiaging for the skin, and there’s no reason they shouldn’t be doing that for the hair.”
Caviar, because of its omega 3-rich properties, is the main ingredient in the new duo. A 12-oz. bottle of shampoo will retail for $25, while the conditioner will cost $28.
PureOlogy, another Markham Prestige brand that’s based in Irvine, Calif., also predicted a boom in popularity for products that combine antiaging with luxury. Its new Nanoworks duo — a shampoo and conditioner that were developed using nanotechnology — is being rolled out to some of the 10,000 salons in North America that carry PureOlogy products.
“They were developed using the science of making molecules smaller,” said Janae Wilson-Hayden, the company’s marketing project coordinator. “And it’s a really premium product for the luxury consumer.” The new products will retail for $50 each.
The prestige approach to salon products is extending to nails, as well.
“We’re positioning it as nail couture,” said Leanne Smith, an educator at Entity, a year-old Chicago-based company founded by former nail technicians Tom Holcomb and Tom Bechik.
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“These are pure, top-notch products that focus on the beauty of the hands and nails.”
Packaged in sleek silver and pink, products include zinc-coated files, cuticle oils made from essential oils and a newly launched line of products for a French manicure, called Nudite. The pink and white sculpting powders are designed to hide flaws in the nails. The tips are priced at $35.95 for a set of 500 and the powders at $29.95 for a pack of four.
“The sales have blown our minds this weekend,” said Smith, adding that salons more than ever want to distinguish themselves by offering a different level of nail treatment.
It was a similar story at OPI, the popular North Hollywood, Calif.-based nail color and care line, which was introducing its new Diamond Dust lacquers. The $12.50 product offers 12 different shades.
“They’re very classic colors with real diamond dust for shimmer and a beautiful flat brush that makes application really easy,” said Joey Brown, the company’s international spokesman.
“They’re not for every salon, or every client. But we’ve been really surprised with the great response to them at this show.”
OPI also was bowing its Mexico Collection at the show, a 12-item line of vibrant, terra-cotta-inspired nail colors and three lip shades.
The arena of nanotechnology appeared to be gathering momentum in electronic styling products, too. BioIonic, a Los Angeles-based producer of hair dryers, brushes and curling irons, was bowing its latest iTools at its busy booth.
“It’s been an exciting start,” said Jay A. Jacobs, the company’s executive vice president.
Jacobs said the latest incarnation of the technique was called Nano-Ionic, a process applied to minerals that are then molded into every bristle of its iBrush brushes, and onto the heating element and nozzle of its iDry hair dryers.
The items under the iTools line retail for between $35 for the brush to $175 for the hair dryers, and Jacobs said he anticipated doing $20 million in sales worldwide for the line this year.
Ions were also the buzzword at Farouk Systems Inc., a Houston company which was launching its new Chi Ionic Formula of hair colors.
“The technique involves bonding the ion to the hair, straightening and building it,” said Kathryn Kihle, the brand’s marketing manager. The 90 different shades are ammonia-free and designed to last longer as a result of the ionic technology, she said. The colors wholesale for $5.75 each.