Why doesn’t detergent-free shampoo lather? The founders of Hairstory and AKT on foam, deodorant detox, and rethinking clean.
Ed Currie and Andy Coxon, co-founders of AKT, with Eli Halliwell, co-founder of Hairstory
Ed Currie: So I was in a show called A Chorus Line and my co-star turned to me halfway through the show and said, “Ed, you effing stink.” And just nothing was working.
Hi, I’m Ed.
Andy Coxon: And I’m Andy.
Ed: And we’re the founders of AKT.
Eli Halliwell: Hi, my name’s Eli and I’m one of the founders of Hairstory.
Andy: So we used to be actors. We met performing in London’s West End, which is the Broadway of London, performing eight shows a week under hot lights in the same costumes every night. And it was there that no deodorant was working. So…
Ed: …We made our own.
Eli: I met with Michael Gordon, who was the founder of Bumble and bumble. He and I had worked together, and he had a new business that he was just getting off the ground and needed some help. He’s just like, “Just try the product. Take it home and try it.” And he explained to me it was a way of cleaning with oil-based cleansing, kind of like the way that people clean their face with oil-based cleansing. And I thought, “That’s really interesting.” Okay, got in the shower and literally had the most amazing product experience I’ve ever had.
Andy: I wanted to make it easier for the consumer to be green. Can we explore a way of getting the tube, the cap, different vessels that made it easy to finish it, but it’s straight in the recycling?
Eli: And the whole idea here is that having a refill system lets you use this and then use the pouch to refill. And so the combination here takes your overall plastic consumption down massively. And then the other thing that is really important to us, and has been from the start, is that what goes down the drain needs to be safe for the environment as well.
It’s awesome to be an innovator and to come up with new ideas. And it just makes everything harder. It is such a different experience, and people have been programmed to understand that foam equals clean. And if it doesn’t foam, then how could it be cleansing, right?
Andy: Cause the market is full of products that we don’t realize need changing, or there is movement in the change. It’s giving them that other option, but we have to educate, and that’s the hardest bit, isn’t it?
Ed: But that’s why it’s this cream texture. It goes from this amazing balm. When you rub it into the skin, it vanishes into this invisible powder straight away. So there’s no waiting around with your arms in the air waiting for a roll-on to dry. I’m hopeful that we’ll see more innovation in the space. Unique products like Hairstory, unique products like AKT, where it’s multifunctional. It’s not just got one use case.
Andy: You can shop AKT at Sephora across the US, Space NK across the UK, and aktlondon.com.
Eli: And you can find Hairstory at hairstory.com, at Ulta, and if you’re from Australia, you can now buy it at Mecca.
Watch the conversation here.
Keep Reading
- WTF Are Detergents and Surfactants?
- The Surfactant Spectrum
- The Strip-and-Restore Trap: How Shampoo Created the Products That Followed It
The information in this article is for educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult a board-certified dermatologist or qualified healthcare provider if you have concerns about your hair or scalp health.
