Just like skincare, haircare is extremely personal and what works for you may not necessarily work the same way for us. That is why we are no longer as credulous where fancy haircare products that cost a bomb are concerned as they often fail to deliver on their big claims, even after multiple test runs.
Hence, when Sephora recently announced that Austin-born Verb haircare would be added to its extensive brand lineup made available within Malaysia this fall, we weren’t immediately convinced.. that is until we did a little digging ourselves. Simply put, the no-frills brand embodies all the qualities we adore.
Think clean eating, but for your hair, whereby professional-grade products are concocted without the nasty stuff like sulfates, parabens and gluten, aside from being completely cruelty-free. Best of all? Everything from the brand is completely affordable. Just as the brand description on its website reads, “Nothing bad, lots of good.”
We also spoke to Claire Moses, the Senior Brand Development Manager of Verb, for the lowdown on the haircare label.
Q: Tell us about Verb and how it all started.
A: We launched about five years ago in Austin, Texas, and in the first two years, we were very local. Only in the past three years did we launch nationally in all of North America in Sephora, Urban Outfitters and in salons. We haven’t been around in Southeast Asia at all and this is our first international launch. We are launching here in August.
The whole concept behind the brand is really to bridge the gap between mass market haircare and high-end haircare. You can spend a lot of money on your shampoo, or next to nothing, but there wasn’t anything in between. Hence, we created high-end, healthy formulas that are all paraben-, sulfate-, and gluten-free at an accessible price point.
It was important to us to create formulas that are client-focused and easy to use. We all have that experience of going to a salon and walking out with great hair, but we can’t actually achieve the same results by ourselves. So that is what the products are focused on; just making our natural hair look and feel better, and so you can easily recreate the styles at home.
Q: Describe your brand ethos.
A: We really wanted to offer clients the option to buy healthy haircare. With us, you don’t have to send an arm and a leg to get a shampoo that is sulfate-free, paraben-free, and is actually good for your hair.
There was a need for us to establish this face in the market to take care of people’s hair, and we wanted to do that in the form of simple, clean packaging and easy-to-use formulas. Those two things combined make up our brand identity.
We also wanted a brand that is very lifestyle-focused. Instead of telling you how your hair should look like, we want you to tell us how you’re using these products. It’s more about your everyday style and less about trendy hair.
Q: All your products on the website are priced at $16. Why is that?
A: We wanted price to be a part of the conversation. It adds to the brand image and we wanted to give people a price they would remember. So, whether you get a shampoo, a styling product, a hairbrush or anything from our merchandise, it is always the same price – $16. We are still pricing the products here but they will probably cost somewhere between RM80 and RM100.
Q: Tell me more about this wonderful, clean fragrance your products have.
A: Everything has the same fragrance. It’s grapefruit and oatmeal so it’s a light, mild fragrance that is unisex. We use about 30% less fragrance than most brands so those who have sensitive scalps or sensitivities toward fragrances won’t normally have a problem with our products.
Q: Recommend some of your star products to us.
A: One of our best-sellers is the Ghost Oil. It’s a soft oil that is nice for fine hair. It also absorbs into the scalp and we call it Ghost because it totally disappears.
The Sea Spray is another one I would recommend. It will give you beachy, textured waves, and is really nice on wet or dry hair. It offers a lot of volume and that effortless undone look.
Q: What is your approach on sustainability?
A: All of our packaging is recyclable and the majority of our line is vegan, with the exception of a couple products that contain wax and lanolin. We are paraben-, sulfate- and gluten-free like I said and all animal-friendly. There is definitely that focus for us on making sure that our formulas are clean.
Q: Are there any ingredients that are a constant in all of your products?
A: We don’t have a specific ingredient that we use throughout the entire line, with the exception of the Ghost line that is blended with moringa oil. Apart from that, we love sunflower seed extract, quinoa protein, amino acid packages and pro-vitamin B5. All of our shampoos and conditioners are also colour-safe and keratin-safe.
Q: We absolutely love your packaging! How did that come about?
A: We really wanted a point of differentiation for our products, so we came up with packaging with really graphic text. One of the reasons why is that we wanted the products to be simple and easy, so we used the front of the bottle as a face to communicate exactly what the product does.
It seems like a no-brainer idea, but it’s not something people out there are doing. They are coming up with cheeky, creative names or are being very elusive over the description of their products, whereas we just wanted to come straight forward and say what it is. It’s all written in plain English.
Our products stand out on the shelves with the graphic text and powerful colours. Even though it is vibrant, the colours are muted and earthy, so you get this cohesiveness within the line. The hydrating products lean blue and the volume products showcase red/maroon tones. We also have a sea collection launching here in November that is green.
Q: What about your hair brushes?
A: The Blow Dry Brush is our best-seller. It is a quick dry brush and essentially what it is designed to do is help speed up the blow dry process. It’s also not going to break the hair because the bristles are really soft. We also have a Detangling Brush, a 35mm Round Brush and a 55mm Round Brush.
Verb haircare will be launching in Sephora stores nationwide and online on Sephora.my this August in 2017. Meanwhile, learn more via www.verbproducts.com.
