Beauty Innovations from South Korea

Beauty Innovations from South Korea

With growing frequency, innovative beauty products are originating in Asia and making their way to Western markets. 

For example, BB creams, brightening products, skin care masks and skin care oils can all trace their popularity back to Asian origins. Innovative ingredients such as starfish extract and product applicators are being developed in South Korea before exploding in popularity around the world. In fact, South Korea has emerged as Asia’s trendsetter in the fashion, entertainment and beauty industries, supplanting Japan as the primary source of Asian cool.

South Korea is becoming a hotbed of beauty innovations and has been called the New France of Skin Care products. For example, while most beauty products use distilled, pure water as a base, South Korean beauty labs have been able to use cutting-edge solutions like tree sap or thermal water as the base. 

In addition, some of the unique ingredients being used by Korean brands boast anti-aging, firming, hydrating or blemish-healing properties, and those ingredients include snail extract, starfish extract, herbs indigenous to the Asian region, like yeast extracts, fruit stem cells and unique floral extracts. 

One example is the rare Korean botanical Camellia flower. Hand selected Camellia seeds are taken through a 9x extracting process to produce the pure Camellia Oil Serum. The result, is a 100% pure Camellia Oil Serum with endless benefits for the hair, face and body.

Furthermore, South Korean beauty labs are famous for some of the most advanced beauty applicators. Notable inclusions are products that are twisted out of containers, cushion compacts that stay constantly moist and bacteria-free, ergonomic grips on eyeliners, lipsticks that apply with clean spatula-like devices, and vibrating puffs to help skin absorb makeup and skin care products. 

The latest innovation is a Eco-Friendly water saving Shower Head Nozzle with a built-in Ceramic Bead Filter that removes chlorine and dispenses a conditioning Collagen Protein infused micro-mist that "strengthens" the hair cuticle and "protect" hair color while "moisturizing" the entire body, hair, scalp and skin. 

As South Korean beauty R&D labs continue to innovate expect to see more Asian beauty brands popping up stateside.











Horst Rechelbacker / Beauty Industry Visionary

Horst Rechelbacker founder of Aveda and Intelligent Nutrients, passed away peacefully at his home in Osceola, WI at the age of 72. Rechelbacher, who had been suffering from pancreatic cancer, which was diagnosed in 2011, was considered a visionary in the hair and skin care fields, and had a radiant spirit that many will never forget.

Horst was an amazing hair stylist, active environments, artist, organic farmer, beauty product developer, innovative business leader  and author of Aveda Rituals, "A Daily Guide to Natural Health and Beauty".  Rechelbacher founded Aveda a beauty salon hair care line in 1978 with its focus on naturals organics and whole-Earth concepts. Horst sold Aveda to The Estée Lauder Companies in 1997 and, after the sale, he soon began to focus on his next beauty product innovation called Intelligent Nutrients based on Plant Stem Cell Science.

On the Intelligent Nutrients website is a dedication to its founder that reads: "The planet has lost one of its most passionate friends. So have we. To know Horst was to wake up to the world around you, to your own potential, to a new way of thinking. His impact truly does live on in salons, shops, fields and minds worldwide. And his mission continues." 

We all stand on one another's shoulders that's how our noble beauty profession has evolved and Horst Rechelbacker had BROAD SHOULDERS.

Star Hair Style / Bruno Mars

Drawing inspiration from the hair styles of our favorite stars and celebrities is how many people find their way to a hair stylist. One star hair style is pop-music artist Bruno Mars, America’s heart throb and fashion trend setter. His rock star persona, photogenic boyish good looks, stylish high flying hair style, a modern version of Elvis Presley's "Pompadour" style, has become the “Hot New Do’ for stylish men around the world.


TO GET THE LOOK: Are you searching for a hair style to tame your natural curly hair and let the girls know you’re a stylish dude? If that’s the case take a styling lesson from Bruno Mars. Trust me, the lady's will line up to run their fingers through your locks when you show up with Bruno's sexy stylish do’. To get the look, let's take it one step at a time; starting with a style cut and shaping.

 

 

 



LET’S SHAPE IT: To get the look start with a shapely contoured silhouette with close tapered sides, neckline and mid-length sideburns. To give your hair Bruno's signature look the hair is a bit longer over the forehead and brushed back for a fuller look. This versatile hair style suits all hair type and looks balances from all points of view. With a few adjustments (tweaks) as it grows you can easily find the ideal length and shape for your style.

 

LET’S STYLE IT: To style, start with a dab of a hair gel, styling mousse  . Just run either through damp hair and comb in place to dry au natural for a curly tousled look, or give it a quick once over with a blow dryer to straighten the curl and pumps up the style. When dry, run a dab of  foaming pomade through the top and finish with special effects styling spray and you’ve got Bruno Mars stylish look.

 

 

LET’S ADD ACCESSORIES: What's a rock star hair style without accessories? To top off your new hair style add a classic short retro slim fit blazer, skinny slacks, Bolo tie and patent-leather lace-ups, all by French fashion house Saint Laurent your good to go.

Your Bruno Mars hair style has everything for a up-to-date stylish look. Its full contoured silhouette with close tapered sides, neckline and sideburns defines the shape and turns up the sex appeal. And its versatile just finger comb and go au natural or quick tousle with a blow dry to tame the curl and a dab of  foaming pomade defines the shape and pushes the style bar to the max. Heads will turn and the lady's hearts will “skip a beat” when you step on the dance floor looking oh so stylish with your dapper looking Bruno Mars Style.

 

 

To get the star style look visit the Toluca George Caroll Studio Style Salon in the heart of the motion picture industry ... See details http:/www.georgecaroll.com





2014 International Salon and Spa Expo

The 2014 International Salon & Spa Expo (ISSE) Long Beach Show is the West Coast's largest professional beauty event organized by PBA the Professional Beauty Association to advance the beauty industry by providing its members with education, charitable outreach, government advocacy, events and more. PBA is the largest organization of salon professionals with members representing salons and spas, distributors, manufactures and beauty professionals/NCA.

 

 



This years Convention featured some the hottest new products, services and beauty style trends destined to leave their mark on the beauty industry in the coming year. With a estimated 40,000 attendees and a sold out expo floor of over 350 exhibitor's it can often be hard to find the really new exciting  product innovations. I spent the day walking the show room floor.

The convention was awash with special money saving offers and the hair styling demonstrations were interesting however not much has changed in the way of hair styles from last year. My feet were about to give in when I discover the shows newest beauty innovation at the far outer edge of the expo in the Chris Jacob exhibitor booth.  I came to find out that Chris Jacob has been one of the leading experts in hair product innovations and distribution, having introduced hair extension systems to the beauty industry.

 

 

Their latest innovation is what I consider to be (21st century beauty technology) at its best. Its a Eco-Friendly water saving Shower Head Nozzle with a built-in Ceramic Bead Filter that removes chlorine and dispenses a Collagen Protein infused micro-mist that "strengthens" the hair cuticle and "protect" hair color while "moisturizing" the entire body, hair, scalp and skin.

 

Chris personally explained how it works......... Water passes through the Ceramic Micro-Pore Pallets in the handle and breaks down the water molecules to creating negative ions much like a "waterfall" does.  Next the purified negative ion water passes through a replaceable Collagen Protein Filter creating a conditioning protein micro mist that helps (reduce tangles, repair surface damage, seal in hair color) and maintains smooth healthy hair and skin.  Like Negative ions, Collagen protein is essential to the health of hair, scalp and body. In addition a Fabric Filter removes dirt and floating matter from the main water sores.

Although the Chris Jacob "Collagen Shower Nozzles" at this time has been designed for home care a professional salon spa Shampoo Bowl Nozzle is in the works and will be available in the near future. To order the Collagen Shower Nozzle visit http://www.CJHB.net

 













Matrix Gets On Board with Google Glass

Seeing Into the Future:

Matrix Gets Onboard with Google Glass

 

Setting the standard in beauty and trend innovation, Matrix , a subsidiary of L'Oréal USA has introduced the next generation of beauty education called "Matrix Class for Glass^TM" featuring the Google Glass wearable device. The "Matrix Class for Glass" is an ongoing program throughout 2014 that features a three-phase rollout, including Blogger Video Series, The Matrix Eye for Style Google Glass Salon Chair and a salon professional education platform.

Also coming in late spring, the first Professional Google Glass App will house an exclusive library of content that can be downloaded by consumers and professionals. "This new initiative will completely transform the hair styling experience," declares VP/ Matrix General Manager Paul Schiraldi. "Wearable technology is the next frontier -poised to revolutionize the way we live and work, in the same way that smart phones and tablets have done.  "We're extremely excited to be leading the way in professional and consumer hair education with this initiative," says Schiraldi. 

Using Google Glass technology and expertise from Matrix Celebrity Stylist, George Papanikolas one of Hollywood's most in-demand hair professionals and Matrix Artistic Director, Ammon Carver, intimate and in-depth tutorials will capture styling sessions directly from the eye of the stylist. 

These videos will offer a new and unique view from behind the chair and power the styling experience with unbounded technology.  The "Matrix Class for Glass" video series will showcase a cast of America's best known bloggers as they explore the latest trends and share their experience. Videos will live on matrix.com, youtube.com/matrix and blogger social media channels.

 

 

Additionally, launching later in the year, Matrix Celebrity Stylist, George Papanikolas will introduce the Matrix Eye for Style Chair at The Andy LeCompte Salon in Los Angeles.  Consumers can take advantage of exclusive appointments with Papanikolas, who will capture each person's style and finish service via Google Glass and subsequently email the video to the client to serve as a personalized at-home tutorial.

 

"Salon clients and women around the world have long lamented the fact that they're unable to have their talented hairstylists at their side to recreate their favorite salon hairstyles at home," says Matrix Celebrity Stylist, George Papanikolas.  "Now, thanks to the technology of Google Glass and Matrix, the salon experience is forever changed."

  

   

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Hair Care Product Trends 2014

In a recent GCI article Vivienne Rudd, director of global insight, beauty and personal care for Mintel, a beauty research company took a look at what to expect in new product development for hair care in 2014. Rudd noted that hybrid products will be popular in the coming years. This includes hair care products such as hair perfumes (such as the Chanel Chance Eau Tendre Hair Mist), skin care crossovers that target the scalp (like the exfoliating scalp mask product from Phillip Kingsley), and products with makeup-oriented claims (like Alterna’s Caviar CC Cream 10-in-1 Complete Correction Leave-in Hair Protector ).

 

In keeping with the growing consumer trend toward health and wellness the market for natural and organic hair care is likely to expand rapidly during the next five years,. Although the natural label can provide a point of differentiation the question still hang over what constitutes a natural brand. Not surprising styling aids like gels, creams, mousse and sprays have peeked and have been showing virtually no growth for the hair styling product market.

 

In contrast, the hair colorant market is on an uptick. According to Rudd, the U.S. is by far the biggest market at $2 billion. Meanwhile, the power house Chinese market is growing slowly in hair color, but there is movement in the rising popularity of all natural henna color products. Dry shampoos continue to trend around the world, with the U.K. as its biggest market by far. Its also helping to spur the innovation of new products such as dry hair conditioners. Hair oils are on the rise too—a classic East meets West transition, explained Rudd, as hair oil products that are well known in countries such as India and Asia are only now growing in Western markets. However, many of the new hair oil launches like 9x Camellia Oil are making more modern claims, such as pollution protection and healing for hair, face and body, aimed to attract a more cosmopolitan consumer.

Smart Tools,  other emerging hair care trends include hair styling appliances that take tips from skin care devices, such as hot irons working with conditioners to ensure better penetration of conditioners, diagnostic products that show types and levels of hair damage, and even laser therapy used to treat hair loss. And styling tools like the Hair Flex Styling Brush with multi-functional uses for blow dry styling effects.

 

She also saw a sort of “inspiration from the cocktail bar” in the form of customization. Rudd noted that, although customization hasn’t been too big in hair care yet, offerings that allow consumers to pick and choose and personalize everything from ingredients to fragrance in their hair care products is on the horizon. One of the most stable trends in the beauty and personal care market over the last several decades has been the development of milder surfactants product formulations. What began in baby care in the 1960s is now a mainstream feature for soap, bath an shower products for sensitive skin and hair, as consumers prefer cleansers that can be used on a daily basis. This has resulted in the development of alternative surfactants and PEG free systems

 



Hydrogen Powered Hair Products

Hydrogen Powered Hair Products

 

There are many elements that make up 21st century hair care products and “hydrogen balanced formula's' play a major role. The term "pH" originates from the French term 'pouvoir hydrogen' (Hydrogen Power) and has since been expressed as "parts of hydrogen". The symbol “pH” refers to the amount of hydrogen found in a substance (like water, shampoo's conditioner, styling aids, relaxers and hair color ) .

 

 

To understand the role Hydrogen plays lets take a closer look at the atomic structure of our hair. Our hair is made of: Carbon, Oxygen, Hydrogen, Nitrogen and Sulfur.  The most active, are the hydrogen bonds that  account for some of the overall strength of the hair. It also gives our hair its elastic feature and the ability to stretch and go back to its normal shape. Hydrogen bonds are extremely weak and can be temporarily changed by exposure to heat or water and moisture in the air. When heat is applied to the hair, the hydrogen bonds react to the heat and the hair takes on the shape of the heat appliance. When you wet the hair and roll it around a curler and dry it under a dryer your hair will from and take shape of the curlers.

 

It’s this amazing  feature that makes healthy looking hair and today's hair  styling, straightening and coloring possible. .You’ll get more miles out of your style with “hydrogen powered” hair care products. To order Hydrogen Powered hair care products visit http://www.georgecaroll.com