# Lisap ## Facts | | | |---|---| | Founded | 1952 | | Origin | Italy | | Headquarters | Milan | | Owner | HQ Holding | | Status | Active | | Manufacturing | Italy | | Distribution | Salon & professional | | Website | https://lisap.us/ | Lisap is an Italian professional haircare company based in Milan, known mainly for hair colour and sold to hairdressers and salons. It was founded in 1952 by Carlo Locatelli, and its legal entity, Lisap Laboratori Cosmetici S.p.A., describes itself as a third-generation family business [6]. The company began with a concentrated shampoo and moved into hair colour in 1980. Colour has been the centre of its range ever since. Lisap's headquarters and manufacturing remain in Italy. The company says it reaches more than 110 countries through subsidiaries and distributors [3]. In 2021 it took a controlling stake in the Italian aerosol maker Parisienne Italia, a deal that turned the family firm into the core of a larger manufacturing group [7]. ## Origin & founders Lisap tells its founding story as the tale of an outsider's hunch. According to the company's own history, Carlo Locatelli was an entrepreneur who sold light switches. In post-war Italy he became convinced that Italians wanted shampoo, and plenty of it. The company's corporate profile says the business started in a courtyard in Santa Maria La Porta, in central Milan. The same profile credits Carlo with the founding idea. It adds that his brother, Cesare Locatelli, supported the company's growth together with the next generation [6]. The company presents Cesare as a supporter of that growth rather than as a co-founder. The Locatelli family itself stresses how far it came from outside the trade: "No one in the Locatelli family came from the salon industry," its US history page says. The founding year of 1952 is consistent across the company's corporate profile, its US site, a 2020 press release and Italian trade press. The timeline on Lisap's US site is looser, however. It dates the start of the business to 1952 but also describes 1972 as the year "Lisap begins with 8 people", filling two outdoor tanks with shampoo [3]. The company's US site likewise speaks of both "almost 70 years" and "over 70 years" of history. This article follows 1952, the year the company gives in its corporate profile. ## History & milestones The first product to carry the business was Lauron, an ultra-concentrated, creamy shampoo. The company says it was made in a building in Santa Maria La Porta that had been bombed twice during the war. By 1960, according to Lisap, Lauron had become a household name in Italy, even though it was still mixed in outdoor tanks [3]. In 1972 the next generation joined, and Lisap describes this as the moment it became a generational family business. The company names Carlo's son Renato in this part of its history. The larger shift came in 1980, when Lisap introduced its first hair colour lines. The company says this moved its focus to "beautiful color for all", and colour has remained its core category. In 2005 it launched Absolute 3, its first ammonia-free colour line. Lisap describes itself as a trailblazer in the category for that launch. Between 2005 and 2015 the company widened its range with care and finishing products for stylists. Two launches in the mid-2010s followed social-media trends. In 2015 Lisap introduced Lisaplex "Filter Colors", a line it describes as free of ammonia, parabens and sulfates, with shades inspired by photo filters. In 2016 the Lisaplex line added nine semi-permanent, ammonia-free "Pastel" shades designed for pre-lightened hair. Lisap's arrival in the United States is dated differently in two of its own statements. The company's US history page places the launch of its colour, care and finish lines for American stylists and salons in 2018 [3]. A press release issued by Lisap USA on 10 June 2020 announced that Lisap "is now offering its products, experience, and expertise to Stylists in the United States" [8]. The later date may mark the formal announcement, but both come from the company itself. In 2019 the business passed to a third generation. Alessandro, Fabrizio and Stefano Locatelli took over from their father, Renato [7]. ## Ownership Lisap is a family-owned company. Italian trade press described the three Locatelli brothers as its owners in 2021, following the 2019 handover. On 9 November 2021 Lisap signed an agreement to acquire Parisienne Italia, a company founded in 1955 that pioneered aerosols and also made hair and body care for mass retail. The deal gave Lisap control of 75% of Parisienne [7]. Trade press reported at the time that the enlarged group would be headed by a newly formed holding company, HQ Holding. It named Luca Papetti as chief executive of both Lisap and HQ Holding. The report listed Lisap, Diapason, Allwaves, Black, NiaMh and Rebeel among the group's own brands. As of November 2021, the group's stated aims were to exceed €65 million in turnover in 2022 and €100 million by 2024. The companies also said the combined group could become Europe's largest producer, by volume, of aerosols for the professional salon channel. Papetti named the group's two production sites as Rescaldina, in the metropolitan area of Milan, and Altedo, near Bologna [7]. The 2021 report also listed Lisap subsidiaries in Germany, Spain, Malaysia, Australia and the United States. ## Philosophy & positioning Lisap sells mainly to professionals. Its US sites address stylists and salons rather than home users, and its tagline is "We do beautiful hair". The company places heavy weight on training. It says that doing good hair "means we're constantly investing in education", and it sums up its outlook in the line "Innovation brought us here. Education will take us anywhere we dream to go." The corporate profile describes Lisap as one of the leading Italian companies in the hair-beauty sector. It also presents the company as a standard-bearer for the Made in Italy label. The company repeatedly links its identity to its Italian roots. Its US marketing frames the brand as a meeting of "Italian ingenuity" and "American creativity". ## Products & innovation Lisap's range covers three areas: colour, care and finishing products. Its best-known lines are in colour. LK Oil Protection Complex (LK OPC) is a permanent colour line that the 2020 US press release describes as low in ammonia with full grey coverage. Absolute 3 is ammonia-free, and Light Scale is a lightening powder that the company says can lift hair by up to nine levels. The Lisaplex family spans the Filter, Pastel and Xtreme colour ranges as well as bond-care and "lamellar water" treatments. On the care side, the company sells the Top Care family, which includes Ultimate K, Color Vibrance, Elixir Renew and Repair, alongside Keraplant Nature scalp and hair treatments and Volume Up for fine hair. Its finishing products include Lisynet and High Tech hairsprays and the Sculture styling line. The range also includes Ultimate Straightening and a men's line called Dandy. Education is tied closely to the products. Lisap runs colour-theory courses and master classes for stylists. It also promotes 4Dcolor, a colouring technique developed by the hairstylist Johnny Almagno. The company says the technique covers white hair, lightens and tones in one step, and takes about thirty minutes. Lisap has held formal management certifications for some years. It already had the UNI EN ISO 9001:2008 quality standard and the ISO 14001:2004 environmental standard when, in 2014, it voluntarily obtained Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) certification. The company says it added this to ensure high quality standards throughout production [6]. ## Sustainability Lisap's published environmental commitments are broad. The company says it formulates with "clinically-proven active ingredients of certified natural origin" and uses eco-friendly methods to extract its raw materials. It also says it uses natural and recyclable materials and eco-design in its bottles and packaging. It states that it voluntarily applies the Kyoto Protocol to reduce CO2 emissions [4]. It also says it cuts electricity and water use in production and respects Forest Stewardship Council certification. Some of the "free-from" claims are narrower than they may appear. The ammonia-, paraben- and sulfate-free description applies to the Lisaplex Filter Colors line, not to the whole range. The company's "Made in Italy" claim rests on its statement that its headquarters and factory are in Italy. Trade press described the group's production in 2021 as "100% made in Italy". ## Current status Lisap is active. The company says it employs more than 100 people in Milan and works with subsidiaries and distributors in more than 110 countries [3]. Its US online shop carries a 2026 copyright line and was promoting new packaging for its Ultimate Spray in 2026. The company remains in the hands of the founding family's third generation. ## Timeline {#belagg-timeline} | Year | Event | Source | |---|---|---| | 1952 | Carlo Locatelli starts Lisap in post-war Milan | https://lisap.us/house-of-lisap/ | | 1960 | Concentrated shampoo 'Lauron' made in a building in Santa Maria La Porta, Milan; becomes a household name | https://lisap.us/house-of-lisap/ | | 1972 | Next generation of the Locatelli family (brand text names Renato and Alessandro) launches the generational family business | https://lisap.us/house-of-lisap/ | | 1980 | Hair colour lines introduced; company focus shifts to colour | https://lisap.us/house-of-lisap/ | | 2005 | First ammonia-free colour line, Absolute 3 | https://lisap.us/house-of-lisap/ | | 2014 | AEO (Authorized Economic Operator) certification, added to existing UNI EN ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001:2004 certifications | https://lisaplex.com/en/company-profile/ | | 2015 | Lisaplex 'Filter Colors' (ammonia-, paraben- and sulfate-free) introduced | https://lisap.us/house-of-lisap/ | | 2016 | Lisaplex introduces nine semi-permanent, ammonia-free 'Pastel' colours | https://lisap.us/house-of-lisap/ | | 2018 | Colour, care and finish lines brought to US stylists and salons (brand's own dating; a Lisap USA press release dates US availability to June 2020, see audit.conflicts) | https://lisap.us/house-of-lisap/ | | 2019 | Generational handover: Alessandro, Fabrizio and Stefano Locatelli take over from their father Renato | https://www.estetica.it/2021/11/10/lisap-acquisisce-parisienne-italia/ | | 2020 | Brand states a network of subsidiaries and distributors in more than 110 countries | https://lisap.us/house-of-lisap/ | | 2021 | Lisap acquires control (75%) of Parisienne Italia; group to be headed by newly formed HQ Holding | https://www.estetica.it/2021/11/10/lisap-acquisisce-parisienne-italia/ | | 2021 | Lisap acquired 75% of Parisienne Italia (aerosol pioneer, also hair and bodycare for mass retail; production site Altedo, Bologna); agreement signed 9 November 2021 | https://www.estetica.it/2021/11/10/lisap-acquisisce-parisienne-italia/ | ## Signature products {#belagg-products} - **Lauron (shampoo, historic first product)** — It's mixed in outdoor tanks but Lauron becomes a household name. — https://lisap.us/house-of-lisap/ - **Absolute 3 (ammonia-free permanent colour)** — launching its first ammonia free line, Absolute 3 — https://lisap.us/house-of-lisap/ - **LK Oil Protection Complex (LK OPC) permanent colour** — LK Oil Protection Complex Permanent Color — https://shoplisap.com/ - **Light Scale lightener** — Light Scale Up to 9 Lightener Powder — https://shoplisap.com/ - **Lisaplex Filter Colors** — Lisap introduces LisaPlex ammonia, paraben and sulfate free — https://lisap.us/house-of-lisap/ ## Proprietary technologies & patents {#belagg-tech} - 4Dcolor (hair-colouring technique developed by stylist Johnny Almagno) — https://lisap.us/commitment ## Mentioned in {#belagg-press} - **Estetica.it (Italian professional-beauty trade press)** (2021) — Report on Lisap taking 75% of Parisienne Italia, the new HQ Holding group, CEO Luca Papetti, Rescaldina (MI) production site and the Locatelli family ownership — https://www.estetica.it/2021/11/10/lisap-acquisisce-parisienne-italia/ ## Sources 3. (T2) https://lisap.us/house-of-lisap/ 4. (T2) https://lisap.us/commitment 6. (T2) https://lisaplex.com/en/company-profile/ 7. (T4) https://www.estetica.it/2021/11/10/lisap-acquisisce-parisienne-italia/ 8. (T4) https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lisap-now-offers-over-70-years-of-beautiful-hair-innovations-to-the-us-301073214.html --- Glowpedia · · Published 2026-09-30 Please cite with a link to the article URL.