Daniel Kaner, Sarah Daphnis and Christopher Noland!
Christopher Noland recently had the opportunity to sit down with Daniel Kaner, co-president of Oribe Hair Care, makers of very hot, very successful hair care products. Because the company genuinely wants to understand how its products are being used, and because the Christopher Noland Salon uses the complete Oribe line, Christopher and Dan had lots of ground to cover. To keep things manageable, Christopher cut the conversation down to the five questions—and answers—that best describe this relatively young and amazingly dynamic company.
CN: How did Oribe start?
DK: Oribe, the man, officially started working in hair in 1977 and had his first salon experience at the Plaza Hotel assisting Garren, one of Manhattan’s most celebrated hair stylists. Right away people in the industry recognized Oribe’s natural talent with hair.
I first met him through my wife, Sonia Kashuk, who is a makeup artist with her own eponymous line for Target and has worked with Oribe for more than 20 years on fashion shoots for magazines like Vogue and Elle. Sonia has always believed that Oribe was a brand waiting to happen. With his intense love of quality, talent for making people beautiful, and skill as a hairdresser, she felt it was just a matter of time. So, about eight years ago, after a wonderful career at Bumble and Bumble came to a close (the brand was sold), I joined forces with Tevya Finger and Oribe to begin to develop Oribe Hair Care, which we launched five years ago. Our intention was simple: to use our 30-plus years of experience to create the very best hair products on the market. We would pay close attention to detail, make products that work beautifully, and then sell them to the best salons in the world—like Christopher Noland—as well as prestigious specialty stores like Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman.
CN: Have some of the Oribe products become instant must-haves?
DK: Everyone wants to have hair that looks like a model’s, and Oribe has perfected that art. Having styled the hair of hundreds of models, he knows what works to create luscious, sexy, and manageable hair. The three mousses we recently introduced help that happen no matter what type of hair you have. Grandiose Hair Plumping Mousse does a wonderful job building volume from the roots without the slightest hint of crunch. It has all-day memory and leaves the hair supremely soft, yet thicker, fuller, larger than life. The Surfcomber Tousled Texture Mousse is a Brazilian supermodel in a bottle for the tousled look and layers of curls—hair that’s soft yet set. The Curl Shaping Mousse hydrates, fights frizz, and is as light as air, creating elegant spirals of curls with plenty of definition and bounce.
CN: What Oribe products have taken hair care to the next level?
DK: Our dry series, which began with celebrity and editorial stylist favorite Dry Texturizing Spray, is now the new gold standard. It’s magic! We recently added two new products: Thick Dry Finishing Spray and Soft Dry Conditioner Spray. When Oribe finishes a day of shooting and the hair has been done up and taken down, then reworked again, it’s thick and big with a sexy, extraordinary texture. That’s the look you get with Thick—without layers of product. Thick creates the effect of thick volume all along the hair shaft, not just at the root. It’s very cool and unique—and, best of all, it brushes out with no powdery residue, leaving shiny hair!
Soft Dry Conditioner Spray has amazing range and possibilities. Oribe imagined what it would be like if you could place hair in a clothes dryer with a sheet of Downy fabric softener to condition and soften it (he really thinks like this, by the way), and then he created that effect for the hair in this innovative product—minus the clothes dryer, of course. So the hair is soft, touchable, weightless, and silky.
CN: Does Oribe have products specifically formulated for different types of hair?
DK: The entire Oribe line can be used on all types of hair, whether it’s color-treated or not, thick or fine, long or short. Our Signature Series is the best example of a product everyone can use every day. But we also have families of hair care products particularly suited to help hair that’s been colored or hair that needs taming. For hair that’s fine, we have several products that add volume and create texture so the hair looks fuller without any stiffness. And our Shine family of products gives maximum luster and moisture, even on beach looks. So Oribe works no matter what type of hair you have or what look you want to create.
CN: Daniel, thank you so much for taking the time to speak to me and the team. We love the product and so do our guests. What do you think is the key ingredient to the company’s fame?
DK: First off, we are grateful for the market’s acceptance and that we’ve been able to create products that really work both in the salon and at home. What makes Oribe Hair Care so amazing is our CPO—our chief product officer—Oribe. Both the man and the company believe in focusing on innovation and not skimping on quality, which is why I constantly visit the salons that use our products. We want to know what works for you and your customers—and it’s great to watch how other professionals use what we’ve created.
And, I must say, you and John Castagnetti have created a beautiful salon with an amazing team of highly skilled stylists. It’s easy to see why you’re so busy! This visit was, how shall I put it—perfect.