Björn Axén

Björn Axén is a Swedish hair-care company based in Stockholm, founded by the hairdresser of the same name. The company traces its origin to 1963, when Axén opened his first salon in the city [1]; its own homepage carries the tagline "in the hairdressing industry since 1984" [4], the year it received a royal warrant and launched its first retail products. The brand became closely tied to the Swedish royal court and now sells hair-care and styling products across several European markets. It remains active, owned and led by Johan Hellström, who took over after the founder's death in 1993 [6].

Björn Åke Axén was born on 28 March 1938 in Lidköping, Sweden, where his father ran a sports shop [5]. He began his career as a "shampoo boy" before training at a hairdressing school in Lidköping and studying with the Parisian stylist known as Alexandre de Paris, as well as in London. According to the company, he worked with the fashion houses Dior, Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent before returning to Sweden.

In 1963 Axén opened his first salon, Björn Axén Coiffeur de Dames AB, on Sibyllegatan 51 in Stockholm. The company frames this as a turning point that "came to raise the profile of the hairdressing profession in Scandinavia."

In 1976, Axén became hairdresser to Queen Silvia of Sweden and other members of the royal family, arranging the Queen's hair for Nobel dinners and formal occasions [6]. He was, in the words of the Swedish-language record, "the Swedish court's own hairdresser."

The year 1984 marked several developments at once. Björn Axén received a royal warrant and became a purveyor to the Court of Sweden, and the first Björn Axén retail products were launched that same year [1]. At the salon in the NK department store, the company also introduced what is described as Sweden's first computerized hairdresser booking system.

Axén died on 23 June 1993 in Stockholm [5]. After his death, the business passed to two former colleagues, Johan Hellström and Peter Hägelstam, who continued operating it under the founder's name. The company marked its 60th anniversary in 2023.

Björn Axén is privately held by Johan Hellström, who serves as chief executive and owner; he inherited the business in 1993 and runs it alongside the hairdresser Peter Hägelstam [6]. The trade publication Glossy likewise identifies Hellström as the company's CEO and owner. The brand is not owned by a larger parent group.

The company organizes its product development around three stated pillars it calls "people, planet and performance," drawing on what it describes as six decades of high-end salon experience together with scientific research. It lists innovation, sustainability and quality as its guiding principles. Hellström has summarized the company's outlook through the values of "humility, knowledge, ambition, and respect," and states that its mission is "to create wellbeing" [6].

Positioned at the professional, salon-quality end of the market, the company says its formulas are dermatologically tested and that performance claims are confirmed through consumer and clinical studies carried out by independent institutes. It also reports investing roughly $27,000 in testing per product [7].

The range spans hair care — shampoos, conditioners, masks, treatments and oils — alongside styling products such as creams, gels, sprays and waxes, and styling tools including hair dryers, straighteners and curling irons. Scan Magazine reports a portfolio of more than 80 hair-care and styling products, with the company's salons performing over 80,000 treatments a year [6]. Among the items the brand highlights are the Sleek Stick, a wax stick the company says tames frizz and flyaways for a glossy finish, and a Volume routine for which it claims 99% of users saw visibly increased volume.

On sustainability, the company states that all its formulations are vegan and free from cyclic silicones, PFAS and parabens, with the exception that its waxes contain beeswax. It describes its products as cruelty-free and says it has never tested on animals. Its packaging is presented as fully recyclable, with tubes made partly from sugarcane, and the company has set a goal that by 2026 all its packaging will be made from 30–100% recycled materials. According to Glossy, it also offers refillable shampoo and conditioner packaging, which it says uses 80% less plastic than buying new bottles.

Björn Axén has been the subject of feature coverage in the trade and Nordic press. Scan Magazine profiled the company on its 60th anniversary, covering the founder's history, the royal warrant and the current leadership. In 2024, Glossy reported on the company's expansion into the United Kingdom, citing $7 million in sales for 2023 and retail growth across Europe [7]. Its longest-standing association is with Queen Silvia of Sweden, for whom the founder styled hair from 1976 and to whose court the brand has been a purveyor since 1984.

The company is active. Prior to 2021 its products were sold mainly in Sweden, plus online in the Nordics and Switzerland; it has since added retail partners in the Netherlands, Germany and Spain. In 2024 it announced a move into the UK market, planning online availability by the end of that year and in-store sales by 2025, having reported $7 million in sales in 2023 [7].