This is an episode of the Glossy Beauty Podcast, which features candid conversations about how today’s trends are shaping the future of the beauty and wellness industries. More from the series →
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In the past, most of the celebrity hairstylists that launched their own salons and hair-care lines were men. That’s been changing, as more female celebrity stylists are becoming founders.
Mara Roszak is a member of this new generation shaking up the hair-care market. You’ve probably seen her styling work on Natalie Portman, Emma Stone, Michelle Yeoh, Olivia Wilde or Zoe Saldana on the red carpet. When she’s not doing celebrity looks, she runs her salon, Mare, and her new hair-care line, Rōz, which launched in 2021.
On this week’s episode of the Glossy Beauty Podcast, Roszak shares the story of how she got started working with celebrities and how that led her to found her own brand. She also discusses the processes of coming up with silicone-free formulations and ensuring the efficacy needed for celebrity public appearances. And finally, she talks about how she’s approaching sustainable packaging, and where she’s putting her focus during the ongoing WGA and SAG strikes.
On clean formulations and red-carpet performance
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“I bring my lab samples to set with me and I test them on my clients. When I was formulating the styling oil, I was working with Emma Stone a ton. I know her hair obviously incredibly well, and I wanted to use the styling oil but I don’t want it to weigh her hair down. And so I really decided on [my] styling oil based on this trial process on my clients’ hair. Same with our future SKUs. I created Michelle Yeoh’s Oscars look this last year, when she won, with my Rōz lab samples. I’m really putting them to the test on these different hair types and textures, and they perform incredibly. We’re proving with Rōz that you don’t have to sacrifice performance for clean ingredients. You can have both; you really can.”
Taking plastic out of hair-care packaging
“We use aluminum. There are some amazing statistics on aluminum and how its recyclability just far exceeds plastic use. I think it’s 30%, at least, of aluminum bottles that have ever been produced are still being used today, so they’re recycled time and time again.”
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Focusing on the brand during the strike
“I was pretty much doing two full-time jobs; [along with Rōz,] I was doing my clients and traveling the world with them. I would say I’ve already pared that down a bit. Rōz has been my focus since we launched and really started the process. Rōz is definitely a huge priority and what I’m mainly focused on. With the strike, I absolutely have more time to dedicate. So I’ve been able to do both, and they really support one another, which is great. … But I can’t wait to get to do the red carpets and fun stuff again. The clients that I still work with, I would say, are some of my dear friends and incredible collaborators. And I really just work with a lot of the same women over and over again, who are incredible supporters of the brand, as well. I will miss them in this time. But I look forward to being able to really focus on Rōz and the salon.”
