The New Way to Color Your Hair at Home
Madison Reed has reinvented at-home hair color. (Photo: Getty)
If you have ever tried to color your hair at home, it probably involved a lot of f-bombing. Unless you’re a pro, it can require a third arm (or a roommate) to help keep the directions open, apply the color, peel off gloves, and mop up spilled formula from the tiles. Amy Errett, the founder of the new at-home hair color company Madison Reed, which launched in late 2014, is trying to change that.
Errett is tackling hair care with a high-tech approach and has the chops to do it. She was the CEO of investment advisory firm Spectrem Group and has also clocked in time at E-Trade and was a partner at Maveron, a venture capital firm. “I’ve spent my career disrupting other industries, as with E-Trade, and it was time for a new approach with at home hair coloring,” she said. “I want women to have a great product that is free of harsh chemicals, along with a great experience.”
The at-home color system from Madison Reed. (Photo: Madison Reed)
Think of Madison Reed in the same vein as a BirchBox, Warby Parker or Dollar Shave Club, meaning it offers a whole new way to shop for a familiar product. Madison Reed sells permanent color as well as semi-permanent glosses, root touch-up powder, and a styling crème. Most products range from $24-29 and customers can go online and order a single box of hair color or sign up for an automated delivery.
What also sets Madison Reed apart is that the products are free of ammonia, PPD, resorcinol, and gluten, and the color is handcrafted in Italy. “I’ve always felt that opening a window to avoid smelling fumes shouldn’t be part of the directions on a hair color box,” says Errett. Madison Reed dyes contain nourishing ingredients such as argan oil, ginseng root, and keratin.
The first step is for customers to take an 8-part quiz to determine the right color. “We’ve built an algorithm to get it right,” says Errett. And in case you’re wavering about the shade, customers can snap a selfie of their hair and email it to the company, who only employs trained colorists at their call center. Or just post a pic on the company’s Facebook page of your hair.
When your box comes in the mail, one thing it won’t have is a soft-focus picture of a woman with huge hair. Madison Reed’s packaging is sleek and understated. And as an added bonus, the hair color comes with two pairs of gloves (the extra pair is for rinsing), barrier cream and cleansing wipe. Customers can also download a hands-free app to help them through the process.
Errett has also gained fans in big-name salons: Sally Hershberger uses it in her New York salon, along with San Francisco’s Alex Chases. “The focus of our company is really about delighting our customer,” says Errett. And we think she has.
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