VIRTUE

VIRTUE is an American haircare brand founded in 2017 by Melisse Shaban, who serves as chief executive of the parent company, Virtue Labs [1]. Based in North Carolina, the brand is built entirely around a single ingredient: Alpha Keratin 60ku, a human keratin protein that the company says the body recognises as its own and uses to locate and repair damage in the hair.

The protein reached haircare by an unusual route. It was originally developed by Dr. Luke Burnett, a retired US Army colonel specialising in regenerative medicine, whose research aimed at treating catastrophic battlefield wounds [2]. When a member of his laboratory team tested the keratin on damaged hair, the results prompted Shaban to build a brand around it.

Alpha Keratin 60ku began as military medical research rather than a cosmetic ingredient. According to the brand's account, Burnett's work on regenerative medicine for soldiers' injuries produced a form of keratin that was later found to bind to damaged hair. Shaban, who had previously led the haircare companies StriVectin and Frederic Fekkai, founded Virtue Labs in 2017 and launched the Virtue line the same year [1][2].

The keratin is, according to Virtue Labs, ethically sourced from untreated human hair shipped to its laboratory in North Carolina, where the water-soluble proteins are extracted through a series of chemical baths [3]. The company describes the protein as "nearly identical" to the keratin that makes up hair, skin and nails, which it says allows the body to recognise and absorb it into damaged areas.

The brand frames itself around honesty and inclusivity. Shaban has described the goal as aspiring "to be virtuous, to be honest, to be as forthcoming as we could and as good as we said we were" [2]. Virtue Labs also positions the protein as working regardless of hair type; in Shaban's words, "the protein in Virtue doesn't see race, ethnicity or demographic. It just sees damage and repairs it" [2]. The company markets its products under the claim "The Gold Standard in Hair Repair" and states its core values as integrity, innovation, transparency and inclusivity.

Virtue sits in the prestige price tier and is sold through a mix of channels including Sephora, Ulta, CVS, Amazon and direct-to-consumer sales [4]. By 2021 the company reported that revenues had doubled year-over-year to $30 million, with a repeat-purchase rate above 40 percent for its haircare [2].

Every Virtue product contains Alpha Keratin 60ku, which the company describes as a proprietary, patented, "100% bio-identical" protein; the specific patent number is not disclosed. The range spans shampoos, conditioners, treatments and styling products organised into collections such as Recovery, Full, Smooth, Curl and Flourish. Signature items include the Damage Reverse Serum, the Recovery Shampoo and Conditioner duo, the Healing Oil and the Restorative Treatment Mask.

The brand supports its products with a set of clinical claims, stating that hair is "67% less frizzy" after four applications, that it achieves "95% reparation" of split ends after five applications, and that hair can be "up to 22% thicker" after a single use [5]. Virtue Labs says testing is carried out at five independent third-party laboratories, covering safety, human patch testing and efficacy, and that its products are not tested on animals [3]. Its formulas are described as free of sulfates, parabens, phthalates, synthetic colours and dyes, and as gluten-free and cruelty-free.

The Damage Reverse Serum was named to TIME magazine's Best Inventions of 2024 [4]. Individual products have also received awards from Harper's Bazaar and InStyle in 2024 and from Stylist UK and Elle UK in 2023, according to the brand's press page. Virtue Labs has cited coverage in Vogue, Allure and Harper's Bazaar and associations with hairstylist Adir Abergel, its creative director, whose red-carpet work has appeared across editorial and awards-season coverage. The brand states that it has won more than 80 awards and maintains an email community of over 600,000 members.

VIRTUE is an active brand. It has recorded press and awards through 2024 and 2025, maintains live e-commerce, and is distributed across major US retailers. Its founder, Melisse Shaban, continues as chief executive of Virtue Labs.