Eugène Schueller (20th March 1881- 23rd August 1957) a French chemist and a graduate of the Institut de Chimie Appliquée de Paris (now Chimie Paris Tech), discovered p-phenylenediamine and develops a synthetic formula to color the hair in 1907.
This formula is nicknamed “Auréole“.
On 30th July, 1909, Schueller registers his company, the Société Française de Teintures Inoffensives pour Cheveux ( literally "French Society of Inoffensive Hair Dyes"). The guiding principles of the company eventually became L’Oréal as we know it today.
Controversy.
During the early twentieth century, Schueller provided financial support and held meetings for La Cagoule at L'Oréal headquarters. La Cagoule was a violent French Fasict-leaning and anti-communist group.
*This was extensively researched by Michael Bar-Zohar in his book, Bitter Scent.
On a typically hot day on West Mahal Road in a town called Tirupati, South India, a thin woman with big brown eyes named Amrita Mayekar is walking purposefully – making her long pilgrimage to Lord Venkateswara at one of the many temples. Today, not unlike every other day she is wearing a bright fuscia Shalwar and matching kameez in the tradional manner. Her offering to Lord Venkateswara today will be her crowning glory; her long lustrous hair that has been freshly washed this morning with gooseberry oil and is braided neatly. Little does she know that this simple religious act will reverberate around the world.
We follow Amrita Mayekar’s journey to one of the many temples in the area and watch her take a dip in a tank called Swami Pushkarani, located outside the temple. Legend has it that Swami Pushkarani was the tank of Lord Vishnu and is a sacred tank in which visitors must bathe before being allowed in the temple. Now freshly washed, she is ready to take part in a religious ceremony called 'Tonsuring', where women must shave off their hair as a sacrifice to the God Vishnu. The woman named Amrita Mayekar, wearing her bright fuchsia Shalwar and matching kameez believes that taking part in this ceremony is a symbol that she is willing to give up her pride and vanity, and to ask the Gods for health and happiness in the future.
Amrita Mayekar sits cross-legged on the ground and bows her head before Mr. Ravi Shankar seated on a small plastic chair. He is one of the 600 official barbers who work for the temple and it’s administration, Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanamsand (or TTD as it’s known locally). He earns R10,000 (£140) a month shaving up to 35 men, women and children’s heads each day. He is also entitled to free accommodation for his family, free food cooked at the temple, and a bus pass to travel up to the hill upon which the temple is located. Mr. Ravi Shankar wets her hair and ties the strands into bunches. He then makes brisk work out of shaving Amrita Mayekar’s hair. Occasionally pausing, the barber dips his razor into a cold soapy bucket to remove the fine strands of hair then goes back to the business of shaving. Even the tiny hairs on her nape are clean, hair-free and glistening. The whole ceremony takes five minutes.
Amrita Mayekar’s hair is collected by various temple workers who bundle it into big burlap sacks, which are already filled with other hair, and is taken to a hut-shaped warehouse just behind the temple's main office – a short walk away. These sacks containing Amrita Mayekar’s wet hair are placed next to hundreds of over flowing sacks with similar contents. Then, young temple workers go about their daily business by placing thousands of these bundled wet hair sacks on the rooftop where all the hair is laid out side by side and sun-dried.
Once all the hair is dry, it is sold to a well spoken young man with a goatee called Mr. Balsara of SDTC Exports. The exact amount is uncertain, but it is estimated that Mr. Balsara buys a burlap sack for 4,200 Rupee (£60), filled to the brim with the ceremonial offering. One of these sacks containing Amrita Mayekar’s hair is taken to a factory in Bungladore, where Indian woman in white lab coats and face masks sit and have the daunting task of sorting the tonnes of hair into colour tones. In another part of the factory young women are sorting hair into different lengths.
From here the hair is boiled in 120-degree water, dried again and loaded onto ships destined for another factory in the city of Zhaoyuan, China, where Amrita Mayekar’s hair is mixed in with Chinese hair. It is then sorted and chemically coloured into 54 different shades of red, blonde and brunette. Some of this pre-coloured hair goes to a company called Hangzhou Starshine Pharmaceutical in China, where the hair is mixed with animal parts to be broken down into an amino acid, which is then used in some bakery goods.
From China, some of Amrita Mayekar’s hair is packaged into long plastic bags and sold to a well-groomed Englishman called Mr. Gold, who owns a company called Great Lengths. Mr. Gold ships some of Amrita Mayekar’s hair along with millions of other wefts of hair in various lengths and colours to all parts of the world, including the U. S. A., Canada, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, the Caribbean, Japan, Mexico and most of Europe. Some of Mr. Gold’s friends say he deals with a product called “black gold” or virgin untreated hair.
Mr. Gold Sells Amrita Mayekar’s hair to a wholesale shop called ‘Hair Development’ situated on the Mile End Road in Stepney Green in East London, where some of her hair is shelved and displayed. A charming hairdressing salon owner called Simon Forbes of ‘Antenna Hair Salon’ buys the hair and expertly places strands into some of his celebrity clientele coifs. Today a woman named Tamsin Williams proudly steps out of ‘Antenna Hair Salon’ after her hair is cut, styled and colored, a thicker, shinier and healthier mane of hair than she walked in with. A huge smile is on her face as she sees her own reflection in a shop window with the dream hair she always wanted. One thousand pounds well spent for her upcoming wedding day.
The rest of Amrita Mayekar’s hair is whisked away to the other side of the world, to 245 West 18th Street, New York, to a place called ‘Picture Ray Studios’ by legendary hairdresser Guido Palau, sporting his trademark five-day-growth beard. He will curl, crimp, tease and colour match the wefts of hair, then bind them into the hair of a svelte model in a whimsical outfit, who goes by the name of Daria Werbowy. Her new hair is piled high and wide into a modern day Elizabethan hairdo with high drama. A giant fan is moved in closer to Daria, to create a gentle breeze, the effect on her hair and blouse has a fluid graceful movement, all in front of the sharp eye and camera of a photographer named David Sims. With every flash that pops and whistles, Daria Werbowy moves into a different pose, staring straight into the barrel of David Sims’ camera as he makes rapid-fire suggestions to Daria while a song called “VCR” by the band XX is blaring on the sound system. At a later date, at a building called Conde` Naste, near Times Square New York, seated at a sleek desk, a rather stern woman with dark glasses, sharp bobbed hair and a stoic expression will approve these photos and the elegant hair that Guido Palau has created. They will be a part of fashion spread in a magazine called Vogue.
Back to Amrita Mayekar in Tirupati, India – she made a pilgrimage to a temple to perform a ceremony to put aside her own pride and vanity, and to ask the Gods for health and happiness in the future. As it turns out not only her health and happiness is achieved. At T.T.D, auctions of human hair fetched revenue of $25 million for the temple in 2007. TTD in turn gives free accommodation in Tirumala and Tirupati to pilgrims. It also provides free meals. The canteen has a capacity to feed 20,000 pilgrims a day. TTD also has more than 12 colleges and schools, as well as two hospitals.
And what of the estimated circulation of 1.2 million Vogue magazines distributed monthly around the world. The fashion industry it inspires and supports makes $400 billion a year and creates millions of jobs for young creative’s such as make-up artists, fashion designers, hairdressers, illustrators, fashion writers, magazine editors, fashion buyers, advertising agencies, and fashion bloggers, to name a few. The American cosmetics and beauty industry alone totals over $20 billion in sales and is dominated by hair and skin care products that are heavily advertised in print and on television, creating even more jobs.
Little does Amrita Mayekar know how much happiness she has given, and financial benefit to the town of Tirupati and the rest of the world. Her simple selfless act has and will reverberate around the world.
1. In historic building known as The Royal Arcade located off the Bourke Street Mall, home to Gog and Magog and up the winding stairs. How did you find the gem of a space?
I found this gorgeous space by being patient and sifting through lots of Melbourne real estate! The right space is paramount to the success of every business and this particular space needed a lot of love. Royal Arcade has a wonderful history and has managed to keep a little quirk about it which I love. Each of my clients comments on how relaxed they feel here at Confidente and that's what I wanted – goal achieved.
2. Melbourne loves a hidden little secret. How have you advertised your salon? Has twitter, facebook and your website helped? And how do you utilizes the Internet for your business?
I advertised initially on a small scale but word of mouth is the ultimate in this business. I did approach a lot of hotels and that really helped me to get on my feet. An online presence in the form of a website is crucial as people utilize the internet more. Twitter has been a lovely surprise as my clients are quite tech savy & I 've definitely had referrals through this medium. As for Facebook, I've chosen not to have a business page – I don't think it's so relevant to the style of business I run.
3. I’m noticing a worldwide trend for boutique, smaller salons, what are your thoughts on this? And what are the advantages for the operator and the client?
The Boutique Salon absolutely has its place! Clients want to feel special, have their time respected, connect with their Hairdresser and feel at home. From an operators perspective you get to utilize products that you believe in, achieve an optimal result as you're not rushing and really get to know your clients. We've create a space in which they can be themselves – communicate freely and not feel that the clock is ticking. Confidente is relaxing as there's no excess noise from lots of hairdryers or people talking over one another. In this environment my attention is 110% on them. A hair appointment becomes a pleasant part of your day and that is critically important.
4.Where have you worked previously?
I've worked at all levels of the industry from huge numbers to boutique and they have all proved challenging. This broad based experience has taught me so much and groomed me to be the hairdresser I am today. 6 years ago I was working for a company of approximately 150 – 200 staff where I was responsible for the training of over 100 hairdresser whilst running salons – yet here I am today focusing on the one client at a time. You have to be open to new experiences to learn new things and continue to build your skills.
5.How long have you been doing hair and when did you have your first hair “epiphany”?
I've been behind the chair for 14years and my hair epiphany was as simple as Hair is my fabric. I was working on a model and started to intertwine her locks with wool and into her costume – it looked sensational and from there I was obsessed! I enjoy making people feel great. I get a great sense of satisfaction from seeing the effect my work has on the clients. The effect is almost immediate. For some it's a smile, for others a transformation in their confidence! I get a kick out of it either way.
6.For readers who want to open a salon for themselves…what advice would you give to the up starters?
The advice I would give to anyone opening their own salon is to make sure it is your passion. It will be lots of hard work and you have to really want it. In particular the one on one salon will only succeed if you have a continued drive to improve yourself and have very strong skills all round. You can't be lazy. Ensure that you are capable of EVERYTHING - Hairdressers used to have strong skills in all areas and this has changed. If you want to succeed on your own it is mandatory.
7.Top five favorite tools (Example: wigo hairdryer, favorite product etc)
I could not live without a Parlux Blowdryer and Pin Curl Clips in my kit. Followed closely by a Linen Thread for gorgeous modern Hair Up, a nice fresh cut throat blade and Kevin Murphy Session Spray.
8. What do you feel are the problems facing the industry right now? (Example; recruitment, money, public opinion et al)
Unfortunately the Hairdressing Industry has been plagued by those who don't take it seriously as a profession. If the people working in the industry don't see it as a profession, how can we expect our clients and industry partners to see us as professionals? The removal of hairdressing from the skills shortage list will (I hope) see the return of serious professionals to the trade..
9. My research tells me you were a ‘rep” for a haircare company, could you tells us more about that? And how did you make the transition from hairdresser to rep and back to salon owner?
When you believe in a product it's a dream position for those that don't like to be surrounded by the same four walls and growing any business is satisfying. Whilst I loved the contact with salon teams and business owners, I missed the creative release that hairdressing provides.
11. What are your plans for the future?
To develop my concept and my skills set further and to offer the highest level of service to my clients that the industry has to offer..
10. What products do you use in the salon?
Ooh where to start?! I colour with Revlon Professional and L'Oreal, I style with Kevin Murphy, American Crew and Everescents. I like to work with various ranges so that I can cater to everyone as I'm very fussy! Everescents is the latest addition to Confidente, they are the ONLY Australian made, Certified Organic professional hair care range on the market. There are a lot of organic claims out there but once you dig deeper you often find that they're not certified or that there is an overseas parent company. I respect Everescents Philosophy, it's a great product and enables me to look after my clients health, the environment and most importantly to support Australian trade.
Confidente Salon.
email info@confidente.com.au
Telephone (03) 9663 2082
