From Paris to the world

An advertisement for Elnett Satin, the finishing spray disappearing at the lightest brush. Photo / Supplied

The expression "laughing all the way to the bank" could have been made for the young French chemistry graduate who pioneered commercial hair dyes, turning a kitchen table experiment into the world's biggest beauty company.

A hundred years ago this month, Eugene Schueller used his Parisian flat as a laboratory and founded "The Safe Hair Dye Company of France".

He was warned by his soon-to-be former boss at a pharmacy that "hair dyeing is a very limited market with little or no future".

Millions of woman begged to differ and over the decades the use of hair dye became prevalent.

By the 1990s, seven out of 10 New Zealand women had coloured their hair.

Back in 1909, Schuller turned his early chemistry school interest in playing with dyes into a product called L'Aureale, a name which morphed into the L'Oreal company, known first for haircare and then cosmetics and skincare.

With its use of celebrity spokesmodels and the slogan "Because You're Worth It", L'Oreal's reach goes well beyond the bathroom cupboard. It employs nearly 70,000 people worldwide, 195 in New Zealand, and has a global turnover of NZ$39 billion.

L'Oreal isn't the oldest beauty company around - Guerlain, Avon, Ponds and Shiseido date from the 1800s, the German haircare company Schwarzkopf turned 111 this year and in the same year L'Oreal began Elizabeth Arden and Max Factor set up shop - but none grew to the size of the industry's global giant.

L'Oreal is behind a host of well-known companies including Maybelline New York and Garnier and has a luxury division representing Lancome, YSL Beaute, Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren, Viktor & Rolf, Stella McCartney, Oscar De La Renta, Diesel, Cacharel, Zegna, Boucheron and Roger & Gallet. Salon haircare lines include L'Oreal Professionel, Kerastase, Redken and Matrix.

The product development drive involves 3268 research workers in 30 divisions and last year alone the company registered 628 patents and came up with thousands of new products.

To celebrate its centenary, the company is funding charity initiatives in 100 countries. In New Zealand, L'Oreal has chosen to work with the Family and Foster Care Federation in a programme titled "Prepare for Your Future", designed to help fostered teenagers learn how to best present themselves when applying for further education or work.

The company will hold workshops about aspects of its business and staff will mentor participants.

L'Oreal NZ Ltd managing director Frances Stead says the company began working with the federation in 2007, when it chose to support it in lieu of sending out client Christmas gifts.

While the centenary focus is on charity outreaches and marketing promotions of the 100 Years of Beauty, there was a swish party at L'Oreal HQ in Paris last week on the actual birthday of June 4 to which leading New Zealand hairdressers Paul Serville, Rodney Wayne and Grant Bettjeman were invited. The French Ambassador also joined staff in Auckland to celebrate the milestone.

Given that practically every woman will have used a L'Oreal product at some stage, Viva decided to look back at some of the innovations of the last century.

Schueller's highly profitable vision was that applying science to cosmetic products would help renew old beauty recipes and satisfy consumer needs. Here's a few of his company's hits.

1909: L'Aureale, L'Oreal's original hair dye has a name evocative of the colour gold and a popular hair style of the turn of the century. As well as dyes, Schueller experimented with cold perming and shampoos made without soap.

1928: Imedia, a quick hair colour is launched, and packaged in individual doses rather than the then usual bulk container. The formula is the basis for L'Oreal Paris Excellence Creme - today the world's top home hair colour for grey coverage.

1935: Ambre Solaire, the first protective suntan lotion hits the shelves. Self-tanners follow such as Garnier Ambre Solaire Bronze Up and No Streaks Bronzing Spray.

1957: L'Oreal's Elnett is the first aerosol hairspray and helps 1950s women emulate the coiffed looks of their movie star idols. Into the 1960s it gave shape to the Bardot beehive and Grace Kelly's elegant French twist.

The spray is still found backstage at fashion shows and remains a consumer favourite with its retro-packaging. (The picture shows a can from 1963).

1971: Maybelline Great Lash mascara launches in the United States, where it remains No 1, with one said to be sold every 1.5 seconds.

The Maybelline name is a combination of Mabel and Vaseline and had its origins in 1931 when a brother mixed coal dust and Vaseline together to create a lash coating for his sister Mabel.

1978: Majirel permanent hair colour range which protects as well as colours, debuts for L'Oreal Professionnel. It is the most used in-salon colour in New Zealand.

1994: Aminexil anti-hair loss molecule to prolong the life cycle of hair is included in Kerastase Intervention Hair Loss, now available for at-home use.

2006: Pro-Xylane, an anti-ageing ingredient derived from nature by L'Oreal Research goes to market first in in Lancome Absolue Premium BX. Its use is extended to the L'Oreal Paris Derma Genesis and Garnier Ultra Lift Pro X ranges and to Lancome L'Absolu Rouge lipcolours.

2009: Lancome's Genifique Youth Activating Concentrate, a new product to be launched here in late July, is said to be the first to market based on harnessing genetics for skincare.