In 2020, our founder Lauren decided to follow her dream and create the products she had always wished for – a range of active haircare essentials that helped to achieve longer, stronger, and healthier hair for all hair types. The journey to how she got there however, is entirely a story of its own. We sat down with Lauren to chat all things career, purpose and following your dreams.

 

Q: You’re well known for your work as a highly sought after hairstylist and have worked both locally and internationally with all kinds of major celebrities – but you had never intended to be a hairdresser. Tell us a little more about how you got into hair and why you’re still as committed to the industry as ever before.

 

 “When I left school, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, but I had a strong feeling that I wanted to help people or make them feel good or better about themselves"

 

A: "I started studying psychology but quickly realised I needed more life experience, so I thought it would be good to get a job as an apprentice while I was figuring it all out. I thought at least that way I could have a trade later in life if needed. I kind of fell into hairdressing, which is hilarious because I was such a tomboy growing up. I was raised in the country. I didn’t have any natural flair for hair or styling, but I did realise very quickly that the job as a hairdresser, even as an apprentice, was so aligned with what I wanted psychology to be for me – that client connection where I could talk to people, find out about their lives, and help them leave feeling better about themselves in some way.”

Q: How did you turn this love of helping people into a successful hairdressing career?

“Because I didn’t have any ounce of natural flair or ability to do hair – and I didn’t have much confidence in the beginning, I was always a less is more hairdresser. I really enjoyed giving people a subtle enhancement of their hair colour or a slight change in a way that they could recreate themselves and that worked with their natural texture. I always felt strongly about not giving them something that would look good on the day but not be something they could recreate in the week that followed. Listening to people and working with their natural texture became my thing.”

Q: While you were helping people embrace and enhance their hair and its natural texture, you yourself were struggling with hair loss – how did that inform your approach?

A: “That’s right, I was experiencing stress-related hair loss. I already had fine hair, so it was very obvious to me and I felt so self-conscious about it all. I’d wear headscarves and put in extensions… I learned very quickly how to deal with difficult hair types. I discovered how to style and work with fine hair that was showing signs of thinning and became really good with those hair textures that were a little more difficult. I was also very empathetic to the issue because I knew how it felt and had those hair hacks and tips up my sleeve. My clientele became very much those people who had hair loss and then word would spread. They really trusted me because I armed them with how to manage their hair. They were so loyal to me. Even when I was coming back and forth from LA.”

Q: Did your own hair loss inform the next steps you took to bring ROBE to life?

 

A: “Absolutely. When I was experiencing hair loss, I felt quite embarrassed by it. I was in my 20s and everyone else I knew seemed to have thick and luscious hair so I wouldn’t talk about my hair loss, and I would sneak off and go to hair appointments that were aimed towards men re-growing their balding hair. I felt so ashamed. The only products I could find were literally aimed at men. I’d hide them in the back of my cupboard, and they smelled so bad. I started looking into natural therapies. My friend was an acupuncturist. I had a session with her, and she gave me some herbs. I started learning about them and investigating different things in natural medicine.

I was living in L.A. at the time, and I could getcapsules of sea moss and nettle to take each day but it was so hard to find in Australia When my clients did get their hands on these supplements, they were having the same outcomes as I was.”

 

"The only products I could find were literally aimed at men"

 

Q: Speaking of LA, how did all this work lead to you styling major shoots in the US?

A: “Because I became really focused on working with people’s textures and bringing out the best in their natural hair, I became really good at styling hair for editorial shoots. These types of shoots are all about subtleties and textures, so it was a good fit.”

 

Q: While you were working directly with clients, you were also formulating the plan for ROBE – how did all the puzzle pieces come together in the end?

 

 

A: “It all really came from my own hair issues and teaching my clients how to deal with different textures. I had these clients that were wanting and needing something more, but all the other products were basically just cosmetic. The result was shiny, soft, and smooth hair, but the products weren’t doing anything more than that. When my clients then washed their hair, there weren’t any long-term benefits. I thought – why can’t all products be treatments? Why are treatments just masks or products you have to set aside special time for? Why can’t shampoo and conditioner be classified as treatments? There was a need for products to do more than what was available at the time. My goal was to help people to appreciate and love their natural texture, no matter what. At the end of the day, arming people with the knowledge and tools to help them feel good about their hair will always be my main goal.”