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Barista Bath and Body Uses Coffee to Make Gray Hair Gorgeous

by Laura Kenney (Subscribe to Laura Kenney's posts)
Posted Jul 18th 2010 at 9:25PM  
33 Comments
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I'm reporting live from Cosmoprof North America in Las Vegas, the biggest beauty tradeshow in the U.S. Every day, I've been tasked with picking my favorite new emerging beauty brand, so here's my first obsession: Barista, a coffee-derived hair and body line formulated by three family members that not only makes all hair colors hair super shiny, but solves brassiness in gray hair, too.

Barista Bath and Body's Perk It Up Shampoo and Soothe Those Jitters Conditioner targets brassiness with organic coffee. Courtesy Photo



Nancy Scuderi began going gray when she was 16.

At age 39 the Orange County native decided to ditch the hair dye and embrace her natural silver hue, and she hasn't looked back for 26 years.

"I adore my gray hair," the spunky, 65-year-old business woman and grandmother told me from the floor of the Cosmoprof North America trade show in Las Vegas.

Nancy Scuderi. Courtesy Photo

Her only caveat? Brassiness.

"Over the last 10 years I've tried 50 or 60 different shampoos and conditioners, looking for a formula that would make my gray hair look great, but it would always come up brassy," she confides.

The idea of taking matters into her own hands never crossed Scuderi's mind, until one day last year when she was pulling together a presentation with her daughter and niece for a few coffee clients at their consulting firm Cobalt Professional Associates.

"I stopped working and said 'I can't deal anymore, I am having such a bad hair day!'" The meeting was soon derailed as the women talked tresses, complaining that there was nothing on the market that fully satisfied each of their specific hair concerns. "And then we had this realization," says Scuderi. "As consultants, we solve problems for our clients, so why can't we do the same thing for ourselves!"

The three turned to the very ingredient that they were consulting on – coffee.

"Coffee has a pH that's similar to the hair and skin," says Scuderi. She found out that many hair and skincare products have an alkaline pH, which can cause the hair shaft to become dull, rough and brassy.

"The hair cuticle has a shingle-like texture of overlapping cells," says Scuderi. "When its pH is out of balance, the shingles open and you lose your shine." Open cuticles also allow chemicals and pollutants to enter the hair shaft, where they can affect the cortex, the layer of the hair that provides strength and moisture, along with the medulla, the inner most layer of hair that effects the way each hair strand interacts with light, giving it color.

Coffee, which like our hair and skin has a pH of 4.5 to 5, allows those shingles to lay flat for exquisite shine, and retains the hair's color and hydration levels.

And with that, Barista Bath and Body was born, the first full line of natural hair and body products made from raw, organic coffee. The paraben, sulfate and phthalate-free line launched on July 12th with eight products that harness the benefits of coffee, which, besides its pH benefits, acts as a gentle exfoliant and astringent.

Barista Bath and Body's entire line of coffee-containing products. Courtesy Photo



Perk It Up Shampoo, $16 for an 8 oz. bottle, is formulated not only to deliver shinier hair, but also to revitalize body and texture. "I wanted a shampoo that gave me volume because your hair thins out as you get older," says Scuderi.

Soothe Those Jitters Conditioner, $18 for an 8 oz. bottle, has a slightly acidic pH to grant the hair a positive charge to compact the cuticle and ensure the hair is soft and shiny, with no extra weight.

Barista just launched a week ago, but the response has already been positive.

"I brought the products in to my hairstylist," says Scuderi. "She was skeptical at first, but then she washed and conditioned my hair with them and remarked on how smooth her hands felt after using it." The blowout came next. "My stylist couldn't believe how much volume my hair had without adding any extra styling product," she says.

But the biggest clamor came from the neighboring chairs. "Everyone remarked on how shiny my hair looked, and wanted to wash their hair with it too."

And with that Scuderi walked out of the salon with bouncy, shiny gray hair, with nary a brassy strand in sight.

Barista Bath and Body is sold online at B3products.com.

Gray and proud? Read about other women who believe it's OK to go gray.
Read All Comments
Filed under: Hair Care, Hair, News, Hair Color
Tags: barista, cosmoprof 2010, Cosmoprof2010, gray hair, GrayHair, Nancy Scuderi, NancyScuderi
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READER COMMENTS

(33)Add A Comment

sun706, 7-20-2010, 9:39AM

2.5 stars vote downvote upReport
sun706

THE BOTTOM LINE IS GREY HAIR LOOKS GREAT ON SOME PEOPLE AND MAKES OTHERS LOOK OLD AND AWEFUL , YOU SOMETIMES DON'T KNOW TILL YOU GROW IT OUT. AS FOR THE COFFEE SHAMPOO ,MAYONAISE ,BEER , WHATEVER-FORGET IT. THERE ARE GREAT PRODUCTS ON THE MARKET THAT DONT MAKE IT NECESSARY TO PUT CRAP ON YOUR HAIR .COFFEE WILL DO NOTHING FOR THE HAIR AND ALL THE OTHER THINGS I MENTIONED ARE JUST DISGUSTING AND NOT THE EASIEST TO RINSE FROM THE HAIR , LET ALONE THEY SMELL......I WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND PEOPLE TRYING TO USE JUNK ON THEIR HAIR.

Reply »

figment039, 7-20-2010, 9:58AM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
figment039

I was always light reddish blonde, when I recently had my hair done, I thought I wanted it a dark red. My wise beautician advised me that I would eventually have a skunk line down the middle of my head, to just have my natural colors highlighted. It worked looked natural and great.

Reply »

Pam007, 7-20-2010, 10:15AM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
Pam007

ro, you must still be in your twenties. You've been conditioned by hair products and Hollywood that grey means old. But when you get to my age...49, you can pretty much tell how old someone is by the wrinkles in their face. They are not hiding their age from me by coloring their hair. I think dark shades and black hair on a prune looks more "witchy" to me. It really makes the lines in one's face stand out. I have no time to wonder what a younger one thinks of how old I look.

Reply »

Gaile, 7-20-2010, 11:09AM

2.5 stars vote downvote upReport
Gaile

My mother is 90 yrs old. She has gray hair and it looks good all the time. Her Doctor told her to use Nizoral. It is a anti-dandruff shampoo that can found been found at Walmart. I know it works.When she ran out her hair had that dull, coarse, yellowish look to it. All you need is a small amount of it to wash your hair. It is fairly cheap and easy to get. Hope this helps.

Reply »

Labyrinth Lady, 7-20-2010, 11:28AM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
Labyrinth Lady

I never had the patience to dye my hair - and I am glad! It's shiny, healthy and silver. I've been using Shikai Color Reflect Platinum shampoo for years -- it contains light -reflecting blue malva to give a beautiful shine to my hair. I buy it at natural food stores: Vitamin Cottage, etc. Never had a problem with brassiness. Plus at about $7.59 for 8 oz., it's half the price of the coffee-based products (and I thought $7.59 for 8 oz was alot! Imagine paying $16 for the same amount!).

As for grey hair making you look old -- the look of vitality and health is more than just in the hair. If you take care of your face and body and keep yourself healthy and in balance, that will go a long way to looking "youthful" -- or I prefer to say, healthy and vibrant (too much emphasis on trying to deny what is real -- we grow older!!!! It doesn't have to mean we do it unattractively). I've seen some people who look attractive and stunning with their natural silver hair brightening up their faces, and others whose dark hair does not disguise their years, but in fact accentuates it and is harsh with a face touched with age.

Reply »

Roberta, 7-20-2010, 11:54AM

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Roberta

I am 53 and gray and I have used BobSkinSoap on my hair (and Body) for over 8 years and it also has coffee in it which may be why I do not use any other products on my hair as it always looks and feels so good.

Reply »

LaVonne, 7-20-2010, 4:57PM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
LaVonne

My hair turned gray very early. Didn't bother me, I received a lot of lovely complements. My biggest fear was that it would go "brassy." I found Jhirmack shampoo for gray/bleached hair. It's purple... that worried me the first time I used it too. I didn't want purple/blue hair. It isn't. My hair is silver and shines!

Reply »

Apache, 7-20-2010, 1:36PM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
Apache

My hair is grey, but as my Dad used to say,"I don't care what color it turns, as long as it doesn't turn loose."

Reply »

Mary, 7-20-2010, 1:48PM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
Mary

I started going grey in my late twenties, and have been dyeing it ever since. I'm going to try the mayo trick to make my hair soft and shiny. I'm looking for a Split-ender, anyone have any idea where I can buy one? Thanks

Reply »

Marcia Ramsey, 7-20-2010, 2:06PM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
Marcia Ramsey

I disagree that grey hair makes you look old. I quit dyeing my hair when I was in my late 40's and I had people ask me if I had a face lift. The hair around my face is actually silver and most of my grey is silver...it gives it a shine and it also softens your face A LOT! Nothing makes you look older than that jet black dull dyed hair. It hardens your face and you look a lot older. Also shorter hair makes you look younger. I am happy with my hair and no maintenance!

Reply »

Allan Glassman, 7-30-2010, 11:55AM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
Allan Glassman

received my shippment order # 2714 and bottel cover was not sealed tight causing the shampo to spil all over the insides of the shipping box
my name and address follows
allan glassman
24 st george
palm beach gardens 33418

Reply »

Jenna Whitley, 9-21-2010, 4:29PM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
Jenna Whitley

I don't think gray hair looks bad on everyone I think it depends on the person skin tone and the style of hair. I also think if you want to look younger color in you hair will help so if that is important to you then it isn't to hard to get your hair colored.
thebeautycenter.com

Reply »

Michael, 9-16-2010, 8:30PM

2 stars vote downvote upReport
Michael

With all due respect, after reading the Why Coffee page on their website I'm alarmed to say the least. A product with a PH of 3.5 is an acid and they claim some of their products have a PH of 3.5. Salycilic acid, which is used by dermatologist as chemical peeling, to fully remove that outer skin layer has a ph of 3.5. If this is not done by a professional dermatologist under a controlled environment the risks of permanent damage and scaring are high. I can't understand what the criteria was to give this poisonous pool of acids an award for best product of the year, but I'm sure they didn't read the labels carefully or perhaps the manufacturers didn't include all the information consumers should have and instead followed just the packaging and decoration to base their results. Either the manufacturers of these products have no idea what PH means, never used a PH paper strip, they have not even a basic knowledge of chemistry or they never tested them themselves. If the PH of these products is for real on the acidic side we will start seeing complaints and possible lawsuits coming out. One thing is for sure, I can tell these products were made by amateurs in their kitchen as they base their knowledge in the PH of the coffee rather than the scientifically proven benefits of the high content of antioxidants the coffee is known to have.

Reply »

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