IUVENI is a salon-exclusive, science-first professional hair care brand specializing in structural hair repair rather than surface masking. Founded by stylist Camie Parsons her patented Lipid Layer Quencher (LLQ) treatment was specifically designed for stylists to repair chemical, bleach, and texture damage. I recently had the opportunity to speak with Parsons about her background, revolutionary product and more.
Thank you for joining us. Please tell our readers more about yourself and how you got to where you are today?
I am a hair stylist and a mom. Life threw me a few heavy curve balls and I needed a new career so I went back to school and earned my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry. I thought there would be a lot of overlap between the two, but there is not! There is a ridiculous amount of math and most scientists have no idea what goes on in the beauty space. I was working on my masters and trying to figure out the mechanism for bleaching melanin in hair. I worked through the problem with one of my professors for a couple of hours until we found the answer. As we were winding down he asked what it was for and I said I am working on a non-toxic method for bleaching hair. He looked at me for a few minutes, puzzled. Then he asked in all seriousness, “Do people change the color of their hair?” I was flabbergasted! I responded, “Have you left this building, ever?”
In my life I learned that I am willing to ask questions until I can get an answer and stubborn enough not to give up. I want to share the information I have learned. As I have talked with people all over the world, there is a hunger to know facts. They are desperate for a reliable source that speaks their language, with actual facts. That is where I am today, sharing information and actual solutions to the problems I found.
What was the motivation to build your own brand?
In my research I discovered a critical part in hair that is being overlooked by every brand on the market. It is the strength, softness and glue that holds hair together. My marketing people hate it when I say glue, but it is biological glue. I know as a hair stylist what we do to hair and I know as a chemist what the damage means. I know how to fix it. But who am I? A single mom in a small town. I don’t have the contacts to get this technology into the hands of the right people. I didn’t even know who the right people were. But I knew what I found and it is incredible.
I dove in head first. I remortgaged my house and cashed out my 401k. I believe in this so much I was willing to bet my future that others would believe in this too. It seems that the gamble is paying off. I have met amazing stylists who have trusted me with their guests’ hair. I have talked with many women whose hair was literally breaking off and after Quencher, they are finally getting their own healthy hair back. That is beyond humbling and exciting. I am so grateful for every person who wants to know more and for every person who tries IUVENI for the first time.
I am a hairstylist so I know the pain of having a guest with trashed hair. I will never forget a woman who came in that had bleached her hair and then permed it. She was frantic, asking if I could fix it. It was the only time I have ever felt hair that when it was wet would stretch like gum. There was nothing I could do. I held her hand while she cried and tried to give her a really cute haircut, but everyone in the salon was teary. Thinking about it still makes me hurt for this woman. I am on a mission to never let this happen again to any stylist or any guest.
Please tell us about IUVENI and why we would want to add this product to our routine.
I love answering this question! I have research articles and pictures, but it is incredibly simple to understand. All hair was once cells. All cells everywhere have a membrane, this brilliant biological protection that keeps cells alive. When hair turns from individual cells into a strand, that membrane is still in the hair as the cell membrane complex. This is the softness, strength and glue of hair. This CMC gets damaged in small ways every day as we style and severely damaged when we do any chemical service. IUVENI’s patented Lipid Layer Quencher is the only product proven to biomimetically repair this incredible structure. How cool is that?
Quencher will repair your hair’s protection and strength. It doesn’t matter if the damage is a small amount from time outside or massive from over processing. With Quencher your hair will immediately feel better. The repair will last 3-6 weeks, depending on your life style and how often you deplete the CMC.
Working in the hair industry for so many years could you please share with us a couple of your top hair tips?
I have so many! First how to really wash your hair. Be patient the first time you try it, and then you will never want to use any other method! Spread your shampoo evenly through your hair. Use the pads of your fingers, (not fingernails) and start by your temples. Massage the shampoo through the scalp in small, circular motions until your fingers get back to your occipital lobe (the big bump at the back of your head). Repeat two more times. Do the same thing starting above your forehead, small circles until you get back to the same place. Three times in total.
Now start at your hairline in the back moving up until you reach the lobe again. Three times total. Do the whole process again. You might notice that you aren’t getting as many bubbles, add a small amount of water to the hair, the bubbles will come back! Now do the whole massage process a third time with the same shampoo. You are giving the surfactants enough time to do their job. Do not scrub the ends of your hair, you only need to remove the sebum that is near your scalp. Rinsing will wash away everything that is further down the hair strand. After you rinse, your hair will be squeaky clean, truly you should hear a squawk when you run your fingers down a strand. You might need to adjust how often you shampoo most people find they can go two or three days longer than normal because they are getting a really clean scalp.
Second, use heat protection sprays. They really work! However, high heat, above about 410 F, will cause even these sprays to break down and the protein in your hair will literally cook. You can’t uncook an egg and you can’t uncook your keratin.
Anything else we should know?
Finally, and I say this as someone who had to learn this the hard way, love your hair. I promise that no one has hair just like yours, you are unique and beautiful! It is fabulous to change your hair, do it in ways that enhance how great your hair is. There is nothing like the feeling of healthy, gorgeous hair. Call me, I will tell you. And try using IUVENI Lipid Layer Quencher to keep that fabulous feeling.
Discover the secret behind the science and head to https://iuveni.com/
