Mane 'n Tail

Mane 'n Tail is an American haircare brand founded in 1970 by Phil and Bonnie Katzev, Arabian-horse breeders who first mixed the formula in the kitchen of their New Jersey farm to keep their show horses' manes and tails healthy [3]. What began as an equine grooming product crossed over into human personal care after riders started using it on their own hair, and the line is now marketed as a horse-to-human hybrid sold through drugstores, mass retailers and tack shops alike.

The brand is produced by Straight Arrow Products, Inc., the Katzev family company, and remains family-owned and family-run. It is still active, with a direct e-commerce site and blog posts published as recently as late 2024.

Phil and Bonnie Katzev developed the original conditioner on their family horse farm, blending ingredients by hand to give their animals what the company describes as "show-stopping manes and tails." Equestrians who noticed the results began applying the product to their own hair, and the response, according to the brand, was positive enough to push the formula toward a second, human audience. The original shampoo and its companion conditioner became the line's anchor products and, as Straight Arrow puts it, "a best kept secret for beauty aficionados everywhere."

The company is now led by Devon Katzev, son of the founders, who continues to run it as a family business [2]. One frequently repeated piece of equestrian-press shorthand credits Devon with the original farm formulation, though the brand's own account names Phil and Bonnie as the founders.

The brand spent its early decades as a grooming staple known mainly within equestrian circles before broader recognition arrived. In 1995, Mane 'n Tail appeared as a NASCAR sponsor, backing Winston Cup Series driver Derrike Cope, and it returned to motorsport sponsorship on and off over the following decades, including the 2021 Daytona 500 [7]. It also surfaced in popular culture: the brand was featured in Morgan Spurlock's 2011 documentary "POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold" as a corporate sponsor that, the film noted, did not pay to take part [7].

The clearest commercial breakthrough came in the United Kingdom. The product launched there for human use in 2013, stocked at the Liberty department store in London alongside established beauty names [9]. The following year, Marie Claire UK reported that Mane 'n Tail had become the best-selling shampoo on Amazon.co.uk, overtaking brands including L'Oréal, on the back of a 175% sales increase [8].

Mane 'n Tail is owned and manufactured by Straight Arrow Products, Inc., founded by Phil and Bonnie Katzev and now headed by their son Devon as president [5]. The company has no recorded acquisition history; it has remained independent and family-held since its founding.

Sources differ on the company's location. The brand's own FAQ places its headquarters and a 130,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Easton, Pennsylvania [3], while Wikipedia lists Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, both within the same Lehigh Valley region [7]. The two sites lie close together, and the discrepancy most likely reflects a corporate-office versus manufacturing distinction. The original formulas, by all accounts, were created across the river in New Jersey before production scaled up and moved to Pennsylvania.

Mane 'n Tail positions itself around its equestrian roots and its dual-use premise, summed up in the company's line about making "high-quality products that work for everyone — whether they have hooves or heels." The brand sits at the budget end of the market, emphasising family ownership and US manufacturing, and operates under the Straight Arrow motto "Serving our Customers with Tradition, Technology and Trust." Its consumer tagline is "Discover the Secret... For Great Hair."

On distribution, Straight Arrow describes the line as reaching national and international markets through mass merchants, drugstores, salons, supermarkets and tack and feed stores, claiming it to be "the world's most widely distributed hair care line" [5].

The Original Formula shampoo and conditioner remain the signature pairing, joined over time by ranges such as Herbal Gro, Deep Moisture, Micellar Water and Repair 'n Strengthen, plus a detangler spray. Formulas draw on ingredients the company highlights for moisture and strength, including coconut oil, shea butter and argan oil alongside keratin, biotin and hydrolysed rice protein.

A notable side product is Hoofmaker, originally a hand-and-hoof moisturiser for horses; the brand recounts that groomers found it softened their own nails, prompting its adoption as a human hand-and-nail cream [13]. On testing, the company states that Mane 'n Tail "has never tested on animals and will never do so," adding that it instead evaluates products using hair samples collected from local horses during grooming [3]. It also markets many formulas as sulfate-, paraben- and gluten-free.

Beyond commercial milestones, the brand is best known for a run of celebrity associations reported in the mid-2010s beauty press. Marie Claire UK named Jennifer Aniston, Kim Kardashian and Sarah Jessica Parker among users of the product [8], while a Stylight feature quoted a hairstylist crediting deep conditioning with Mane 'n Tail for the shine in Demi Moore's hair [11]. The crossover from stable to celebrity bathroom became a recurring media storyline, framing the product as a drugstore cult item rather than an award-winner; no formal industry awards are recorded.