Texts, phone calls and emails are flowing as new product suppliers try desperately to book appointments with distributors for Cosmoprof, now just a few days away. It appears that most of the lines are focused on Keratin straightening and some spin on a wet line. For instance, Jim Markham not satisfied with selling Abba and then Pureology is back with yet another line, Cureology. How L’Oreal allowed that name, who knows. But Markham is a marketer and if he can get away with it, he will. To the best of my knowledge, there is only one company focused on innovative and new hair color at Cosmoprof and that is Kemon.

Kemon is a unique company founded some 52 years ago in a little town in the beautiful district of Tuscany. Kemon always believed in research and development and to this day, boasts a modern facility with full time scientists developing new technology. Kemon also always believed in manufacturing their own products. Unlike most companies, Kemon makes everything it sells. Kemon also does its own fulfilling, packaging and distribution. Their Academy is outstanding.

For hairdressers and colorists, they make the best products, both hair care and hair color. But they know salon folks want more and that is why they invest millions each year in photography, models, and partner with the best Italian fashion houses including Prada, Armani, Gucci and Louis Vuitton to produce their seasonal collections. To get a better sense of what Kemon does, click here.

At Cosmoprof, Kemon will be showing off its hot new NaYo hair color: Free of ammonia, PPD and odor and contains both organic and natural ingredients. Available in 71 beautiful shades, NaYo lifts up to 5 levels, covers gray 100% and leaves hair soft and shining. Kemon will also be featuring its latest addition to its Actyva Hair Care line also made of organic and natural ingredients.

What’s amazing about all this is the interest level from consumers. They are seeking NaYo and wondering where they can go. Just like Shellac got consumers back to salons, so will NaYo and Actyva (way too many consumers buying hair color at Wal-Mart and doing it themselves).

For now, the new Kemon website is live, kemonusa.com and being updated constantly. New Kemon salons are being added daily. Later this year, an entire new PR campaign will launch and as I wrote about recently, a Kemon Academy in NYC.

Coming up: black 15in1 new products.

Happy Wednesday!

ABC News reported that one of every ten Americans is clinically depressed. Now that is depressing news.

Today is the first day of bow hunting season. Our very own CFO Shawn is gone today and is already most likely sitting on a tree branch waiting for an innocent deer (a tasty one) to come by. At least he donates his hunt to a food shelter.

Big game tomorrow. Can State finally win a big game at home or will Cousins toss yet another game ending interception? This is a must win game with U-M next week at the big house.

We crossed the 500 ticket mark for DREAMS this coming Sunday. We added a couple more tables so you can still get a few tickets today. Great event, great cause, great fun.

Carlo Bay is on his way from Italy to not only participate in DREAMS but launch NA.YO on Monday. This will be one of the most exciting launches ever.

Speaking of which, I will be in NY Tuesday for the PR launch event of our newest product, black. For more info, visit black15in1.com. Official launch date is 1/1/11.

I’m thinking pizza this weekend. You know when you crave pizza, there is no way not to indulge. My favorite is Tomatoe’s Apizza for their thin pizza with spinach and garlic. Buddy’s is pretty good too. Then again, I used to love Pizza Hut pan. Domino’s? Well back in my 20’s that was very tasty at midnight.

You would think with the Tea Party so popular, Starbuck’s would introduce a new line of tea. Nope, but they did introduce a new line of flavored coffee. Looks like the days of pure coffee at Starbuck’s are over with. Now the BUB can have Starbucks Yummy Vanilla.

One of my friends came up to me this morning and bragged that he finally bought a new car after 9 years. What he really bragged about though was that bought a Ford and couldn’t believe how great it was. Perhaps there is hope for Detroit after all.

Looks like full body scanners are installed at the Delta terminal and in use. Will air travel ever be fun again? For those in their 20’s, people used to wear their best suits and dresses when travelling. Now you are lucky if people wear big enough T-shirts to cover their gut (from eating too much pizza).

Happy Friday!

Every so often, there is a new product, a new technology, a new trend, a new artist that overnight changes everything the way we thought the world to be.

Witness the PC introduced by IBM in 1985. Or the Beatles a generation earlier. Starbucks changed the way we drink coffee. And Apple? They are the ultimate game changer.

In the salon industry, L’Oreal changed everything with the introduction of hair color way back in 1907. Before that women used henna and other natural “remedies.” Can you imagine a world without hair color?

Arnie Miller and Paul Mitchell among others were game changers; they took barber shop and beauty parlors and turned them into salons. ISO perms were game changers. And most recently, Moroccanoil is on everyone’s A list.

However, when you combine science, technology and artistry into one product and it actually works, that is a real game changer. Kemon’s NA.YO is the product that will change the way salons do hair color for the next generation. It’s that good.

Kemon introduced the first ammonia-free, PPD-free hair color, YO, a few years ago. It lifts two levels, yogurt based and smells yummy. It’s one of their top sellers. NA.YO is Kemon’s next generation product directly from their R&D labs: Ammonia-free, PPD-free, fragrance-free and lifts up to five levels. But what is truly remarkable about the product is not the tube but the developer.

The developer is actually a gel cream that is premeasured into packets. Use 1, 2 or 3 packets depending on the results you want to achieve. No measuring, no waste, no guessing. The gel cream mixes with the NA.YO colorant to product the most amazing creamy formula that glides on the hair.

Ultimately, the results are the most important. Shine, gray coverage, lasting coverage and hair that bounces as its color-free are just a few of the accolades NA.YO is already known for in Italy.

Carlo Bay (pronounced buy), perhaps Italy’s most famous hairdresser and salon owner will make his USA debut October 3-4 to not only be a guest artist and judge at Tiffany featuring DREAMS, but to launch NA.YO at our Academy. Bay owns/franchises over 80 salons in Italy and uses Kemon color and NA.YO exclusively.

Game changers like this come once in a blue moon. We are very fortunate to be part of this one.

Happy Wednesday!

The annual CPNA (Cosmoprof North America, aka BBSI) event is this weekend in hot and steamy Las Vegas. It used to be the show for distributors to come and meet with their suppliers, receive awards, pick out jewelry and other gifts and attend lavish parties at night.

Creative Nail (CND) no doubt put on the best parties in their early days. Jan Arnold spared no budget and designed elaborate themed rooms with live music, great food, open bar and lots of hubris. Other companies held lavish parties at hotel restaurants and ballrooms all reminiscent when the industry was flourishing and controlled by entrepreneurial owners.

CPNA now mostly caters to chains, retailers, consultants and global companies. When buyers from Sephora, Walgreen’s, CVS and Walmart are roaming the floor as “VIP’s”, you know the professional beauty industry is upside down. And the fun of the show is long gone.

CPNA was also the place that suppliers introduced their latest and greatest products. Not so any more although some attempt the feat. Global companies no longer perceive this show to be important enough to launch a new line.

So what will the hottest products be at CPNA? Organic hair care? Not a chance. A new dryer or flat iron? Rumor has it Babyliss is showcasing something hot, we can always use a new appliance. Shellac knock-offs? Dime a dozen already. Ammonia-free hair color? Yes. And what will the hottest brand be? Na.Yo.

Kemon figured out ammonia-free AND PPD-free hair color first and perfected it with their launch of YO more than 4 years ago. Na.Yo is the next generation of permanent hair color that utilizes an entirely new technology that is not only simple to use, but foolproof.

Available in 44 shades and later in more than 70, the demand for Na.Yo is unprecedented. Our Kemon GM is fully booked at CPNA with distributors wanting Na.Yo and other Kemon products. The USA launch is this September and finally, the industry has something to cheer about that global and retail companies can’t touch.

Happy Wednesday!