Nicole Kidman has partnered with Vegamour, the Los Angeles-based wellness hair care company, WWD has learned exclusively.
The actress is an investor and its “wellness advocate.”
Kidman was looking to “back a few companies” when she discovered the brand, she explained, calling from Nashville, Tenn.
“Obviously not a lot,” she continued. “I don’t have an enormous amount of time. And I’m really, really, really careful. I wanted ones that were contributing to the world, making the world better and helping people in our world.”
She felt that Vegamour is doing just that, after meeting its founder and chief executive officer Daniel Hodgdon, learning about the ethos and science behind the brand — being organic, plant-based and harvested from wild ingredients — and trying the products herself. She tested them out while quarantining in Australia for two weeks amid the pandemic.
“I used it religiously,” Kidman said of Vegamour’s “Gro Foundation Kit” — a scalp serum, shampoo and conditioner. “And I loved it.”
The products didn’t just improve her hair growth but strengthened her strands, she said.
“Mine were weak,” she explained. “You know, they break, especially around the front. They get a lot of wear and tear. And I dye them. I pull them back. I put clips in them. Sometimes you’re wearing wigs. Sometimes you’re putting them in tight, tight ponytails. When I swim, I put a swim cap on. I mean, all that stuff stresses the hair…I just thought, ‘OK, so my hair’s just going be trash now, because I’ve made all the wrong, wrong choices for it.’”
Nicole Kidman
Courtesy/Max Abadian
Kidman’s seen a noticeable change after using the kit; she shampoos once a week, conditions every day and uses the serum regularly (particularly toward the front of her hair).
The routine works for her, she said. “And my natural curls are coming back.”
“Nicole’s values are completely aligned with the brand — from the first time we spoke, it immediately clicked,” Hodgdon, who launched the brand in 2016, told WWD. “She’s passionate about the same things that we are: hair wellness, ingredient integrity, and the importance of clean, plant-based, efficacious products that work. Throughout her career and life [she’s] been through a hair wellness journey of her own and is hoping to share her story with the intention of helping to inspire and educate others. Additionally, she’s hugely passionate about social impact and fair trade, two elements that are integral to Vegamour. We’re proud of our efforts to support biodiversity and sustainable sourcing practices, and our fair trade partnerships that mean we can create economic opportunities for women-owned SMEs and disenfranchised communities throughout Southern Africa and the world. Through our many conversations, I know these initiatives are also extremely important to Nicole.”
The direct-to-consumer lash, brow and hair growth brand attracted consumers by embracing social media, its presence on Amazon and offering a subscription model. That strategy has been working, and the last year has been significant for the brand. In June 2021, Vegamour entered sephora.com, and in April of this year, the brand secured $80 million in minority growth investment from General Atlantic. (Priced between $24 and $78, products include a $32 scalp treatment, $48 hair serum and $24 biotin gummies.)
Vegamour has seen “exponential growth,” Hodgdon said. “Revenue has grown over 3,300 percent from 2018 to 2021.”
He projects 2022 to be the brand’s “biggest year yet,” with plans to expand into Sephora stores nationally, as well as venture internationally.
“Short term, we are rapidly working toward international expansion in select markets including the U.K., E.U., China and Australia,” he said. “There’s an exciting opportunity to reach a new consumer in these markets, and we are fortunate that we’ll be working with Nicole to accelerate and amplify our message.”
In June, Vegamour will launch its “biggest innovation” of the year, “a first-of-its-kind, age-defying innovation that is both a proactive tool to preserve hair’s natural pigment as well as renew color,” revealed Hodgdon. “Looking forward, we will continue our expansion into the hair wellness category, with a focus on both prejuvenation and rejuvenation.”
Prejuvenation, he explained, “is a new concept within the hair category, defined as a preventative care regimen thoughtfully designed to address the underlying root causes of common hair concerns before they materialize.”
In the long term, “our hope is that working with Nicole will bring not just brand awareness to Vegamour, but to expand the way we think about our hair,” he added. It’s about practicing a holistic approach, “inside and out.”
