We met at the Ritz Hotel in Madrid with Jorge Rubín and Chiara, the founders of the expert hair care brand I.C.O.N PRODUCTS, to tell you first-hand what the keys are to healthy and strong hair. Twenty two years prove them right.
The Real Secret
His company will be 22 years old in May and it all started with a meeting in Los Angeles. In one of his many trips, Jorge Rubín, CEO of I.C.O.N. Products, met Chiara, the product developer who, after her time at Sebastian, began to give shape to the idea of creating her own products.
And so it happened. Jorge told her: “You take care of creating the best hair products on the market, and I’ll take care of selling them”. Now, more than two decades later, I.C.O.N. Products has conquered Spanish hair salons and has become the undisputed leader in the sector thanks to the unquestionable quality of its treatments and laboratory formulas made with natural ingredients that care not only for the hair, but also for the environment.
As Jorge tells us in this interview, their products are faithful to the principles of their creators. The quality of the ingredients is above all else, above any standard imposed by the market or any fashion that ensures quick sales “and if a product does not achieve the maximum quality that we demand, that product does not go on sale”.
However, for Jorge Rubín and Chiara, the most important thing about their company is not only its products, but the people who work at I.C.O.N. Products “creating a team with people who feel the company is another of the fundamental pillars of this company. Our employees have to stand up for what they believe in”.
Another key to Jorge and Chiara’s success is training. At I.C.O.N Products they spend countless hours training their hairdressers at their Vigo facilities. But if there is one thing that really stands out about this company, which has taken the lead over some of the most veteran brands on the market, it is its ability to adapt to the new times “we have transformed the life of all our salons. Not only by making them more spacious, more beautiful, brighter and better cared for, but also by training our hairdressers better. We like to make them feel that they are a fundamental part of the company and that they have to achieve measurable, achievable results. Our hairdressers have to understand the profession from all angles, not only from the point of view of the stylist who cuts the hair, but also from the business point of view. It is very enriching to see how they start out as hairdressers and end up as entrepreneurs.”
The hairdressing experience has changed a lot in the last 22 years. Before, you went to the hairdresser to get a haircut and now these salons offer you an authentic experience of relaxation and beauty, from hair massages to treatments with aromatic products or even relaxation therapies in the salon itself “before, styling was trendy and we already started to give our clients special treatments for their hair. There was a time when a look became not something you could see, but something you could feel,” explains Jorge.
His salons have now become a hair SPA “if we talk about 22 years ago, the average visit of a client in a salon was half an hour, now it’s three or four hours. Our clients come to the salon, relax and have a real transformational experience.”
A few years ago, men had to settle for going bald, but not now. As Jorge explains, “men have to understand that hair requires daily care with specific products. A hair care routine includes products such as a shampoo suitable for every need – oily hair is not the same as hair with dandruff or hair loss problems – a conditioner, a hair serum and vitamins”.
To keep this care routine in check, Chiara (who now takes the floor) recommends a series of products from the I.C.O.N. Products range that ensure healthy and strong hair. To start with, the expert recommends Shift, a treatment to detoxify and cleanse the hair. Then, we continue with any of their shampoos Energy or Organic, depending on hair type.
We continued with one of their star products, 5.25, a hair replenisher that promotes hair growth and is designed to keep hair thicker and stronger.
Finally, Chiara recommendsrecommends using her Elixir, an anti-hair loss serum that restores, stimulates and helps prevent hair loss. In addition, the formulation expert advises us to try the latest in hair science, Power Peptides, a hair treatment formulated to penetrate the cuticle and treat hair at the molecular level.
