The Makeup Insider
Vanessa Barney
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The Party Nobody Wanted to Come To, With Joanne Starkman of Innersensen Organic Beauty
Joanne Starkman is the founder and chief visionary officer of Innersense Organic Beauty. She's been a hairstylist since the late 80s. She spent years as a platform artist teaching haircutting and perming. Then she built a clean hair care brand with her husband and co-founder, Greg. We first met on an Innersense shoot in Byron last year. We recorded this one in Portugal, three days into a seven-day campaign shoot where I'm doing the makeup. Joanne tells the whole story, from her daughter Morgan's diagnosis to a team of almost 100. Then she walks me through the products she brought along. Salon Finder The Makeup Insider What we covered: How Joanne and Greg met and fell in love in the beauty industryMorgan's Williams syndrome diagnosis at 22 months, two weeks before baby Max arrivedCleaning up the chemicals at home, then realising what was in her salon productsWhy health food store hair care didn't perform like salon brandsThe shea butter lesson: a $5 a pound version and a $30 a pound version can carry the same labelCaring for the caregiver, and why stylists' health sits at the heart of the brandResearch before the internet: phone calls, Greg's network and a lot of chemistsLaunching in 2005, and the body products that didn't click with hairdressersWhy Harmonic Healing Oil became Harmonic Treatment OilSynthetic fragrance, and why Joanne calls it a non-negotiableWanting to quit, and begging Greg to go back to workSalons saying "I already have a product that does that"Selling through health food stores, including Whole FoodsJoanne working full time behind the chair to keep the brand goingBootstrapping: a rented chair, a massage room for pick and pack, and filling bottles in the garageHow the curly hair community found Innersense around 2016The 2020 boom, and why already having e-commerce matteredHer advice for new brands: your message, your community, your own website firstColor Purity, their fume-free, fragrance-free hair colourThe product run-through: Hydrating Cream Hairbath, Hydrating Cream Conditioner, Detox Hair Mask, the scalp scrub, Pure Harmony Hairbath, Repair Hair Mask, Overnight Repair Serum and Sweet Spirit Leave-In ConditionerMorgan as Director of Joy, and Max running operationsJoanne's advice for anyone starting a brand: it won't happen overnight Where to buy: Adore Beauty in Australia, Ulta Beauty in the US, John Bell Croydon in London, or find a stockist with the salon locator on the Innersense website Joanne's podcast: Trust Your Innersense Follow Joanne: @joannestarkman Follow me: @the.makeupinsider
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