Aveda launch - Flower Power

As the much-anticipated first Aveda flagship store opens in Dubai, Professional Beauty finds out why it’s been worth the wait

Loved globally for its performance-led, botanically-based professional hair, skin and body care products, Aveda, now available in more than 30 countries, was founded by award-winning hairdresser, Horst Rechelbacher, in 1978 in the USA, with the vision to bring beauty professionals botanical products that would not only be good for them, but for their clients, the Earth and its communities.

Inspired by Ayurveda, the 5,000 year-old traditional Indian system of healing and medicine, Aveda takes a holistic approach to beauty where products, rituals and services care for clients from scalp-to-soul.

It’s no surprise then that UAE residents are delighting in the news that Aveda finally opened its flagship Lifestyle Salon and Spa in Dubai in The Galleria in May – the brand’s first foray in the Middle East. At the grand launch, Antoinette Beenders, senior vice president for Aveda Global Creative gave Professional Beauty readers the inside scoopon what the launch will mean to Dubai’s beauty market.

Why has it taken you so long to enter this market?

I am personally absolutely delighted to be here in Dubai, it’s taken a while as we like to do things in the right way, taking time to find the right location, the right partnerships, and we wanted to make sure we have the best team available. We’ve a large international team working here from all over the world. All stylists have been trained to the highest standard thanks to our Aveda network.

What do you believe you can offer the UAE market that we don’t have already?

At Aveda, we aren’t just a brand, we are a lifestyle – we take our inspiration from ancient Ayurveda and use modern science combined with professional authority. In terms of the specific hair needs of the market, UAE women often have quite dry hair and as our products are based on essential oils, they are perfect for this type of hair.

Tell us more about the team behind the Dubai venture

Currently, we’ve 24 team members and this is still growing. Training for our stylists has lasted four months and we have been working with stylists and educators from all over the world who have travelled here to help train our team. We have seven different levels of stylists and an Arabic-speaking front of house team.

What treatments will you offer?

We have many bespoke treatments on offer. With Aveda it’s all about what the customer wants; all treatments are tailor-made for that particular client. It’s all about the customisation. In our Dubai location we offer free “rituals”. This means anyone can come in and have a free hand massage or neck and shoulder massage. In addition to this, we have high-tech “scalp cameras” that can analyse the scalp in the salon. This system can then prescribe the correct products or treatments to help specific scalp problems – all at no extra charge.

What is your goal for the first year of operation?

The first year’s goal is really to create more brand awareness. In this market, I feel that Aveda is almost like the best-kept secret, and are excited share that secret with Dubai so we want as many people as possible to experience our services and treatments.