Gone are the days when any shampoo and conditioner duo did the trick for any one hair type. It’s 2023. 

 

Consumers who color their hair are being educated by their hairdresser about brassiness, the importance of color preservation and heat styling damage. They’re also encouraged to invest in salon-quality formulas for optimal results. With the evolution of hair care needs, solutions have become more specific to the individual than ever before. 

 

Given the myriad options of hair care products displayed in mass market stores, it’s easy for the “tressed out” consumer to spend up to 30 minutes in the hair care aisle picking up bottles searching for claims like “safe on color treated hair” or trying to figure out which leave-in conditioner will boost shine or smooth frizz. When they don’t get the desired result, consumers find themselves back in the aisle perusing the vast selection again.

Knowing the oftentimes complex hair and skin care needs of the average consumer and the wasted time and money in search of the right product, Eric Delapenha, a biotech research specialist and self-professed hair nerd, decided to take this hair conundrum into his own hands — literally — by examining hair strands under the microscope in his “hair lab.” He set out to decipher the individual needs of each person, their scalp included. 

 

Delapenha would call his ventures, what else? The Hair Lab by Strands.  

 

Delapenha is a 2017 graduate of the University of Southern California where he majored in human biology. It was a subsequent stint as a biotechnology research specialist with the Global Intelligence Trust, LLC that piqued his interest in biotech and hair issues, which, next to skin, have been the center of customization in the beauty industry in the past few years. 

 

Strands is a direct-to-consumer (DTC) hair care company founded in 2020 that works to “empower consumers with bare data,” he told Happi. His brand diagnoses hair issues with high throughput tests to satisfy what Delapenha calls an “unmet need to discover and quantify hair damage.” The consumer answers questions related to their hair and scalp, and receives recommendations for products.

 

Delapenha’s other brand, The Hair Lab, created by Strands Hair Care, brings expertise in hair biology and specialization in custom formulation. It has one of largest databases of hair biology and ingredient performance in the world, according to Delapenha.

 

“We send each individual a test kit… and analyze cuticle integrity, protein, thickness of fiber,” Delapenha explained. 

 

He likens this hair report to 23 and Me, the DNA testing and ancestry kit. The company then makes customized solutions based on the results. While Strands has a robust subscription base, the kits are now available at Walmart after the retailer approached Delapenha to stock their shelves with their test kits and products. 

To use the products, consumers assume the role of the chemist, purchasing different solutions which the brand calls “doses” that coincide with their hair needs. They then mix them in their shampoo. 

 

The brand owes a great deal of its current success to TikTok. One platform user likened the product to magic and showed her shiny and voluminous hair after using her customized shampoo and conditioner. Another TikToker called the products “hair crack.” A user called CJ, AKA the Car Girl, was almost speechless. “Ummm… my hair looks fabulous,” she said as she did a slow turn to show her 1.3 million followers her newly-washed and conditioned hair. 

Strands offers 10 formulas for the 10 most common hair concerns. These concerns include conditioning, curl defining and anti-breakage. Each dose contains stickers that are designed to be removed and stuck onto the bottles so consumers see their customized formulas. 

 

Strands offers in-store testing through scanning technology; an online diagnostic is linked to the biological hair data base at Strands. The brand has 4,000 iterations of shampoo and conditioner, which retail for $10 a bottle and $3 for the doses. 

 

When the brand launched, it had $5 million from venture capital investors, bringing its total amount raised to $8.4 million. The investment is paying off. 

 

Strands gets 30,000 quiz completions of in-store diagnostics per month— with 70% of consumers purchasing their five recommended products. 

 

While the brand initially launched in 2,700 stores, it has ambitious plans for the future. Executives expect to raise additional capital to support launches, with the aim to be in at least 10,000 doors within the next five years. 

 

Recently, Strands was awarded Walmart’s Newcomer Brand of the Year award at its first Beauty Summit and was named a top three exclusive hair care brand by the retailer.