# Furterer ## Facts | | | |---|---| | Founded | 1957 | | Origin | France | | Owner | Pierre Fabre | | Status | Active | | Manufacturing | Gaillac, France | | Distribution | Multi-channel | | Website | https://www.renefurterer.com/de-ch | Furterer, known in full as René Furterer, is a French haircare brand built around the idea that healthy hair starts with a healthy scalp. It is named after René Furterer, a hairdresser who grew up in Provence and developed a plant-based approach to hair and scalp care in Paris. The brand dates its beginnings to 1957, when he set out his method and opened his first hair spa in the city [5]. Since the late 1970s it has been part of Pierre Fabre, the French pharmaceutical and dermo-cosmetics group. René Furterer describes itself as a premium haircare brand offering hair rituals based on a personalised diagnosis, for use both in salons and at home. Its formulas rely heavily on essential oils and plant extracts, and its signature products include the Complexe 5 scalp concentrate and the Triphasic range. The French hairdressing trade magazine Biblond reported in 2022 that the brand was present in 80 countries through some 12,000 points of sale [7]. ## Origin & founders According to the company, René Furterer grew up in a village in Provence, where the scents and colours of plants caught his attention early in life. Pierre Fabre's own account adds that his grandmother sparked his interest in botany. He later worked as a hairdresser in his wife's salon in Paris. The founding story is set in an era when many women wanted Marilyn Monroe's blonde curls. Repeated bleaching left hair damaged, and, as the brand tells it, no existing treatment could repair it. Furterer's answer was a revitalising cream, followed by Complexe 5, a concentrate of essential oils. Accounts differ slightly on the order of events. The brand's own history presents the cream and Complexe 5 as two successive creations [3], while Biblond describes Complexe 5 itself as the revitalising cream, an essential-oil concentrate meant to offset the effects of bleaching [7]. In 1957 he formalised his thinking into a method he called étheirologie, a word built from the Greek for "hair" and "to heal". Biblond refers to a written treatise on the subject, the *Traité d'étheirologie*, describing the approach as holistic. Its central conviction is that beautiful hair grows from a healthy scalp, much as a plant grows in fertile soil. The brand still uses the first half of that sentence as its motto. Pierre Fabre describes René Furterer as having been established in 1957 as a salon professional brand, and Biblond likewise names him the founder of his eponymous brand in that year. ## History & milestones The founder put his method into practice in his first hair spa in Paris, which Biblond places in the family salon. There he developed a three-step ritual, "prepare, wash, treat", preceded by a close diagnosis of the client's scalp and hair. In the first step, the scalp receives a stimulating or soothing treatment with Complexe 5 or Astera Fresh. The wash uses a shampoo matched to the scalp's needs, and the final step is a deeper treatment for hair and scalp. According to Biblond, his rituals won over clients and inspired well-known figures in French hairdressing, including the Carita sisters, Jean-Marc Maniatis and Alexandre de Paris. The method also caught the attention of Pierre Fabre, a pharmacist with an interest in botany and dermo-cosmetics, who came to see it for himself. Biblond calls the meeting decisive: from then on, the brand could draw on the pharmaceutical rigour of Laboratoires Pierre Fabre. The exact date of the partnership is not settled. The same Biblond article gives 1978 in its timeline, stating that René Furterer joined the Pierre Fabre group that year, and 1979 in its main text, where the two men are said to have gone into business together [7]. Later milestones concern the product range. In 2019 the Style range was reformulated as eight silicone-free products. In 2021 the brand launched Ivive, a plant-based hair colour for salons. In 2022 it introduced a new formula for Triphasic, one of its longest-standing lines. In 2025 the South Korean actress Lee Se-young became the brand's ambassador. ## Ownership René Furterer belongs to the Pierre Fabre group, the French pharmaceutical and cosmetics company whose founder encountered the method in the late 1970s. On its own website the brand says it fully shares the purpose of "the Pierre Fabre Group, to which we belong" [2]. Pierre Fabre, in turn, presents it alongside Klorane as one of its two haircare brands [5]. Other brands in the group include Ducray, Avène, A-Derma and MÊME Cosmetics. Brand director Aline Poucet has described the result as a "double DNA": a brand created by a hairdresser, combined with the group's dermo-cosmetic expertise. The company also adopts the group's stated purpose, which holds that each time one person is cared for, the world becomes a better place. Research behind some products, including the 2022 Triphasic formula, is credited to Pierre Fabre's laboratories. ## Philosophy & positioning In the company's words, the story of René Furterer rests on a single conviction: that botany holds benefits capable of restoring hair's strength and beauty. The brand presents itself as a specialist in scalp science and treats the scalp, rather than the lengths alone, as the starting point of hair care. Its range covers shampoos, masks, conditioners, scalp treatments, products for hair loss and dandruff, oils, serums and creams. These are organised around concerns such as thinning, coloured, curly and very dry hair. Descriptions of its market position vary by source. The brand calls itself a premium haircare brand [1], while the English Wikipedia article on its ambassador Lee Se-young, who took on the role in 2025, calls it "French luxury hair care" [6]. Sensory experience is a recurring theme in how the company presents itself. It says the founder was the first to create plant-based products that paired strong efficacy with a high degree of sensuality, selecting rare essential oils so that each would give a specific sensation alongside its effect. The brand also claims a place in haute coiffure, the high-fashion end of hairdressing, citing hair shows and French runways. Biblond reports that its creative hairstylist, Damien Boissinot, works backstage at Fashion Weeks. The Paris hair spa remains part of the brand's identity. The company describes it as a quiet space in the centre of the city, where specialists give treatments in private rooms scented with the essential oils used in its products. ## Products & innovation Complexe 5 is the product most closely tied to the origin story. It is an essential-oil concentrate applied to the scalp before washing, and the company says it became an essential beauty ritual. The plants named in the founder's formulas include lavender, rosemary, thyme, sage, lemon and caraway. Biblond identifies shea butter as a key ingredient of the range. Triphasic, which the brand director calls a historic pillar of the line-up, targets hair loss. Biblond reported that about 800 Triphasic serums were sold each day. Presenting the 2022 reformulation, Aline Poucet described the new formula as 98% natural. She said the product stimulates regrowth, producing more than 10,000 new hairs in three months while protecting existing hair [8]. These figures are the company's own. Ivive extended the brand into plant-based hair colour for salons. Biblond describes it as certified organic and vegan-labelled, with seven natural shades that can be combined into custom tones and a shortened processing time. According to the brand director, it can also be used alongside conventional chemical colour. The company supports hairdressers who use it with master classes on technique and communication. ## Sustainability René Furterer's formulas are produced at Pierre Fabre's site in Gaillac, in south-west France, which holds ISO 14001 certification for environmental management. The brand's own figures for how much of its production takes place in France are not consistent. One page states that its products are made 100% in France, 77% of them in south-west France [4]. Its main commitments page, and the body text of that same page, put the share at 90% [2]. Both figures place most production in France, and the brand director has described the products as having always been made in France. Biblond reports that several ingredients come through Fair for Life certified supply chains [7]. Shea is supplied by Sotokacc, a small company in Burkina Faso. Moringa is grown with the Société d'exploitation agricole de Ranopiso (Sear) in Madagascar, and argan oil comes from Moroccan cooperatives, a supply chain intended to support women's economic and social independence. The brand also carries the "Botanical Expertise Pierre Fabre" label. The company lists eco-design and biodiversity protection among its commitments. In 2022 the brand director said the brand intended to keep reformulating products to make them more natural and to continue eco-designing its packaging. She also described a partnership with Capillum, which she called the first hair-recycling network. These commitments sit within Pierre Fabre's Conscious Care approach, under which the group developed the Green Impact Index, a tool that scores cosmetic products' social and environmental impact from A to D. ## Current status René Furterer is an active brand within the Pierre Fabre group. Its website carried update dates from June and July 2026, and it appointed a new ambassador in 2025. The brand continues to sell care for use in salons and at home, still organised around the diagnosis-led, three-step ritual its founder devised in Paris. ## Timeline {#belagg-timeline} | Year | Event | Source | |---|---|---| | 1957 | René Furterer founds 'Etheirologie', his scalp-health and hair-beauty philosophy, and puts it into practice in his first hair spa in Paris with a three-step method (prepare, wash, treat). | https://www.renefurterer.com/de-ch/unsere-verpflichtungen/unsere-philosophie | | 1957 | Creation of the René Furterer brand and of Complexe 5 (Biblond key-dates box). | https://www.biblond.com/1-marque-1-histoire-rene-furterer/ | | 2019 | Style range reformulated: 8 silicone-free products. | https://www.biblond.com/1-marque-1-histoire-rene-furterer/ | | 2021 | Launch of Ivive, a plant-based hair colour in 7 natural shades, described by Biblond as certified organic and vegan-labelled. | https://www.biblond.com/1-marque-1-histoire-rene-furterer/ | | 2022 | New Triphasic formula, stated by the brand director to be 98% natural. | https://www.biblond.com/aline-poucet-directrice-de-la-marque-rene-furterer-repond-aux-questions-de-biblond/ | | 2025 | South Korean actress Lee Se-young becomes brand ambassador (English Wikipedia, Lee Se-young article). | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Se-young | | — | René Furterer joins the Pierre Fabre group. Year unresolved: the Biblond key-dates box gives 1978 ('René Furterer rejoint le groupe Pierre Fabre'), while the same article's body says the two men 'associated' in 1979 ('tous deux s'associent en 1979'). See audit.conflicts. | https://www.biblond.com/1-marque-1-histoire-rene-furterer/ | | — | Joined / acquired by the Pierre Fabre group (Laboratoires Pierre Fabre); continues as a Pierre Fabre haircare brand. Year given as 1978 (key-dates box) and 1979 (body text) in the same Biblond article; not resolved. | https://www.biblond.com/1-marque-1-histoire-rene-furterer/ | ## Signature products {#belagg-products} - **Complexe 5** — Er kreierte daraufhin Complexe 5, ein wunderbares Elixier aus ätherischen Ölen, das zu einem unumgänglichen Schönheitsritual wurde. — https://www.renefurterer.com/de-ch/unsere-verpflichtungen/unsere-philosophie - **Triphasic** — une nouvelle formule – à 98 % naturelle – de notre pilier historique, Triphasic — https://www.biblond.com/1-marque-1-histoire-rene-furterer/ - **Astera Fresh** — besteht aus einer stimulierenden oder beruhigenden Pflege der Kopfhaut mit Complexe 5 oder Astera Fresh. — https://www.renefurterer.com/de-ch/unsere-verpflichtungen/unsere-philosophie - **Ivive (plant-based hair colour)** — Son creative hairstylist, Damien Boissinot, peut désormais compter sur Ivive, une coloration végétale lancée en 2021. — https://www.biblond.com/1-marque-1-histoire-rene-furterer/ ## Key ingredients {#belagg-ingredients} lavender · rosemary · thyme · sage · lemon · caraway · shea butter (karité) · essential oils Source: https://www.biblond.com/1-marque-1-histoire-rene-furterer/ ## Proprietary technologies & patents {#belagg-tech} - Etheirologie (founder's scalp-health / hair-beauty method, 1957) · Three-step spa ritual 'Vorbereiten, Waschen, Pflegen' (prepare, wash, treat) after a pre-diagnosis — https://www.renefurterer.com/de-ch/unsere-verpflichtungen/unsere-philosophie ## Mentioned in {#belagg-press} - **Biblond (French trade magazine for hairdressers)** (2022) — '1 marque, 1 histoire' brand-history feature by Julie De los Rios (13/06/2022): 1957 founding, Pierre Fabre association, Gaillac production site, Fair for Life shea/moringa/argan supply chains, Ivive launch, key figures (80 countries, 12,000 points of sale). — https://www.biblond.com/1-marque-1-histoire-rene-furterer/ - **Biblond (French trade magazine for hairdressers)** (2022) — Interview with René Furterer brand director Aline Poucet (12/05/2022): hairdresser-created brand with a hairdressing plus dermo-cosmetic 'double DNA', Ivive plant-based colour, Capillum hair-recycling partnership, 2022 Triphasic reformulation. — https://www.biblond.com/aline-poucet-directrice-de-la-marque-rene-furterer-repond-aux-questions-de-biblond/ ## Sources 1. (T1) https://www.renefurterer.com/de-ch 2. (T1) https://www.renefurterer.com/de-ch/unsere-verpflichtungen 3. (T2) https://www.renefurterer.com/de-ch/unsere-verpflichtungen/unsere-philosophie 4. (T2) https://www.renefurterer.com/de-ch/unsere-verpflichtungen/unsere-territoriale-verankerung 5. (T3) https://www.pierre-fabre.com/en-us/our-brands/caring-for-hair 6. (T3) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Se-young 7. (T3) https://www.biblond.com/1-marque-1-histoire-rene-furterer/ 8. (T3) https://www.biblond.com/aline-poucet-directrice-de-la-marque-rene-furterer-repond-aux-questions-de-biblond/ --- Glowpedia · · Published 2026-09-30 Please cite with a link to the article URL.