Retail Week speaks to haircare brand Rehab about its story and growth, and the need for innovation to solve the issue of plastic packaging in the beauty industry
When best friends and co-founders Anastasia Muca and Vicky Ellis started Rehab in 2022, they had one mission: to provide the perfect haircare solution for women in a hassle-free and innovative way while still being sustainable and good for the environment.
The brand debuted with its biodegradable oil capsules and has since grown to become a one-stop haircare shop, selling heatless silk hair curlers, accessories and patent-pending shampoo and conditioner sheets.
Rehab’s latest innovation completely eliminates plastic from packaging. The brand’s vegan and cruelty-free shampoo and conditioner comes in the form of sheets with outer paper packaging that is fully biodegradable.
Along with being better for the environment, Rehab also aims to solve the age-old question of how much shampoo to use as each sheet is designed for a single use.
Retail Week speaks to Muca and Ellis about the story behind the brand, their new product and their ambitions for growth.
What is the story behind Rehab?
Muca: “We started the brand nearly two years ago now. We’ve worked together in the industry for many years, we became best friends and we have just had such a connection with hair and hair stories.
“We had our own personal backgrounds and struggles with hair. And we just wanted to create something that could help people and simplify their hair journey, make it really approachable, while also doing something new and innovative to make people feel and look their best.
“Brands are still creating shampoo and conditioners in big plastic bottles that are going to sit in a landfill forever. We feel really inspired by trying to make a difference for everyone.”
Ellis: “One of the things that we found from working in the beauty industry for so long was that if we were really going to do something we wanted to make that difference to people’s lives. And that’s something that we’ve always tried to be consistent with by bringing out products that are innovative and sustainable for the environment as well. When we launched our biodegradable oil capsules, that was really, really important to us.”
Talk about your new shampoo and conditioner sheets and the idea behind them.
Muca: “Our first products were our hair oil and plastic-free hair brush and we wanted to expand from that. We wanted to create a shampoo and conditioner that was vegan, cruelty-free and more sustainable that wasn’t going to sit in the landfill. So we created the patent-pending shampoo sheets, which we launched last July to a lot of success. And we have been working on the conditioner ever since – and it’s finally here.”
Ellis: “We didn’t know how the audience and the customers would react to the shampoo. And it was incredible to see it do so well. We have double-digit stocks left for our newest conditioner sheets, which we are very pleased to see.”
What’s the next step after DTC for Rehab?
Ellis: “We currently sell exclusively through our website but we are in conversations with quite a few retailers. We are 18 months in and for us to have these conversations has been incredible. We’re just trying to work out where is best for us but we don’t want to take it too fast. We should be in a store by the end of the year.”
What’s the end goal for Rehab?
Muca: “We would love to be just a household name and in every mum, daughter, sister and best friend’s hair routine – that would be the total goal. When you are out for dinner and you see a girl in the bathroom using a Rehab product – I think I might cry if that happens.
“It’s also really important for us to be sustainable. All we can do is do our best. We’re not going to get everything perfect every time. But as long as we’re making the strides to do the more sustainable option anywhere that we can, that’s what we’re going to choose.”
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