Article 1

Link to original article in French:

FAIT DU JOUR Des produits de coiffure bio et zéro déchet made in Uzège (objectifgard.com)

English Translation:

NEWS OF THE DAY: Organic and Zero-Waste Hair Products Made in Uzège

Here, in the heart of the village of Saint-Siffret, a stone’s throw from Uzès, is where Michel Lejeune chose to settle in 2013 to set up his hair salon… and his production laboratory. On the ground floor, a charming and modern hair salon. Upstairs, a production laboratory where the salon manufactures its own range of organic and zero-waste hair products. Solid shampoos, masks, soaps, lip balms “and by 2020, a deodorant and a skin repair balm,” adds Michel Lejeune, who now heads a company with five employees.

The company finds its roots in California. In 2001, this native Quebecer, who was working in California, made a choice: “To give up mainstream brands and try to work with artisans.” And it worked! Michel Lejeune found suppliers, but at that time, they were pioneers. Nevertheless, it proved that it was possible. Ten years later, the idea of creating his own brand sprouted, after a bet with friends. A serious bet. Two years later, in 2013, Organic’One started with a philosophy: “To offer people something different, in complete transparency.”

Because Michel Lejeune, with 25 years of experience in hairstyling, has a long history with so-called “traditional” hair products, which he dissected for three years as a columnist in an American magazine before moving to France. This was enough to permanently disgust him with certain additives used in the industry, which he accuses at best of being useless, at worst of damaging hair.

When founding his brand, he chose to “work simply, using products that the customer can easily find and understand.” Ingredients that are “98% French” and are “either certified organic, or certifiable,” says the hair artist who refuses Ecocert certification, believing that he doesn’t need it: “We respect the specifications and we are here to show everything.”

“We are the pioneers” No need for a label to make a mark in the sector, with an additional important aspect: zero waste. Because he asserts it, “we hairdressers, our second job is to produce waste,” between packaging, over-packaging, and plastic bottles. So, he chooses to manufacture solid shampoos that require only a sheet of tissue paper for packaging and which, “with 87 grams, are equivalent to a one-liter bottle of shampoo,” he promises. “It’s concentrated. One tablet is equivalent to between 75 and 90 shampoos.”

The other products are sold in returnable glass jars. “Today, no one offers hair professionals anything other than bottles and flasks. We are the pioneers,” says Michel Lejeune. And it works! Organic’One is distributed in 25 salons, mainly in Gard, but also throughout France.

While he was a precursor, today Michel Lejeune is very much in tune with the times and he can feel it: “Little by little, professionals are switching to us. They want to feel involved. Initially, we reached the purists, but the product spoke for itself.” To the point that today, about 20% of his products are sold to people who are not customers of the salon. Despite this expansion, Michel Lejeune continues to deliver products himself, at least within a fifty-kilometer radius around Uzès, in order to “maintain contact with professionals.”

 

Limited production quickly sold out.   Because he doesn’t rely on social networks to do it, presenting himself as “anti-Facebook”, and he doesn’t need to: “We can’t manage to stock up. Everything we produce leaves immediately.” And this is only by distributing in partner salons. A “difficult choice, because many salons are under exclusivity,” explains Michel Lejeune. However, he remained stubborn, convinced that this professional market was “where there was a real need for change.” In parallel, he claims to say no “every week” to requests from organic stores.

In short, “there was a niche to be filled,” summarizes our hairdresser-entrepreneur. It remains that his concept was not necessarily the shortest route to fortune: “It costs more to manufacture than simply resell industrial products. Especially since we have to maintain a low selling price,” he confirms. “Our approach is not lucrative at all. We wanted to shake up the big brands. We are more in a social than lucrative ethic.”

Thierry ALLARD

Article 2

Press Article in ELLE magazine (please note, Michel LeJeune markets his product as Organic-One in France.):