about mon amie

We like good hair and the planet and didn’t want to have to choose between the two. We also believe our mon amies (that’s you) deserve the good stuff. What’s the “good stuff” you say? Well, it’s consciously formulated, Australian made products, in sustainable, refillable packaging, with all the tips and tricks we normally reserve for our industry peeps. You see, we are a competitive bunch at Mon Amie and we weren’t happy with just formulating amazing products, we also wanted to pioneer a refillable system in haircare (insert huge bags under eyes here).

Lauren and Meghann’s aim is to redefine what it looks like to shake up the hair industry. They create products that are professional quality, best-in-class formulations with innovation and sustainability at their core and a consumer lens to their approach. They believe that “prosumer”, a salon professional lens with a consumer first mentality, is key to breaking down the barriers to knowledge between the consumer and the stylist. They realised that this approach also needs education and support content behind it that is effortless for people to adapt to their hair needs for real, true transparency across their entire business model.

The two met while Meg was Head of Brand and Lauren was the Creative Director for another haircare brand, and whilst in the product development lab quickly bonded on the need to develop best in class, yet sustainable Australian-made products that didn’t just cater to one hair type. Inclusivity was the key to the brief. Life happens and people move on, but Lauren and Meg realised there was a major opportunity to put everything they had learned into practice but on their terms. Being at a start-up meant they could move as fast as they wanted and didn’t need to sacrifice product quality or ingredient scope. They then expanded the brief to include packaging - beauty, due to its use case is one of the biggest contributors to plastic waste. So they pioneered a refillable hair care system.

Meghann has always been a product gal and fascinated by consumer behaviour. Lauren thought about product and hair in a totally different way than any other stylist out there. Her ability to translate hair needs into purpose-driven formulas and then push them as far as possible was totally different from how big brands were thinking about products. Meghann spent nearly 5 years at an Australian haircare brand, a true haircare boot camp. She learned global marketing through a product lens but soon realised that while casting models and developing campaigns was great, as she could challenge the status quo of beauty ideals, what she really loved was the product. Their shared realisation that there was a better way to approach haircare, meant the birth of Mon Amie was inevitable.

Their unique vantage point gave them visibility into true, custom upstream formula development. The focus on the science behind the formula and true ingredient knowledge meant Lauren and Meghann had to shift how they communicated about the product to translate complex concepts into more simplified consumer speak. Giving stylists and customers the knowledge behind the product to break down barriers and create a true hair democracy.

Sustainability is a word we all hear thrown around a lot. What does it mean to us? Environmental protection is not something we want to use as a gimmick to sell; across all our business choices and formulations we want to pioneer where we can and learn where we need to.

We know that 75% of aluminium manufactured is still in existence and it smelts perfectly back to pure aluminium, which makes it infinitely recyclable. Our pouches use 60% less plastic than bottles and are lighter and less of a carbon footprint to ship. We also formulate and manufacture locally to lessen our carbon footprint and have full creative control over what’s in our bottles. We take this stuff seriously and as a small business we get that navigating this is tricky. Our sustainability choices range from what’s in our formulations, where they are made, to how they are packaged, how they ship, how we recycle and how our customers use them. We try to look at the big picture- because every small choice can add up to something big. And we can always do better with a little help from our friends.

When we set out on this journey we established some pretty strict rules, and a safe word (kidding on the safe word) around what was allowed to be in our formulations… and what was not. So that means free from: Sulfates, Parabens, Propylene Glycol, Petroleum , PEGS, TEA/DEA/MEA, Palm Oil, Gluten and Silicone. No nasties, no testing on any animals, no marketing claims to brain, green or generally wash you the wrong way.

We also knew if we were bringing products to market they couldn’t just be pretty good in awesome packaging- it ALL has to be a synergistic explosion of the real deal. So here we are- products that give you all the ooh’s and ahh’s you could ever want. That means- ONLY active, concentrated ingredients- and amazing ones at that, suitable for all hair types and textures- with the style information and support to back it up.

Because this is about you, Mon Amie. You need a hair brand that is equal parts education and product. A hair brand that is less about pulling the wool over your eyes and more about making your hair look less woolly..Unless you’re into that- then we have tips for that too. Because let’s be real- we ALL have a bathroom full of stuff we don’t know how to use. Hence the brand name- we want you to know there’s a hairy friend that has your back whenever you decide to tackle your mane. And when you invest in us- we’ve got the support network to make sure you look and feel good as much as possible.

So no more wondering about what a product does, or getting home and trying to figure out how the h*ll to use it- we’re here to set your hair dreams free.  

Inclusion is a universal human right. One of our guiding principles is to embrace all people irrespective of race, gender, disability or other need. It is about giving equal access and opportunities and getting rid of discrimination and intolerance. This is important for us in the hair space- challenging traditional and limited product formulation standards and advertising. We love all things, people, the planet and animals (even filthy animals because we also love a good Home Alone reference).

Inclusivity for Mon Amie is woven into our formulations, the hair types our products work on, how and who we test on, how we cast and represent people in our content, how we write our education and as the brand grows- how we build our team and build on the foundation we have created.

We believe representation and celebration of a diverse spectrum of people and their unique hairy needs fosters a space for self-expression and the joy of showing off your best self. Everyone is welcome at our party and as the brand grows, so will our community.

We want all our friends to have fun with Mon Amie- which means NO ONE gets left behind on our journey to create an inclusive space, where we all learn to love and enjoy the self care rituals of doing our hair. Because we want to empower you to have your best hair day yet … without all the toxic .. relationships, ingredients, bad hair advice.. Ya feel us ?