On the shelf

What I use, and why

Every product that goes in your hair is one I chose, not one a sales rep talked me into. There are two brands in my studio — one for color and care, one for glosses — and they’re both here for the same reason: they change your hair without damaging it in the process.

Neither one is sold in stores. No drugstore shelf, no Amazon. Both are made for salons only, and both are still run by the families that started them. Here’s each one, and why I trust it.

Keune

Permanent color, care, and styling

From: Soest, Netherlands
Since: 1922. Family-owned, four generations.
In the studio: Permanent color, shampoo and conditioner, styling
Credentials: Certified B Corp · Cruelty-free · Salon-only

Keune started as a pharmacy in Amsterdam in 1922, run by a chemist named Jan Keune. In 1947 he made a decision the company has never walked back: it would make products for hair professionals only. A century and four generations later it’s still family-owned, still independent, and still keeps that promise — no wholesalers, no retailers, no e-tailers. The only place you can get it is from someone standing behind a chair.

Everything is made under one roof at their headquarters in Soest: formulation, testing, and production in the same building, with nothing farmed out. They’re a certified B Corp, they don’t test on animals, and the plant runs on thousands of its own solar panels.

Why it’s the one I reach for: the color is built to condition while it processes rather than just deposit and leave. Their permanent line is formulated to put nourishment back into the hair fiber during the same service that changes its color. That is the entire argument for it. I’m not interested in a color that looks incredible for a week and leaves me with damage to fix in March.

Maria Nila

Glosses and toning

From: Stockholm, Sweden
Since: 1999. Family-run, started in a garage.
In the studio: Glosses, toning, color refreshes between appointments
Credentials: 100% vegan · PETA · Leaping Bunny · Vegan Society · B Corp

Maria Nila was started in 1999 by the Wikström family, out of a garage in southern Sweden. The name isn’t a marketing invention — Maria Nila was the founder’s great-grandmother, a Sámi woman whose respect for animals and for the land the family took as their brief. It’s still family-run.

Every single product they make is 100% vegan and cruelty-free, and they’ve had that verified by outside bodies rather than asserted on a label: PETA, Leaping Bunny, and the Vegan Society, plus B Corp certification for how the company itself is run.

Why it’s my gloss: their Colour Refresh is a conditioning mask that happens to carry pigment. Argan oil and provitamin B5, no ammonia, no developer, no lift. It sits for a few minutes, warms or cools or deepens what’s already there, and leaves the hair softer than it found it. It fades gradually over several washes instead of growing out in a line — so trying a tone doesn’t have to be a decision you live with for six months.

Why these two

I could stock whatever a rep put in front of me. These are the three things I actually weighed.

Healthy hair is the constraint

Neither of these lines makes me choose between the color you want and the hair you want to keep. The gloss conditions while it tones. The color feeds the fiber while it processes. If I can get you there with the gentler option, the gentler option is what you're getting.

Small companies, on purpose

One is a hundred-year-old Dutch family business. The other started in a garage in 1999 and is still run by the family that founded it. Both are certified B Corps — an outside body audited how they treat their people and the planet, rather than taking their word for it. Threshold is one chair and one stylist. It felt right to buy from people who are also small on purpose.

Nobody's paying me to say this

Keune won't sell to retailers at all, so there's no cheaper version of it waiting for you online and no reason for me to talk you into anything. I use these because they work. If something better comes along I'll switch, and I'll tell you exactly why.

Come see what it does to your hair.

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