VARIS

VARIS is a professional hair-styling tools brand launched in 2021 by Kao Salon Division, the professional-salon arm of the Japanese chemical and cosmetics company Kao Corporation [7][5]. Rather than shampoos or treatments, it makes the hardware of the salon floor: hairdryers, straighteners, curling irons, brushes, combs, and clippers, all aimed at working hairdressers rather than home consumers.

The brand is developed under Kao Professional Hair, which is based in Darmstadt, Germany [5]. It remains active, with localised sites for markets including Sweden, Finland, the United Kingdom and the United States, and continued expansion into new regions through 2024.

VARIS was introduced by Kao Salon Division in May 2021, with an EMEA rollout and an Australian launch dated to 10 May 2021 [7]. Trade coverage at the time described it as "a set of styling tools designed for stylists, created by stylists and inspired by stylists." Unlike a founder-led independent label, VARIS was built as a corporate sub-brand; no individual founders are named in the available record.

The company positions the line as tools made "with stylists, for stylists," emphasising ergonomic detail over consumer marketing. Kao Salon Division describes the products as "meticulously crafted styling tools created and inspired by master global stylists," and frames the design philosophy around combining "technology and empathy, with details that create little aha moments" [2]. The brand's tagline is "Creative Energy."

VARIS sits within Kao Salon Division, part of Kao Corporation, a public company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and founded in 1882 [6]. Within Kao's professional-hair portfolio it is grouped alongside sister brands including Goldwell, KMS, Kerasilk and Oribe [5]. In Sweden the operating entity is Kao Sweden AB, registered in Stockholm.

The parent's structure has been a point of confusion: the division's website address, kaosalondivision.com, abbreviates "Kao Salon Division" and has been mistaken for an unrelated Italian salon-haircare distributor. Contemporary records confirm the parent is Kao Corporation of Japan, not an Italian company — verified through the VARIS legal imprint (Kao Sweden AB) and Kao's EMEA brand-portfolio page [3][5].

The range centres on styling hardware. Its signature dryer, the VARIS AIRQ, is described as a 300-gram unit with a 110,000-rpm motor, digital controls and an auto-lock function [1]. The earlier hero product at the 2021 launch was the VARIS SB2 Blow Dryer, built around a brushless motor and what the brand calls a "true ion generator" producing ions intended to neutralise static and flyaways [7]. Other lines include a 4-in-1 curling-iron system with interchangeable barrels, boar and nylon brushes, and a co-branded VARIS x Denman brush.

According to the brand, its tools feature "Hydroionic Crystals," described as a natural blend of crystals that emit negative ions and far-infrared energy for faster drying and reduced frizz [8]. Other technologies it cites include a Tri-Detangle-System for its detangling brush and a venturi-effect air outlet designed to multiply airflow. These are manufacturer claims and are presented as such in its materials.

VARIS is active. Its most recent documented expansion was a South African launch in early 2024, brought in through Kao South Africa with the AIRQ dryer as its flagship [8]. Alongside continued geographic growth and new product releases, the brand maintains live multilingual sites across several European and other markets, and remains backed by Kao Corporation.