The Spa Experience--for Hair
Bad-hair days happen. But the ugly truth is, these tragedies wrought by abuse and neglect could be prevented.
“Anything will split if it’s dry,” Philip Berkovitz says. “Your skin, for example. So you need to replace the hydration.”
Berkovitz, who created a line of products made from plant extracts to sell under the name Philip B four years ago, believes women owe their hair the kind of consideration they give their skin via spa facials. So, working out of the West Hollywood bungalow that still serves as headquarters, he developed a four-step process designed to revive hair dried out by sun and/or chemicals.
The pampering begins with his Rejuvenating Oil for Damaged Hair, a treatment derived from such plants as lavender, sesame, almond and geranium. Next comes the scalp-stimulating Peppermint and Avocado shampoo, a few dabs of African Shea Butter Conditioning Creme and, finally, a spritz of Apple Cider Vinegar Finishing Rinse.
“Hair is dead protein,” Berkovitz explains. “There’s no way moisture can really be replaced, but oil does add softness, bounce and shine.”
His formulas are the result of years of research and experimentation with expensive European treatment oils found in L.A.’s finer salons, where he once worked as a hairstylist. “I started making my own products when I saw hair so over-processed that it wouldn’t respond to what was on the market.” He found that severely damaged hair responded to the soothing properties of various plant extracts.
However, he also discovered that such extracts appear sparingly in many products touting botanical ingredients. In some cases, it “equals about four drops of plant juice in a bottle,” Berkovitz claims. “My products are made from pure ingredients and the plant content runs as high as 33% of the formula.”
Berkovitz confesses a love for the world inhabited by great chefs, which helps explain why the Philip B labels read like a menu in a restaurant for beautiful people: White Truffle Oil Shampoo with Hops and Nettle Extract, Wild Cucumber and Blue Orchid Body Lotion, Green Tea and Lime Body Cleanser, Carrot Conditioning Cream. The 12-item Black Label Botanical Collection includes a nail and cuticle cream with calendula and evening primrose extract plus a Cucumber Breast Enhancing Cream. Prices range from $15 for a shampoo to a whopping $700 for the Black Label package, sold at Neiman Marcus, Fred Segal boutiques and via mail order ([800] 643-5556).
But this entrepreneur is not an elitist. He got here by way of Brookline, Mass., where he first tested his hair-cutting skills on the family cat. On any given day he wears most of the hats in the six-person operation, from chemist to marketing exec to shipping clerk. (On Tuesday afternoon, he counseled by phone a follicly challenged woman from Batesville, Miss.) And he offers the healing powers of plants to home cooks in a 1995 book, “Blended Beauty: Botanical Secrets for Body and Soul (Ten Speed Press). It contains recipes for things like Quinoa and Kale Cleansing Scrub and Body Polish.
As his array of products continues to expand (coming soon: Irish Moss Hair Gel and a line of hair accessories), Philip B promises to stay on top: “If you’ve never had the best, then you don’t know what you’re missing.”
