Pro Hair Labs Goes Green
In 1994, Howard Margolin set our to develop a new line of truly safe, skin-friendly products for the hair adhesive industry. Margolin chose to go head to head against the best in terms of performance and reliability. With 30 years of experience in the hair replacement industry, he was confident he could create a superior line of acrylic and lace wig adhesives that would satisfy the changing needs of modern customers. Twenty years later, the ‘Ghost’ collection has become the world’s top selling cosmetic adhesive.
Inspired by their father’s vision, Margolin’s three sons, Ryan, Daryl and David recently joined the company to take it on the next leg of its journey. They bring a new vision and vitality to Professional Hair Labs (PHL), one that is seen in the company’s commitment to recyclable materials, energy conservation and above all, consumer wellness and safety. Ryan is responsible for EU operations and is the senior member of the digital marketing team. Daryl, VP, manages the company headquarters in Florida, whilst David oversees US operations.
Although Professional Hair Labs has expanded rapidly, it has not lost sight of its original goal of offering safe high-performance products at reasonable prices. Today, the company offers ‘Ghost Classic’ its most popular adhesive, at a modest price that has remained unchanged for ten years, and ‘Ghost Supreme’, a state-of-the-art product for people in the public eye or under constant scrutiny, like newscasters or celebrities.
Currently, all PHL polurethane and lace wig adhesives are formulated with anti fungal properties and have unique water-resistant properties that cannot be found in any other water-based, medical grade adhesive in the hair industry. The company plans to continue to invest resources to develop hi-performance adhesives that contain 0% VOC’s. Water-based adhesives are shown to be less invasive and PHL is determined to be a pioneer in this important category.
But PHL is not only about performance. The new generation of Margolins is very much in tune with the need to preserve the planet and they understand that the company cannot achieve success without giving something back. Deeply concerned about the threats from global warming and the barrage of pollutants and waste in the environment, they took a first step towards becoming a greener company and reducing their carbon footprint by converting all packaging and bottles to biodegradable formulations. The company is also concerned about the widespread distribution of products containing Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s) such as Toluene, Xylene & Mineral Spirits, which have been linked to the depletion of the ozone layer.
Currently, there are still many high performance lace wig adhesives that leave the scalp red, sore and in poor condition as a result of harmful chemicals. These solvent based products, while performing well, can have serious adverse affects. A recent incident serves a tragic reminder. In 2012, Atasha Graham died due to an allergic reaction, believed to have been caused by the latex glue in her hair extension or the solvent used to remove it. Due to circumstances, further investigations could not be carried out and the verdict reached was death by natural causes. Nevertheless, it was a serious wake up call to every distributor of products that are applied to the skin.
In parallel with their commitment to becoming ‘green,’ PHL is continuously testing its products to ensure that they are safe to use on the skin. Since people’s skin sensitivity varies, the company always requires a patch test as part of its standard safety procedures. And PHL continues to push the boundaries of medical grade, non-solvent based adhesives. The less viscous (15 – 20%) water-based, lace wig adhesives, are not yet a direct replacement for solvent based lace wig adhesives and can take slightly longer to dry, but PHL is excited by the potential of this technology in terms of its reduced environmental impact as water-based adhesives greatly reduce VOC emissions, the risk of explosion, disposal costs, health risks and hazardous waste generation.
The young management team at Professional Hair Labs is protecting the legacy inherited from father and founder Howard Margolin, while exploring new areas of health and beauty, including scalp protection, UV protection and skin rejuvenation therapies.
