Fekkai

Fekkai is a French-American haircare brand created by the celebrity hairstylist Frédéric Fekkai. Born and raised in Aix-en-Provence and trained in Paris, Fekkai moved to New York in 1989 and opened his flagship salon atop the Bergdorf Goodman building. He launched his namesake haircare line in 1996 [7], building a prestige range around the idea that hair could be treated with the same care as skin. The company is headquartered in New York; the founder's French background gives the brand the "haircare with French flair" identity it still uses.

The brand changed hands several times before returning to its founder. Frédéric Fekkai bought it back in 2018 and relaunched it around clean and sustainable formulas [7]. Fekkai remains active, sold through major US retailers, though at the time of writing its direct-to-consumer site listed products as sold out and redirected shoppers to outside retailers.

Frédéric Fekkai began his career as an apprentice to Jacques Dessange in Paris before moving to New York to run an American salon for Dessange. In 1989 he opened his own salon in the Bergdorf Goodman building, and by the 1990s he was a well-known stylist whose clients included Kim Basinger, Sigourney Weaver, Claudia Schiffer and Hillary Clinton, among others documented on Wikipedia.

The haircare line followed in 1996, according to the trade publication Beauty Independent, which dates the launch to that year [7]. A widely cited signature product, the Brilliant Glossing Styling Crème, was introduced slightly earlier: WWD reports it "was introduced to the world in 1995" [9], which is why some accounts associate the brand with 1995 rather than 1996. The 1995 date refers specifically to that product's launch, while 1996 marks the founding of the haircare line itself. Either way, the company's stated aim was to move haircare away from being a drugstore commodity and toward a salon-grade, prestige product.

Fekkai's ownership has passed through several owners. The brand was held by the private-equity firm Catterton Partners before Procter & Gamble acquired it in 2008, in a deal reported at over $400 million [7]. In 2015, P&G sold the salons and haircare business to a joint venture controlled by Designer Parfums and Luxe Brands, for a price reported at around $50 million [10].

In 2018, Frédéric Fekkai repurchased the brand through Blue Mistral, a holding company he formed with Cornell Capital that also houses the home-and-body label Bastide [7]. Under his renewed ownership the line was relaunched as clean and sustainable. The founder has said he does not intend to sell again, telling Beauty Independent: "Being acquired, no, it's not in the plan. I would rather be the acquirer."

According to the company, Fekkai pioneered what it calls the "skinification of hair" — treating haircare with the same scientific rigour and sophistication as luxury skincare rather than as a mass-market product. The brand summarises its values as "Professional. Clean. Sustainable." and frames its products as salon-quality formulas made for home use. Its stated mission is to let customers "spend less time in the mirror and more time feeling wonderful."

The line sits in the prestige price tier and reaches customers through several channels. Beyond its own e-commerce site and two New York salons, the brand says its products are carried by retailers including Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's, Space NK and Ulta Beauty, with later expansion into Macy's and professional wholesale, as well as international platforms such as Tmall and JD.com.

The brand's best-known product is the Brilliant Glossing Styling Crème, part of its Brilliant Gloss range for shine and frizz control. Its broader catalogue is organised into named lines, among them Super Strength+ for protein repair, Apple Cider Detox for clarifying, Full Blown Volume, Shea Butter and the Blonde Rx colour-care range.

Fekkai describes its formulas as built on naturally derived ingredients that are put through salon testing and third-party laboratory checks. Recurring hero ingredients include shea butter, argan oil, coconut and jojoba oils, cold-pressed olive oil, apple cider vinegar and ginger root, alongside hydrolysed vegetable and pea proteins offered as alternatives to keratin. According to the editorial guide published by Cult Beauty, the Super Strength+ Protein Powerbond Shampoo uses a "Powerbond technology," and products such as the Apple Cider Triple Cleanse Scalp Scrub and the Shea Butter Miracle Mask reflect the brand's emphasis on scalp-to-root care. The company states that its formulas are free of silicones, sulfates, phthalates and parabens, and markets them as vegan and cruelty-free.

Sustainability became central to the brand after its 2018 buyback. According to Fekkai, it committed in 2019 to reducing ocean-bound plastic, reporting that it purchased "over 64 million grams" of post-consumer recycled plastic in the first year [3]. The company says its bottles and jars are made from recycled material, with recycled content ranging from 30 to 95 percent depending on the product, and that its shipping materials are recyclable. It also points to ethically sourced raw materials, including wild-harvested shea butter and Eco-Certified ginger, and says its salons hold Green Circle Salon certification and operate at carbon-neutral status.

Fekkai's profile rests largely on its founder's reputation as a leading stylist of the 1990s and on the longevity of its signature styling crème. WWD published a review of the Brilliant Glossing Styling Crème under the headline "Here's Why Fekkai's Glossy Hair Styling Cream Deserves Its Icon Status," noting that the product had become a backstage fixture at fashion shows after its 1995 introduction [9]. Beauty Independent profiled the brand in 2020 following its return to founder ownership and its shift to clean formulas [7].

Fekkai is active and has been founder-owned through Blue Mistral since 2018. As of 2025 the founder's New York salon operates within the Mark Hotel, where a "Haircut with Frédéric Fekkai" is listed at $1,000. The brand continues to be distributed through major US retailers, including Macy's, Ulta, Nordstrom and Amazon. At the time the brand's site was reviewed, however, products were listed as sold out on fekkai.com, which directed customers to Amazon or Macy's — indicating that direct fulfilment had paused while retail distribution continued.