The skin care product industry has soared to unprecedented levels in both popularity and sales over the last few years, knocking down makeup sales along the way, in major part to a less than glamorous concept: routine.
From beauty blogs to Reddit, skin care obsessives share in precise detail about ideal, daily (and often twice daily) skin care routines, incorporating anywhere from just cleanser and moisturizer to more than half a dozen products to maintain healthy skin.
Harry’s Labs, the innovation group within Harry’s Inc., a popular brand for men’s personal care, grooming, and shaving supplies, is taking that mentality that has worked so well for skin care brands and is upping the ante for hair care with the launch of Headquarters, a root-obsessed hair care brand from the the same experts behind women’s body care brand Flamingo.
“The idea for Headquarters came out of team discussions around hair care and products that we as consumers felt we were missing in the market,” says Lee Lenox, general manager of Headquarters.. “Many of us, myself included, are quite engaged with face and body care. And yet, we struggled to find a set of products that treated the skin on your head the same way.”
The new brand enters the $9 billion hair care market with a two-fold approach based on routine and root fundamentals.
“All of our routines have been shaken up over the past year. We are spending more time at home and reexamining what behaviors make us feel best,” Lenox says. “In 2020, in beauty, skin care products outsold makeup for the first time. In fitness, we embraced regular leisure walks in lieu of trendy fitness classes. And in food, everyday comfort cooking gained popularity as Instagram fads faded.”
Even before the pandemic, though, Lenox says that women were embracing new routines that focused less on superficial aesthetics and more on the fundamentals of health and wellness. “In a lot of ways, routines can help you find balance and comfort in uncertain times. Rituals can be a great way to mentally prepare for the day ahead or decompress and unwind.”
Headquarters consists of a four-step routine designed to manage and balance moisture, specifically targeting the one part of our skin that’s too often ignored: the scalp.
“As we began to do further research within the category and with consumers, we realized there was a real need for a set of affordable products that focused on the health of your scalp and less on temporary solutions,” Lenox says. “The hair care industry so often focuses on superficial fixes or scalp products that are grounded in problem/solution offerings. Women were craving products that simply offered them healthier, more reliable hair they could count on. By creating products that work best for your hair’s foundation—which are your roots and scalp—we aim to create an optimal environment for better hair health.”
The products are touted to be packed with nutrients that infuse the scalp with vitamins and minerals to optimize scalp health, build strong roots, and promote long-term hair health. “Every Headquarters product formulation was thoughtfully-designed using science-backed ingredients created for specific scalp types: Dry, Balanced, and Oily,” Lenox explains. “Our research and development team—the same experts behind Flamingo and Harry’s grooming products who have decades of experience—applied their expertise to the creation of Headquarters product families, running consumer research, and conducting clinical testing. All of our products are free from sulfates, silicones, dyes, or drying alcohols, as we know that these ingredients can often cause build-up and/or dry, strip, or damage hair.”
The Dry family of products (exfoliation mask, cleansing shampoo, hydrating conditioner, and nourishing lotion) offers extra moisture with added infusion of soothing nutrients for dry scalp and roots. The Balanced family of products (exfoliating polish, cleansing shampoo, hydrating conditioner, and nourishing serum) provides a supply of energizing nutrients to keep the scalp and roots well balanced. And the Oily family of products (exfoliating Scrub, cleansing Shampoo, hydrating conditioner, and nourishing mist) clarify excess oils and add infusions of needed nutrients for a healthy scalp and roots.
Each product costs $7.50 and can be bought separately or as part of a routine bundle. Headquarters says it will also donate 1% of all sales to local grassroots organizations committed to supporting women and their mental health. Headquarters will be available to purchase online and through Walmart (in stores and online) starting on January 26.
