How To Repair Sun Damaged Hair - An Interview With Yolanda From WE ARE

Looking to repair sun damaged hair? You’re in the right place! Sun damaged hair is a super common issue that occurs when your hair is exposed to excessive sunlight, particularly the harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays. But how can you help repair sun damaged hair? Well, a great and consistent haircare routine is the best place to start in boosting the health of your locks. In today’s post, we’ll be discussing the benefits of clean haircare, and vegan haircare with Yolanda Cooper. The founder of natural haircare brand, WE ARE PARADOXX, Yolanda will be telling us more about the brand, and helping us learn the biggest mistake we make when it comes to our haircare routine.

Now that we’ve waved goodbye to the summer months here in the UK and begun to accept the idea that cosy season is just around the corner, it’s a great time to start those reparative treatments to help your hair recover from the sightlier sunnier season we've just had.

Who Are WE ARE PARADOXX?

Founded in 2019 by Yolanda Cooper, WE ARE PARADOXX was introduced as the ‘eco-chic brand that just does things differently.’ It was created to bring beautifully natural, high-performance, and cruelty-free haircare to the industry. We asked Yolanda a few questions to help us learn more.

When creating WE ARE PARDOXX, what was the most important thing to you?

“I’d say there were two most important things – the performance of the formulations, and the products’ impact on the environment.” Yolanda said. “When I looked at my bathroom shelf, I saw a huge disconnect in the products I was using. The skincare and cosmetics were all natural, organic and of the highest quality and performance. The hair and body care were just not.”

Yolanda explained that no brand was offering products that she connected with. Natural hair care looked and felt lacklustre; and most interesting, innovative brands offered products containing toxic ingredients.

“That’s the paradox - my desire to bring together what seemed like two ends of the spectrum - good clean formulations, that seriously work.” Yolanda said. “Then I started forecasting and realised the potential environmental impact of single-use plastics and set about creating plastic-free haircare line, using stainless steel and aluminium packaging that produce less CO2 emissions than plastic or glass to transport and can be recycled on an infinite loop without ever degrading in quality."

Yolanda explained that the end goal is to see real change in the industry’s overuse of plastic, and more brands adopting plastic-free alternatives. “Consumers attitudes are already changing for the better and demand is growing for real sustainable alternatives to plastic, so we are getting there - but we still have a long way to go.”

What are five words you would use to describe WE ARE PARDOXX?

"High-performance, Clean, Biotech, Sustainable and Irish." Yolanda said.

What is the biggest mistake we’re making when it comes to our haircare routine?

Yolanda explained that not realising that hair health begins at the scalp is the biggest mistake that we make. “The absorption rate of your scalp is around four times greater than that of your forearms.” Yolanda explained, “I hear of so many people who choose clean, non-toxic products within their skin and bodycare regime, but don’t consider this when choosing haircare. If you’re using hair and scalp products with toxins or irritant ingredients, it can be more damaging to the scalp and hair than many would realise. Prioritising scalp health with regular scrub or serum treatments, as well as avoiding scalp contact with harmful ingredients will really improve the condition and growth of hair.”

Sustainability and being eco-friendly is part of your brand ethos, have you always been passionate about this, or did you have an ‘aha’ moment that made you want to contribute towards this?

Yolanda explained that the main ‘aha’ moment for her came when she forecasted sales of WE ARE PARADOXX hair care products when she first dreamed up the idea of the brand. She said, “I knew we were creating something special that people would love, and when I realised how many products we would sell, I knew I couldn’t be responsible for producing the amount of plastic packaging that would require. I’ve always been passionate about protecting our environment for future generations, and so I set about researching eco-friendly alternatives and landed on aluminium which I knew would not only reduce the volume of plastic pollution but would also look incredible and offer our customers a unique and premium experience.”

Yolanda soon went on to launch an exciting day: Plastic Free Beauty Day. “It came on June 17^th, 2019,” Yolanda said. “I was shocked at the lack of progress within the beauty industry to move away from plastic packaging, and by the volume of plastic pollution the beauty industry as a whole was responsible for. I thought that by using my platform, knowledge and experience to help other brands and consumers make better informed choices with regards to plastic usage, I could impact genuine change for the betterment of our planet.”

There is a lot of controversy around the term ‘clean beauty’ in the industry – what does clean beauty mean to WE ARE PARADOXX?

“To us, clean beauty mean transparency.” Yolanda said. “Using the best of natural and synthetic ingredients to develop the most effective formulas, including no ingredients of concern such as parabens, synthetic fragrances and sulphates, and being transparent and clear with our customers with regards to our ingredients, and the reason they are chosen. We have an incredible extensive list of ingredients that we won’t work with due to concerns around irritation and toxicity; but we do not shy away from synthetic ingredients if they offer the safest way to achieve the best results.”

What is the biggest challenge you face when creating a natural, vegan, and cruelty-free hair and body brand?

Yolanda explained that ensuring product performance is never compromised is the biggest challenge when it comes to natural, vegan, and cruelty free haircare. “I have shelved product ideas after the seventeenth iteration because performance isn’t good enough, and I will not renege on our brand principles of remaining natural, vegan, cruelty-free and clean. I always keep performance at the front of my mind when developing new products, to ensure our offering remains consistent and offers the results our customers expect.” Yolanda said.

Can you tell us about your personal haircare journey?

Yolanda explained that she has experimented with her own hair for as long as she can remember - she acknowledges that changing your hair is such a great way to be able to express yourself, and that you can change depending on how you are feeling. But her passion for hair took a completely different turn when she experienced postpartum hair loss following the birth of her children, which was then amplified by COVID-19. “I began researching clean ingredients that could help improve the fullness and health of my hair; and delved into the amazing potential in biotech ingredients.” Yolanda said. “All the products I’ve created within the WE ARE PARADOXX collection tell a story from some part of my haircare journey; from the Volume and Growth collections to support my thinning hair, to the Repair collection that brought my hair back to life when I was experimenting a little too much with colour!”

Can you tell us a little bit about the ingredients in WE ARE PARADOXX haircare, and what makes them so great for our locks?

“We take the best that nature has to offer, incorporate biotech ingredients to amplify performance; and never shy away from science to achieve what we want to with our formulations.” Yolanda said. WE ARE PARADOXX products are all at least 90% natural and include amazing native Irish extracts such as hops, carrageen moss, kelp seaweed and horsetail; while biotech vegan keratin replicates the keratin produced by the body to support hair health when you have a deficiency. Combined, these ingredients give instant results to make hair feel and look softer, smoother and glossier; while also working to support hair and scalp health on a long-term basis, giving stronger, healthier hair.

Tell us something about WE ARE PARADOXX that we won’t know

“Something you might not know is that the WE ARE PARADOXX team is made up entirely of females, which I’m so proud of.” Yolanda said. “Developing young women and helping them navigate the endless juggle of work-life-kids while watching them become leaders of the future is a truly rewarding experience. We have conquered so much together with WE ARE PARADOXX – and we have the opportunity to go so much further – so watch this space!”

We’d love to know more about you – tell us what your perfect self-care ritual would include?

“I have recently incorporated a regular back and neck massage into my self-care ritual as I find myself travelling so much for work that the tension can really build up if I don’t address it.” Yolanda said. “I also love finding time to have a long soak in the bath with a hair treatment in – usually our Repair Game Changer Hair Mask. Spending time with my kids and husband really helps me reset at the weekends, and business-focused podcasts are my favourite thing to listen to, helping me refocus, re-energise and be creative in our next steps to success.”