In general, hair salons are closed on Mondays (actually not sure if this is only a European thing…), so it was a lovely surprise when I received the invite from AVEDA to get spoilt on a Monday morning at the hair dresser.
As you know, I have been using AVEDA products for a long time. I admit that I always switch between brands or product lines during the month as for me personally speaking my hair gets a kick from the alternation. However, the reason why I am a big fan of the house, that was acquired in 1997 by the Estée Lauder Companies, is that AVEDA is a cruelty-free brand with a mission to care for the world by creating vegan, high-performance hair, skin and body formulas for beauty professionals and consumers, all with sustainability at heart. Green chemistry at its best.
During an intimate breakfast at Eddine Belaid in Zurich, we learnt a lot about the history of the brand. The face of the campaign, Anja Leuenberger, was also present and told us about her experiences with the hair products, that helped her to finally achieve longer, healthier hair.
Aveda was founded in 1978 by Horst Rechelbacher, a pioneer of holistic beauty, and a champion of environmental responsibility. Born in Austria in 1941 to an herbalist mother and a shoemaker father, Horst began working in the salon across the street at the age of 14. «I was not a good student at all but I was very eager to be something different,» he said. Horst was a natural talent, and by 17 he was working as a stylist at a prestigious salon in Rome, tending to international celebrities. By the young age of 20 he had won the European Hairstyling Championship, which he used as a springboard to tour Europe and the United States. «What is a calling? It’s like almost a fire inside me and it keeps me alive,» he said.
He opened his first salon in Minneapolis as a European hairdresser, and then several others, becoming a successful salon entrepreneur in his twenties. In the late sixties, Horst suffered burn out from overwork and recovered thanks to herbal remedies prepared by his mother, as well as to the practice of yoga and meditation. Following a retreat in India in 1970, Horst integrated ayurveda in his lifestyle and his salon business model.
He adopted a holistic thinking, the belief that individual beauty is directly linked to the beauty of the world around us. His were ideas that would revolutionize the beauty industry. In India, he also received the inspiration to create Aveda. With Shiv Nath Tandon, whom he met in an Indian ashram, he developed his first Clove Shampoo in a kitchen sink in Minneapolis, together with doctors of ayurveda, Vinod and Kusum Upadhyay. All have continued to work with Aveda since the early 1970s.
Out of this well-timed collaboration, AVEDA, which stands is Sanskrit for «all knowledge», was born in 1978 with the vision to bring beauty professionals botanical products that would be good for them, their guests, and the Earth and its communities. Horst’s foresight is a testament to how far ahead of his time he was, and although no longer with us his legacy lives on in countless ways.
Horst Rechelbacher taught us that: «Every day presents every one of us with the opportunity to create positive effects. Even the simplest, seemingly insignificant choices we make in our daily lives—what to eat, what to wear, what to use on our bodies and in our homes—have a ripple effect that reaches far beyond us personally.»
Living up to this legacy, I was spoilt this Monday morning. The ritual started with smelling the different essential oils AVEDA has to offer. After choosing my favorite one, I got a neck and shoulder massage, that AVEDA salons are known for. The journey of relaxation starts already then.
I then received two different in-salon treatments after washing my hair, first the famous SHINE TREATMENT, that helps improve the condition of damaged hair and only takes 5 minutes. It refreshes your color, tints your natural hair, and corrects uneven tones or adds clear, eye-catching shine. It lasts up to 20 washes.
And as the second part of the ritual the BOTANICAL REPAIR™ professional treatment that transform your hair with molecular plant repair to strengthen strands from the inside out. Dry, damaged hair is instantly transformed with stronger, softer, visibly smoother and shiner hair in just one treatment. It is plant-powered, bond building and scientifically formatulated to treat three key layers of hair, so that it is transformed from the inside out. The hair is visibly revived and shinier after the treatment.
With the AVEDA Botanical Repair™ Strengthening Overnight Serum for home, you can get healthy hair while you are sleeping.
I received the treatment at Eddine Belaid in Zurich, an AVEDA exclusive salon.
I have also some great news for you. Until November 4, 2022 you receive a 30% off site wide discount on all AVEDA products with the code AVFAMILY.
Happy Shopping!
LoL, Sandra
Photos: Courtesy of AVEDA and © Sandra Bauknecht
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