Calmare Cosmetics

Calmare Cosmetics is a Dutch hair-cosmetics company based in Ermelo that makes care, styling, colouring and perm products for hairdressing salons and their clients [4]. The company describes itself as a "Dutch brand since 1979", while its best-known product, the Calmare Haarhersteller (Hair Restorer), dates from 1981 [2]. It trades as Calmare Cosmetics B.V.

The brand is positioned as a professional salon label with a deliberately compact range. It sells to hairdressers through a dedicated trade portal and to consumers through its own webshop, and it presents itself as an accessible alternative to larger salon brands, with no minimum order and no purchasing contracts. Its business is centred on the Netherlands, where it says most of its products are also made.

Calmare's own account of its beginnings is short and centres on a single product. "We started with the well-known Calmare Haarhersteller," the company writes, adding that the content of that product has "changed minimally" over the years, while the brand around it has changed a great deal. The Haarhersteller is a care product for dry and damaged hair, and it remains the product most closely tied to the Calmare name.

The founding date is not entirely settled by the company's own material. The heading of its About page reads "Dutch brand since 1979", and that is the only year the site ties to the brand itself [2]. The same page, in its History section, states that the Haarhersteller "dates back to 1981, making it 45 years old", and the homepage carries the banner "Hair Restorer since 1981" [1]. Because the company also says it "started with" the Haarhersteller, the two dates sit side by side without explanation. This article follows the company's own brand date of 1979 and treats 1981 as the launch year of its first signature product. The phrase the company uses most often, "over 45 years", is consistent with either date.

The people who founded Calmare are not named in any of the company's public material, and its ownership beyond the registered company is not disclosed.

Few individual dates are given for the decades between the launch of the Haarhersteller and the present. The company's account describes a gradual widening of the range: from a single restorative product it added further care products, then styling, colouring and perm lines, until it could offer what it calls "a compact yet very comprehensive range".

Alongside the range, the brand's look changed. Calmare says its corporate identity "moved with the times" and that its packaging was refreshed so that the products would sit well in a modern salon. The Dutch-language version of the same passage describes the current packaging as having a "no-nonsense" appearance.

By the mid-2020s the company was marking its long history in its own communication. The About page describes the Haarhersteller as 45 years old, which places that statement in 2026, and the homepage and contact page both refer to "over 45 years of experience" in professional hair care. No company anniversary event has been announced.

Calmare frames its approach around a simple promise: products should do what they say. "At Calmare, we believe it's incredibly important that our products truly deliver on their promises," the company writes, adding that every product is tested by a panel of experienced hairdressers before it is launched [2]. On a separate Promise page it names "the quality of the hairdresser" as the standard it measures itself against [3].

The brand's short list of values, repeated across its website, is "Dutch hair brand", "Salon quality" and "Personal & honest". Its tagline, "In good hands", appears throughout the site, often in the phrase "With Calmare, you're in good hands!"

A recurring theme is personal service. The company tells salon customers that they are "not a number" and promises short lines of communication, quick answers to technical questions and direct contact with a named sales representative. For hairdressers weighing up brands, Calmare pitches itself on value as much as on quality. Its benefits page lists "optimal quality" and "an affordable product" side by side, and elsewhere the company calls its range "competitively priced".

The most distinctive commercial point is flexibility of ordering. Many salon brands require a salon to stock complete product lines or sign purchasing agreements. Calmare says it does not: salons can buy per piece or per box, with "no mandatory complete lines or purchasing contracts" [5]. The company adds promotional material for salons, professional product photographs for use on social media and websites, and regular newsletters with offers and news.

### Production and animal testing

Local production is a central part of how the company describes itself. According to Calmare, its products are made "where possible, entirely" in the Netherlands, and when that is not possible it aims to stay "as close to home as possible" [3]. It sums this up in the slogan "From our own soil, in good hands." Elsewhere the company says that most, rather than all, of its products are produced in the Netherlands.

Calmare states that its products are not tested on animals and that all of them are cruelty-free. It also says that several products, including every one of its hair dyes, are vegan; this applies to part of the range, not all of it [2]. No independent certifying body is named for either claim, and no third-party certifications are documented.

The range is organised into four main groups: care, styling, colouring and perm. Calmare presents it as covering "every look, every hairstyle, and every technique", with products aimed at women, men and a general audience.

Care. The care line includes shampoos in two sizes, conditioners, leave-in conditioners and masks, together with mini sizes and combination packs. The company promotes a family of nine shampoos. Products are grouped by hair concern, including dry and damaged hair, bleached or coloured hair, fine and limp hair, dandruff, oily hair, frizz and a sensitive scalp. The Haarhersteller belongs to this group and has its own set of product bundles.

Styling. Styling products include hairsprays, mousse, gel, paste, wax and a volumising powder, as well as a blow-dry spray and a setting spray. The company gives particular prominence on its homepage to Styling Boost, a product it describes as "indispensable for every updo" because of the grip it gives to pinned hairstyles.

Colouring. The colour range centres on Nuance Hair Color, with Brilliant Blonde bleaching powder, activators, toners and Nuance Protect. Keraphlex, which is listed with the colouring products, is also used in the brand's keratin treatment; Calmare says a treatment with Keraphlex can "restore your hair structure" of dry or damaged hair [9].

Perm. The perm line includes Neutral and Volume lotions and Aqua Flush. According to the company, Aqua Flush removes the need to rinse after the processing time because it "stops the transformation process in 30 seconds" [9].

### Salon treatments and training

Beyond individual products, Calmare publishes four salon treatment concepts built around its range: a toner treatment, a keratin treatment, a perm treatment and a head spa treatment for hair and scalp.

The company also runs training for hairdressers. It offers courses on request rather than a fixed programme, tailored to an individual salon and its team and covering cutting, colouring, styling and product use [8]. Two formats are described. "Look & Learn" sessions let hairdressers watch an instructor demonstrate seasonal trends and techniques on a model, while practical sessions, held a few times a year, have participants bring their own model and try the techniques themselves. The sessions almost always take place at a partner salon in Nunspeet. Calmare says hairdressers who do not yet use its products are welcome to attend.

Calmare Cosmetics is active. Its webshop is live, and its blog carries content for the autumn and winter 2026–2027 season, including posts on styling trends and hair-colour trends for that period [6]. The blog, which also covers product guidance, tutorials and hair tips, is published largely in Dutch, including on the English version of the site. The company's footer reads "© 2026 Calmare Cosmetics B.V."

The business remains centred on the Netherlands, with its registered office in Ermelo and its salon training held in Nunspeet. It sells both to salons, through a professional ordering portal, and directly to consumers. The brand is also present on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest.