# Kastenbein & Bosch ## Facts | | | |---|---| | Founded | 2012 | | Origin | Germany | | Headquarters | Cologne (Köln) | | Status | Active | | Manufacturing | Tyrol (Tirol), Austria | | Distribution | Multi-channel | | Website | https://www.kastenbeinundbosch.com/ | Kastenbein & Bosch is a German natural haircare and styling brand based in Cologne. It was created by two master hairdressers, Roger Kastenbein and Stefan Bosch, who opened their own salon in the city in 2004 and began selling products under the Kastenbein & Bosch name in 2012, when they introduced a first hair wax and registered the trademark [2]. The company behind the brand, Kastenbein & Bosch GmbH, is run by the two founders as managing directors [9]. The brand's defining idea is that its products come out of a working salon rather than a laboratory or a marketing department. Its range of shampoos, conditioners, care products and styling products carries natural-cosmetics certification, and the line is sold through the company's own shop and salon, through natural-cosmetics hair salons and through organic retailers. In 2026 one of its styling products received a PETA Vegan Award from the animal-rights organisation's German branch [14]. ## Origin & founders Roger Kastenbein and Stefan Bosch are both trained master hairdressers. The company's own account of its beginnings stresses a shared sense of standing apart from the mainstream hairdressing trade: according to the brand, that difference is what brought the two together, and their first meeting led to a joint plan to design a salon and haircuts on their own terms. That salon opened in Cologne in 2004. The founders describe it as a deliberate break from the concepts of the large hairdressing brands, with its own standards for design, interior architecture and the way the business was run. They also name influences from the music and film industries, which they say still shape the brand, along with a drive to stay independent of what they call the hairdressing industry. A 2016 review on the German natural-cosmetics blog Elisabeth Green described the pair as two "natural hairdressers" with more than 20 years of experience and their own salon in Cologne [15]. In a founder interview published on the brand's website, the two present hairdressing as a craft built on individual work and personal know-how, which they contrast with the speed of industrial mass production [3]. The company remains a small, founder-led business. Its registered address is in Cologne, and its competent supervisory body is listed as the Cologne chamber of crafts, reflecting its roots in the hairdressing trade. ## History & milestones The brand's founding date can be read in two ways, and the company's own history page gives both. The salon opened in 2004; the product brand followed in 2012, when the first hair wax was launched and the trademark was registered [2]. This article follows 2012 as the founding year of the brand, a date also used in retailer descriptions of the company [16], while treating 2004 as the start of the founders' business together. The step from salon to product line grew out of everyday work. The founders say they began developing products where, in their view, the standard offering ended. They also describe a practical reason for turning to natural cosmetics: as hairdressers, they noticed that conventional shampoos left their hands dry and sensitive, and that synthetic styling products were hard on the skin. In 2012 the brand exhibited at TopHair, a trade fair for hairdressers. The company says it was the only "ultrabio" hair-styling brand at the fair that year, and presents this as a sign of how far the professional hairdressing scene then was from natural cosmetics. By its own account, the company was working against the conventions and the large players of the trade at the time. The brand dates a turning point to 2016, when it took part in Vivaness, the natural-cosmetics fair held alongside the organic trade fair Biofach. According to Kastenbein & Bosch, the fair showed that its task was to connect two industries: professional hairdressing and authentic natural cosmetics [2]. That idea of bridging the salon world and the organic-beauty world has remained central to how the company describes itself. ## Philosophy & positioning Kastenbein & Bosch presents itself first and foremost as a brand made by hairdressers. One of its recurring lines translates as "hairdressers are behind it", and its other slogans include "NATURAL. UNAPOLOGETICALLY." and "Authentic is given." The company's stated mission, in German, is "Wir machen Menschen stark. Wir verbinden sie." ("We make people strong. We connect them.") The core of its pitch is the salon itself, which the brand calls "the longest test track in the world" [7]. According to the company, new products and ingredients are tried out during normal salon work until the team is fully convinced a product does the job it was made for. It says it uses only the raw materials a formula needs, aiming for full function with as few resources as possible, and that it expects its products to work as well as conventional ones. The brand organises its values around three principles: "Innovation", meaning product development in its own salon; "Organic by Nature", the idea that every ingredient should serve a purpose; and "Haare mit Haltung" ("hair with attitude"), which it links to respect for oneself, other people and the environment. The founder interview sets out a critical view of the wider industry. Kastenbein and Bosch say the conventional hairdressing business sometimes does more harm than good through synthetic raw materials and commercial ideals of beauty, and that it relies too often on empty promises and profit. They call for a more honest approach to beauty and for greater transparency, so that consumers can see what is in a product and why. Naturalness, in their telling, means bringing out a person's own personality rather than covering it up. The products are designed to be used both in salons and at home. The brand describes its range as unisex and follows what it calls "Ungendered Beauty": recommendations are based on hair type and needs rather than gender. Its collections are organised by hair type, including fine, normal, thick, curly, coloured and silver hair. Alongside the products, the company publishes educational articles on its website. These cover ingredients such as sugar-based surfactants, patchouli and chia seed, as well as regulatory subjects including allergen labelling on ingredient lists, the shelf life of cosmetics, the EU's new packaging regulation and the different natural-cosmetics seals. ## Products & innovation The range is divided into cleansing, care and styling products, plus essentials, a hair-and-body line and travel sizes. Product names use a "Bio" prefix. Among the items the company lists as bestsellers are Bio Mattwachs Classic and Bio Mattwachs Cream (matte waxes), Bio Haarcreme, the two-phase Bio Pflegespray 2-Phasen, Bio Gum, and several shampoos, among them Bio Kraftshampoo and Bio Silbershampoo for grey and silver hair. Other styling products include Bio Funky Frisiercreme and the curl product Bio Curly Kiss. The ingredient most closely tied to the brand is chia seed extract from certified organic farming. The company describes it as a key ingredient in almost all of its shampoos and care products, and as its plant-based answer to synthetic ingredients such as silicones. It notes that chia seed is classed as a hair-conditioning ingredient in the EU's cosmetic-ingredient database, and credits its omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and protein with making hair softer and easier to comb. The 2016 Elisabeth Green review reported that chia extract then made up at least 12 percent of every product [15]; the brand's own current description gives no percentage. That review also gives a picture of one product in detail. The Bio Haarcreme was described as a leave-in care cream for dry and damaged hair, sold in a 100 ml pump bottle with a distinctly retro design and a light herbal scent. Its listed ingredients included spring water, chia seed extract, olive and argan oils, olive wax and a blend of essential oils including mandarin, lavender and ylang-ylang. On certification, the company states that all of its products are certified natural cosmetics and meet either the Austria Bio Garantie standard or the ICADA standard, not necessarily both [5]. It says raw materials come from certified organic farming wherever possible. The brand's vegan claim is partial. According to its FAQ, all shampoos and care products are vegan, while only some styling products are, since several contain organic beeswax; vegan items are labelled as such [11]. The company also says that all of its products are cruelty-free and appear on PETA's list of companies that do not test on animals. It points out that animal testing of cosmetics has been banned in the EU since 2013, and says it followed that principle before the ban came in. Retailer descriptions go further than the brand's own pages, describing the range as free of silicones, microplastics, parabens and palm oil [16]. ## Sustainability Beyond its ingredient policy, Kastenbein & Bosch runs two programmes based on the hair cut in its salon. It collects cut hair for the "Hair helps the Ocean" initiative, which uses hair to help clean up the seas, and it donates hair to the Familie Rieswick, which makes free wigs for sick children [8]. The founders also tie sustainability to their working conditions. On the brand's natural-cosmetics page, the company argues that hairdressers should be able to use products every day across a whole working life, and says its formulas are meant to protect the environment, the people around them and their own health. ## Recognition In April 2026 PETA Deutschland named Bio Curly Kiss the winner of the category "best vegan curl-styling product" in its PETA Vegan Award for beauty [14]. The jury described the product as offering definition, volume and hold for waves through to curls, with a scent of bergamot, rosemary and vanilla, and noted it could be used on damp or dry hair. The jury text added that all of the brand's products are natural, organic-certified and free of synthetic preservatives, and that they are made by hand under sustainable and fair working conditions. PETA published the announcement on its German website under an advertising label. Earlier independent coverage came mainly from the natural-cosmetics blog scene, including the 2016 Elisabeth Green review of the Bio Haarcreme, whose author recommended it for dry, split ends. ## Current status Kastenbein & Bosch is active. The company published a dated post on its website blog in September 2026, its product catalogue is dated August 2026, and it received the PETA award in April 2026. It continues to operate its Cologne salon and a showroom in the city, sells through its own online shop, and supplies natural-cosmetics salons and organic retailers. Salons and retailers can apply to carry the range, and the brand runs a training programme, the K&B Akademie, for hairdressers. ## Timeline {#belagg-timeline} | Year | Event | Source | |---|---|---| | 2004 | Founders open their own hair salon in Cologne | https://www.kastenbeinundbosch.com/pages/unsere-geschichte | | 2012 | First hair wax (Haarwichse) introduced and the trademark registered | https://www.kastenbeinundbosch.com/pages/unsere-geschichte | | 2012 | Exhibits at TopHair hairdressing trade fair; brand states it was the only 'ultrabio' hair-styling brand there (brand's own claim) | https://www.kastenbeinundbosch.com/pages/unsere-geschichte | | 2016 | Participates in Vivaness (natural-cosmetics fair of Biofach) | https://www.kastenbeinundbosch.com/pages/unsere-geschichte | | 2026 | Bio Curly Kiss wins PETA Vegan Award 2026 (Beauty), category 'Bestes veganes Lockenstylingprodukt' | https://www.peta.de/neuigkeiten/vegan-award-beauty-2026/ | ## Certifications {#belagg-certifications} - **PETA Animal Test-Free** — Listed in PETA's programme for animal test-free cosmetics — “All products are cruelty-free and appear on "PETA's animal testing-free list.” — https://www.kastenbeinundbosch.com/pages/faq - **Austria BIO Garantie (NOT IN Controlled Vocab)** — “Alle Produkte sind Naturkosmetik-zertifiziert und entsprechen dem Austria Bio-Standard oder sind ICADA-zertifiziert.” — https://www.kastenbeinundbosch.com/pages/naturkosmetik - **Icada** — “Alle Produkte sind Naturkosmetik-zertifiziert und entsprechen dem Austria Bio-Standard oder sind ICADA-zertifiziert.” — https://www.kastenbeinundbosch.com/pages/naturkosmetik ## Awards {#belagg-awards} | Year | Awards | Category | Source | |---|---|---|---| | 2026 | PETA Vegan Award 2026 (Beauty) — PETA Deutschland | Bestes veganes Lockenstylingprodukt (Bio Curly Kiss) | https://www.peta.de/neuigkeiten/vegan-award-beauty-2026/ | ## Signature products {#belagg-products} - **Bio Mattwachs Classic** — Bio Mattwachs Classic — https://www.kastenbeinundbosch.com/ - **Bio Haarcreme** — Bio Haarcreme — https://www.kastenbeinundbosch.com/ - **Bio Pflegespray 2-Phasen** — Bio Pflegespray 2-Phasen — https://www.kastenbeinundbosch.com/ - **Bio Mattwachs Cream** — Bio Mattwachs Cream — https://www.kastenbeinundbosch.com/ - **Bio Curly Kiss** — Für Wellen bis hin zu Locken bietet Bio Curly Kiss von Kastenbein & Bosch eine natürliche Kombination aus Definition, Volumen und Halt. — https://www.peta.de/neuigkeiten/vegan-award-beauty-2026/ ## Key ingredients {#belagg-ingredients} chia seed extract (Chiasamenextrakt, from controlled organic cultivation) Source: https://www.kastenbeinundbosch.com/blogs/inhaltsstoffe/chiasamen-superfood-fur-deine-haare ## Mentioned in {#belagg-press} - **PETA Deutschland (peta.de)** (2026) — Award announcement (article labelled 'Werbung'); jury text states all K&B products are 'rein natürlich, biozertifiziert und frei von synthetischen Konservierungsstoffen' and made 'in Handarbeit'. — https://www.peta.de/neuigkeiten/vegan-award-beauty-2026/ - **Elisabeth Green (German natural-cosmetics blog, not A-tier)** (2016) — Product review of the Haarcreme (25 Aug 2016); describes the founders as two 'Naturfriseure' with their own Cologne salon and states products were handmade in Tyrol, vegan and ICADA-sealed. — https://www.elisabethgreen.com/naturkosmetik/kastenbein-und-bosch-haarcreme/ ## Sources 2. (T1) https://www.kastenbeinundbosch.com/pages/unsere-geschichte 3. (T2) https://www.kastenbeinundbosch.com/pages/gruenderinterview 5. (T2) https://www.kastenbeinundbosch.com/pages/naturkosmetik 7. (T2) https://www.kastenbeinundbosch.com/pages/der-unterschied 8. (T2) https://www.kastenbeinundbosch.com/pages/impact 9. (T2) https://www.kastenbeinundbosch.com/pages/impressum 11. (T2) https://www.kastenbeinundbosch.com/pages/faq 14. (T3) https://www.peta.de/neuigkeiten/vegan-award-beauty-2026/ 15. (T3) https://www.elisabethgreen.com/naturkosmetik/kastenbein-und-bosch-haarcreme/ 16. (T4) https://www.greenist.de/kastenbein-bosch.html --- Glowpedia · · Published 2026-10-01 Please cite with a link to the article URL.