Klorane

Klorane is a French botanical haircare and dermo-cosmetics brand owned by Laboratoires Pierre Fabre. It traces its founding to 1965, when the pharmacist Pierre Fabre bought a small Parisian laboratory called Klorane and relaunched it as a plant-based brand sold exclusively through pharmacies [4][7]. The brand remains active and global, distributed across more than 25 countries, and marked its 60th anniversary in 2026.

Built around single botanical ingredients matched to specific hair and skin concerns, Klorane is one of the long-standing names in the French-pharmacy haircare tradition, alongside houses such as René Furterer. Its best-known products are a chamomile shampoo for blonde hair and a dry shampoo made with oat milk.

The brand began as an existing Parisian laboratory that Pierre Fabre acquired in 1965 and rebuilt around plant-based formulas, starting with a range of botanical soaps [4]. The brand dates this acquisition to 1965; a 2026 anniversary feature in the regional French press instead anchors Klorane's "birth" to 1966, the year its first product launched [11]. The two dates describe different events — the company's founding and the debut of its signature shampoo — rather than a genuine dispute over its age.

That first chamomile shampoo, released in 1966 and formulated to brighten blonde hair, became the product most associated with the brand and is still sold today. Pierre Fabre extended the line quickly, adding a Calendula baby range and a cornflower cleansing water in 1967. In 1969 he set out the principle that still organises the brand: one plant, one concern, one benefit — the idea that each product should be built around a single botanical active with a defined purpose.

Klorane is one of the cosmetics brands of Laboratoires Pierre Fabre, the French pharmaceutical and dermo-cosmetics group headquartered in Castres in southern France [10]. Pierre Fabre's acquisition of the Parisian laboratory in 1965 marked the group's entry into dermo-cosmetics, the category of skincare and haircare sold chiefly through pharmacies [7]. Within the group, Klorane sits alongside sister brands including Avène, Ducray, René Furterer, A-Derma and MÊME Cosmetics.

Klorane positions itself around what it calls "the Soul of Botany," an identity it adopted in 2018, expressing the conviction that plants hold the answer to beauty and well-being. The founding "one plant, one concern, one benefit" principle continues to shape the range: each product is anchored to a single hero botanical chosen for a defined dermo-cosmetic effect. The company describes its mission as turning medicinal plants into treatments for hair concerns, and frames its products as naturally derived and built on traceable plant sourcing.

The brand's heritage is tied to the pharmacy channel, where dermo-cosmetics first established themselves, and it occupies a mass-prestige position rather than a luxury one. Its core customers have historically skewed older; since launching on TikTok in 2021, Klorane has worked to reach younger audiences through social platforms [12].

Klorane's catalogue spans haircare, skincare and body care, with haircare at its centre. Across the range, formulas are organised around named botanicals — among them chamomile, oat milk, quinine, aquatic mint, peony, mango butter, cornflower and nettle — each tied to a particular use such as cleansing, strengthening or soothing.

Two products define the brand. The chamomile shampoo, in production since 1966, is presented as a gentle way to revive and enhance blonde hair. The dry shampoo with oat milk became the brand's other signature, reaching cult status and winning an Allure Best of Beauty award [15]. Other recurring lines include a strengthening shampoo with quinine, a purifying mist with aquatic mint, and the Calendula baby range first introduced in 1967.

Klorane links its sourcing to the group-wide Green Mission Pierre Fabre traceability programme and emphasises naturally derived materials. According to the company, it stopped using palm oil from the fruit mesocarp in 2017 and cut its use of palm kernel oil by more than 90 percent. On formulation, the brand states that its shampoos are free of parabens and SLS and that its products are vegan, meaning without animal-origin ingredients, with some noted exceptions.

Conservation work runs through the Klorane Botanical Foundation, which supports the protection, study and teaching of plant life — including an annual planting of desert date trees in Senegal and an educational programme for children. The foundation's start date is recorded inconsistently within the group: Klorane's own site gives 1992, while Pierre Fabre's corporate site cites 1994 [4][7], a discrepancy that likely reflects an institute founded in 1992 and later renamed.

Klorane is not certified cruelty-free. Advocacy sites including Cruelty-Free Kitty and Ethical Elephant classify the brand as testing on animals where required by law, on the basis that it sells in mainland China, where animal testing on cosmetics has historically been mandated [13]. The brand holds no Leaping Bunny, PETA or Cruelty-Free International certification. This is distinct from its vegan claim, which concerns ingredients rather than testing.

Klorane is an active, globally distributed brand. Its most recent visible activity includes anniversary press coverage and ongoing social-media campaigns, and it reports a presence in more than 25 countries across Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and Oceania.