Salons specializing in textured hair are exploring Aveda products—and the results have been win-win. Clients are leaving with moisturized, healthy hair and salon owners are seeing their retail revenue numbers climb.

Why Aveda? Why Now?

Traditionally, textured-hair salons have primarily focused on chemical services. Clients wanted permanently relaxed or straightened hair, and stylists delivered. But in recent years, the trend in texture has moved toward embracing natural styles.

Clients are wearing their curls, coils and kinks short, long, braided and twisted. And they need products that nourish and define.

 

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“My clients want healthy hair,” says Olivia Jewell, owner of Oblige Salon in San Antonio, Texas. “And there’s no such thing as products tailored to textured hair. Hair is hair.”

“Clients need to be taught to wear their natural texture,” she adds. “Many of my clients have been using relaxers and chemical straighteners their whole lives. It’s our job to show them differently.”

 

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Jewell became a fan of Aveda in beauty school, but turned to new product lines as she built her business. That all changed when she attended Serious Business in January 2021.

“At Serious Business, I heard Edwin Neill talk about Aveda’s commitment to diversity and inclusion,” she says. “I had left Aveda because I thought it wasn’t for me, because there was no education for textured hair. And then Renee Gadar took the stage, and as she spoke, I recognized myself.”

As Jewell learned about Aveda’s new focus on education and product knowledge for textured hair, she knew she wanted to be a part of it.

Retail Results

Ashley Mitchell also had a passion for Aveda products, but didn’t feel the line was suited to the needs of her primarily textured-hair clientele at Ashley Mitchell Salon and Spa in Houston.

“About 75 percent of our clients have textured hair of every ethnicity,” Mitchell says. “We work with texture in many ways, but typically shampoo, treat, blow out, trim and smooth the hair.”

Mitchell believed Aveda could meet her clients’ needs and decided to bring on the line, and it has paid off.  In the past few months, Mitchell has gone from 11 percent in retail sales to 15-20 percent in retail sales. 

Seville McKinnon, owner of Textures Studio in Cordova, Tennessee, also has a menu with services primarily targeted to textured hair—wash and go, finger coils, twist outs, treatments, etc.

“We had been struggling with products, using different lines but missing exclusivity to the salon—I’d often see products I carry at Sephora,” she says. “We wanted to cater to the needs of our clients and give them proper at-home maintenance so they love their hair.”

Like Mitchell, McKinnon saw her retail numbers rise when she made the switch. In a recent week, she sold $1,300 in retail. Before carrying Aveda, the salon averaged around $250 in retail per week. 

Moisture and Protein Get the Job Done

Mitchell, McKinnon and Jewell all agree: Nutriplenish™ is great for textured hair.

 

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“Nutriplenish™ is our go-to,” Mitchell says. “It works great on fine or course textured hair. Having the light and deep options is helpful, too.”

She adds, “For super course texture or very dry, damaged hair, we see immediate results,” she says. “After the masque, we rinse and style, and if it’s really dry hair we’ll use a little Nutriplenish™ serum before roller setting.”

“We also love including Botanical Repair™ in our color services to strengthen hair.”

Jewell says, “Sometimes curly hair just needs protein, not moisture—especially when flatironing—and that’s when I use Botanical Repair™. If there’s a lot of previous damage, I may use a Botanical Repair™ masque, too. And I use the Botanical Repair™ treatment on color clients.”

 

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Mitchell also recommends Nutriplenish™ Daily Moisture Treatment to clients for detangling ends. “It’s not oily, so they don’t feel they have to shampoo after using it,” she says.

Creating a More Efficient Service

“I mix together Nutriplenish™ (for moisture) and Botanical Repair™ (for strength) and add warmth or steam,” Mitchell says. “I used to do a treatment under the dryer for 15 minutes to strengthen and then go back and do a moisturizing treatment. So my former 30-minute service is now five minutes, and it’s $50.”

Mitchell has one more Aveda favorite: “I am obsessed with Speed of Light™,” she says.

A Solution for Build-up

Many textured-hair clients go two to three weeks without shampooing their hair, and as a result, suffer from product buildup on their scalps. For those clients, Mitchell and her team swear by Pramasana™ scalp cleanser.

“We see a huge difference when we use it,” Mitchell says. “We usually use a clarifying shampoo, then Pramasana™, and then if the hair is dry or damaged we’ll add another product for moisture.”

Jewell says she starts every service with either Pramasana™ or Rosemary Mint to remove buildup. “I find Rosemary Mint strong enough to clean the scalp but doesn’t deplete the hair of moisture,” she says.

 

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De-Frizzing Solutions

While flaunting your natural texture is on trend, frizz is most definitely not. To combat frizzing, McKinnon likes Smooth Infusion. “Most smoothing products don’t have moisture—they just tackle frizz,” she says. “But Smooth Infusion has it all.”

The Be Curly™ line is another go-to. “We use it to style and keep curls in place without frizzing,” she says. “And when we start with Nutriplenish™, we hydrate the hair to truly define the curl/coil. That’s when the clients fall in love with the real texture of their hair.”

At-Home Care

Textured hair clients come to the salon more often (sometimes every other week) and rarely wash their hair at home, which means a different approach to at-home care is necessary—especially with dry, damaged hair.

“We send a lot of clients home with Invati Scalp Revitilizer to use nightly or three to four times per week, depending on the hair,” says Mitchell. “When they use it consistently, we see results in 30-60 days.”

Jewell has only been in business a few months, but she already has retail favorites, especially the hair sprays.

“Control Force™ or Air Control™ are light enough to hold curl, but you can still comb through the hair,” she says.

“I encourage clients to purchase the products I know they’ll use at home,” Jewell says. “They do buy shampoo/conditioner, but it lasts six months. So I have to rely more on styling products like Nutriplenish™ Oil, Brilliant™ spray or curl gelée.”

“When you’re able to confidently recommend, it makes a big difference,” she says. “We believe in what we’re using.”

“The products we used before had silicone, which coated the strands of hair,” McKinnon says. “It was like plastic surgery to the hair—nobody knew what their actual hair really looked like.”

At first, McKinnon says her clients were shocked when she started using Aveda. “I had to break a lot of barriers and overcome assumptions,” she says. “People would come in and say, ‘I thought this was a black salon,’ and I’d tell them we’re not a black salon or white salon—we’re a PEOPLE salon.”