The Price for Beauty? $1 : In Exchange for Trying Out Wella Products, Center Offers Salon Treatment for a Bargain
Like many women, Margie Friedland loves to get the full treatment during her jaunts to the beauty salon.
She visits her stylist every five to six weeks to hide her dark roots, soften her hair with some conditioner and turn her curly coif into a fashionable “do”--all the primping one would expect from a ritzy Beverly Hills salon.
Friedland isn’t worried about the cost, though. No matter what these local stylists do to her hair, the trip will only cost her $1.
But this isn’t your typical day at the beauty parlor.
Friedland is a volunteer, a guinea pig of sorts. But don’t say that too loudly. Hair stylists at the Wella International Research and Development Center in Woodland Hills prefer to call their clients “test models.”
“I never know how I’m going to look when I leave,” said Friedland, 50, who has been driving from her Westlake Village home to the salon for more than six months. “I enjoy trying things that I normally wouldn’t try.”
Friedland is among the growing number of brave souls who venture into the Woodland Hills salon and allow researchers to test new products on their hair. In turn, customers receive all the services for the nominal $1 “towel fee.”
But nothing’s guaranteed.
“I’ve had my share of problems with products not working,” said stylist Jason Mitchell, who was immediately stung with withering glances from his boss and a Wella spokeswoman.
“Some of them have been very extreme,” he whispered, leaving it at that.
Those who run the salon agree that any product could pose a danger, but if anything drastically wrong happens, they will fix it for free.
“Of course everything we test has a risk,” said Willi Abels, director of the test center. “We like to keep our work here as close to a normal salon as possible.”
Just inside the doors, the 7,000-square-foot Wella International Research and Development Center looks like any other hair salon. Stylist stations dot the space, while sinks sit at the back wall and hair dryers are lined up in the middle of the salon.
But in the back, where most visitors can’t see, four chemists meticulously mix, measure and manufacture perm solutions, shampoos, conditioners, gel, hair spray and varying shades of hair dye.
Based in Germany, Wella AG is a bioscience beauty company established more than 100 years ago. It opened the research and development lab at 20660 Ventura Blvd. in January, with the hope of finding the heads of adventurous people willing to sample and test products. The company pours more than $1 million into the facility yearly, attempting to develop better hair products.
“All the countries we sell our products in are represented in Los Angeles,” Abels said. “A diversity of people makes for a diversity of hair samples. This is a very important market for us.”
To become one of the few, chosen test models, clients must first submit to a group consultation, where they are told about the pros--and warned about the cons--of participating in the studies.
Getting an appointment at this salon can be difficult. Before any heads are experimented on, customers must first undergo a consultation process, usually held on Wednesdays. Hair evaluations are quickly taken: Is the hair fine, average or coarse? Is it dry, damaged or normal? What services does the client need?
During a recent group consultation, seven prospective clients sat around a table as stylist Chiara Nabifar explained some of the rules.
Customers must be 18 years or older with hair no longer than their shoulders. An appointment must be made in advance. And most importantly, clients must agree to sign a release form before every visit, stating that they will not sue the center or stylists if their hair turns green or--worse yet--falls out.
Still, the intrepid clients are willing to take their chances, hoping their heads are making a difference in the hair-care industry.
“I’m not going to lie--I’m doing this because it’s practically free,” 18-year-old Pedram Tosifno of Encino said after a recent consultation. “I mean, I’m not too scared because these guys have a lot of experience and these products are supposed to be good.”
All the salon employees have at least 10 years’ experience as stylists or chemists, Abels said. Salon chemist Mehrdad Jahed enjoys playing the mad scientist, creating new potions and liquids that are tested on clients.
“It’s a great job because the lab smells so good and clean,” Jahed said in his lab coat stained with bright yellows and dark browns. “It’s like cooking . . . you have to have a feel for it to come up with new and exciting things.”
Jahed works with other chemists from throughout the world in a large, clean lab. Beakers filled with blue, pink and orange fluids are scattered throughout the area. Powder chemicals fill glass containers. Scales measure all the goods. Stained lab coats are splashed with all the shades of the rainbow. Initial products are tested on wigs, to make sure the color takes to hair--or at least faux hair.
“My job is to make a better shampoo, one that cleans your hair the best,” Jahed said. “It’s fun to work on the creative side of chemistry.”
Customer Adriane Schuster of Studio City has been visiting the salon for about four months, after hearing about it from a friend. Since the salon does not advertise, it relies on satisfied customers to spread the news via word of mouth.
“I’ve received a lot of compliments on the color since they started doing my hair,” Schuster said during a recent visit to the salon. “Even though they’re experimenting, there isn’t a lot of pressure to try things you don’t want to try.”
For Abels and Jahed, reinventing shampoo or hair dye can be a daunting task. But, they are determined to stay ahead of the competition by developing products they may market as soon as 2001.
“We just try to adapt or stay ahead of the times,” Abels said. “It’s always nice when you test an item that you see on the market that suddenly takes off. The greatest reward is knowing that it works and that people like it.”
