The Sacha half of SACHAJUAN, Sacha Mitic exudes Scandinavian cool. Having set up his salon with friend and fellow hair care guru Juan Roselind in 1997, their eponymous range of phenomenal products ensued in 2004. He took time out of his exceptionally hectic schedule to address our burning, tress-related questions…
{Cult Beauty} Firstly, everyone will want to know ‘Why {SACHAJUAN}’? – what makes the brand so ‘cult’, and who do you think typifies the SACHAJUAN woman?
{Sacha Mitic} When we launched our range, we didn’t set out to create a ‘cult’ brand – we started out because we felt that hair care was becoming too complex. We wanted to make it simple for our stylists and clients, think: hair care made easy.
We boiled it down to the essence of what you really need to create beautiful hair every day. We developed a range of products that deliver their promises, using descriptions that are straight-forward and make it easy to select the perfect formulas.
I wanted to bring a sense of stillness to the range. A sense of pared-back simplicity that brings pleasure to the everyday. In Sweden we have a saying – ‘lagom’ – which means something is just-enough, perfect simplicity. That feels ‘cult’ to me.
The {SACHAJUAN} client can be any and every woman or man. We love it when we help clients reach a sense of confidence in her hair. We want hair to look like hair, feel like hair, but better. We want their ideal personal hair style to come effortlessly. We have fuller lives than ever before so our range aims to make life streamlined. I think one of the reasons our {Overnight Hair Repair} has been a hit is because it doesn’t demand you sit still for 20 minutes to take care of yourself.
{CB} Everybody longs to channel that insouciant, ‘Scandi girl’ look. How do those of us not blessed with a hip, Gothenburg address achieve that enviable, tousled texture?
{SM} Creating the perfect laid-back texture can be over-processed. We like to keep things simple and work with the hands and a few go-to products.
I like to ‘build’ hair with some supportive structure through the right care. Our {Ocean Mist Shampoo} and {Conditioner} contain natural vegetable proteins that nourish and increase the surface tension of hair to build texture and grip for styling. If you want to blow dry your hair, use a base styling product to give heat protection and moisture with light styling support, or {Hair Mousse} if you like a bit more body.
Rough dry your hair, to about 70% dry and then start to spritz {Ocean Mist} into the mid-section. It will encourage your hair to find its natural kinks and waves when scrunched in – go with it. Keep your dryer on a low setting and use your fingers to create loose twists if you prefer more definition. Don’t try and be too manicured with the shaping – you’re striving for the vibe of the sun setting behind you after a day at your Sommerhaus on the archipelago – so think tousled not teased.
{CB} Sachajuan is famed for its core ‘Ocean Silk Technology’. Could you demystify this for us and explain why it’s the key to healthy hair?
{SM} Healthy hair needs daily care. Our hair is technically dead beyond the root, so however careful we are, the daily processes of washing, brushing, styling and exposure to the elements combine to chip away at its condition. Over time, this damage starts to show up as dryness, fizziness and split ends. Using a professional quality product can help protect hair from further damage and make daily care and styling easier.
We developed Ocean Silk Technology because we wanted a professional performance care system that really worked against the symptoms of damage to deliver healthy, beautiful hair. We worked with Swedish scientists to select ingredients for purity and performance. Our work led to the discovery of extracts from two cold water algae; rhodophycea and chorondus crispus, that contained the exact same essential minerals that become depleted through hair damage.
We found that Rhodophycea can nourish hair from the inside; adding moisture, and building hair’s strength and elasticity. It boosts hair’s mineral balance, increasing levels of magnesium, calcium, manganese and zinc while chondrus crispus works more on the surface of hair, containing a high level of zinc and calcium that help boost shine and protect from surface damage.
{CB} Lots of women have fine, over-processed hair that craves hydration, but are afraid to use oils or masks which can add weight and leave locks looking limp. What would your ‘hair-scription’ be for someone with this issue.
{SM} This is a common issue for our client base, many of whom have fine hair and love lightening services so many of our products have been developed with this woman in mind. {Ocean Mist Shampoo} and {Conditioner} has been developed to deliver nourishment without weighing hair down. Its combination of Ocean Silk Technology and natural vegetable proteins give hair an airy finish that makes it easy to style and achieve a natural balanced volume.
{SACHAJUAN} {Leave in Conditioner} is also great for fine hair. Its spray-on applicator makes it easy to target application to ends and mid or highlighted sections most in need of moisture. It can be sprayed on damp hair to combed through for an instant hydration hit that boosts hair’s health and shine.
{CB} Similarly, if your hair is thick and unruly, what’s the best (and quickest!) way to render it more manageable?
{SM} If you’ve got thick hair in need of a manageability boost, but you haven’t got the time to languish with a treatment on your hair, SACHAJUAN’s {Overnight Hair Repair} takes the hassle out of the process as it can be left to fully develop whilst you sleep. Using it on dry hair in sections craving moisture can give a targeted moisture boost. Applying treatment to dry hair enables maximum concentration of nourishment to be delivered to each hair as it’s not already saturated with water.
This multi-tasking treatment builds hair’s elasticity, strength and shine while ‘feeding’ follicles with essential minerals lost in our daily style and care regime. Using an overnight treatment can also drastically accelerate your morning beauty regimen. You wake up with nourished, hydrated hair you can style-and-go without the need to wash your hair again.
{CB} And finally, what do you think we’re likely to start seeing more of hair trend-wise? Have you noticed any burgeoning cuts/styles/colours we should know about?
{SM} As winter approaches we’re seeing a return to natural texture and curls, but it’s more laid back than the ’90s inspired perms of last season. It’s about beautiful, face-framing curls and kinks. Curly hair is naturally drier, so a great curl starts with the right nourishment. SACHAJUAN {Hair Repair} provides long-lasting frizz reduction which makes defining curls much easier. We build on this with {Hair Mousse} and {Styling Cream} – blended to provide the perfect balance of support and humidity control.
Thanks so much Sacha!