We’re thrilled to introduce Coelho to the US: this gorgeous line of haircare and styling products is everything that we think many of you have been looking for.

Adrien Coelho, its creator, is a Paris-based hairstylist. After two decades working editorial and runway for houses like Chanel and Dior and styling clients including Sophie Marceau and Camila Alves McConaughey, he opened his own salon, Très Confidentiel, at the Palais-Royal, then channeled that same tailored, “hair deserves to be treated like skin” philosophy into his holistic haircare line.

Dara got to chat with Adrien about his philosophy and product lineup in preparation for this launch; check out our Brand Spotlight for more details about Adrien and his philosophy, and continue reading here to learn all about the launch lineup in Adrien’s own words.

Dara: I would love to hear about your products in your own words. Tell me everything!

ADRIEN COELHO: My vision overall is to prevent, protect, and preserve the scalp and hair. My first product was the Nettoyant Micellaire (Purifying Shampoo), followed by the Crème de Soin and L'Huile Sérum. I call this set of three products “hair boosters,” because to me, they create the foundation. 

The Nettoyant Micellaire is made for the detoxification and purification of the scalp and hair, but without the “crunchiness” that you can sometimes experience when using these types of products. It’s best for people with balanced to oily scalps, or people who like to shampoo every day. It’s very gentle; it’s very purifying. It’s also a good starting point for people who are switching from conventional to natural products. It’s really the first step.

And as with the skin, you can do a double cleanse: two shampoos with the Nettoyant Micellaire, or one Nettoyant Micellaire shampoo and one Shampoing Soin Intense. That can be helpful because the Nettoyant Micellaire is more focused on purifying the scalp, and with the Intense, it’s more about caring for the lengths — helping to repair dry and color-treated hair, creating shine and luminosity through hydration and nourishment. 

I think it's important to do two shampoos, especially if you have an oily scalp.

Dara: Do you typically advise people to wash their hair a certain number of times per week, or does it depend on the hair condition?

ADRIEN: It depends on the hair condition…and it depends on where you live and what your lifestyle is like, too. For example, some people like to go to the gym every day, so they need to clean their hair more. That's why I create products that are very gentle but high performing, and some products can be multifunctional. 

I think it’s better to wash two times per week, in general. But if you need to shampoo every day because you have oiliness or you feel uncomfortable otherwise, you can do that, of course; just remember that your hair doesn’t always need to be cleansed with something that foams. For example, with coarse hair or curly hair, which tends to have more dryness, it's better to do maybe one Nettoyant Micellaire or Shampoing Soin Intense, and in between washes, you can use la Crème de Soin as a cleansing cream. 

Dara: That is a brilliant solution!

ADRIEN: That's why that product is very nice, because even for men, who might shower every day and use shampoo every time, it can be too much. So you can use the Crème de Soin just to refresh your scalp, give to your hair some hydration, and that's it.

When you put it on your scalp and you massage it in like a shampoo, it won’t foam, of course. But when you massage it in like a shampoo, and you blend it through your lengths, you can feel a little freshness because you have the eucalyptus and the peppermint in the formula that promote blood circulation and stimulate the scalp. 

It can also be very nice to do a mask or cream on your scalp. Because at the end of the day, the scalp is also the face—you know, it's the prolongation of your face. So you need to take care. You need to oxygenate it. You need to give it some nutrition to be healthier. 

And in this moment in time, people are very stressed. You might be very stressed because work a lot: you have to be successful, you have to run a business. You have to take care of your kids, your husband, or all that stuff. And hair is the reflection of the way you live—so you have to give your hair the maximum nourishment for it to be healthier, and your scalp to be healthier, and everything to look nice. The objective is not to transform the hair, but to give it what it needs to be in its best condition and give you a lot of allure. That’s important.  

Dara: This is such an interesting approach because, when we’re applying conditioners or masks, usually we’re instructed to start applying them just to the lengths—never to the scalp. So how did you come up with the Crème de Soin? Were you thinking that what people mostly need is nourishment, so you wanted to find a way they could get that in multiple ways?

ADRIEN: Exactly. And it was partly from my personal experience. I mean, I like to go to the shower and wash my hair every day, but I know that’s probably too much—all that foam can too much for the scalp and hair. So I like to give my scalp hydration, too: not a lot, but just what it needs to be good, and the eucalyptus and peppermint give you this fresh sensation. Also, it's nice when you go to the sauna beforehand, and you feel like everything is open, because this product has a lot of aromatherapy, too. The essential oils can promote a better mood along with more efficient results on your scalp and hair.

You can use it in many ways, like as a leave-in cream for curly hair; before a blow dry; or if you want to just make a ponytail. It has a little bit of hold, and ceramides to help rebuild the hair. While it has some hold, it’s not crunchy at all.

Dara: Tell us more about L’Huile Sérum.

ADRIEN: So, L’Huile Sérum is part of the first range, the Hair Boosters. It’s a multifunctional tool that you can use however you need it. 

For example, you can use it as a pre-shampoo treatment. You just have to put one or two pumps. You blend it through your lengths, you massage it in, and you keep it in for 10 to 15 minutes or all night long if that’s easier. It’s good for people who have dry hair or wash it a lot: it gives you a little protection when you shampoo. As a pre-shampoo treatment for the hair, what the hair doesn’t take in, the shampoo will wash away. 

And if you need a little extra nourishment, you can use it on your scalp, body, and face. You don’t need to use a lot of it, but it’s not greasy…although it’s not dry, either. It’s really an oil-serum hybrid: if you use a little bit, it’s a serum. If you use a lot, it works more like an oil.

Dara: What if you have dry hair, but you’re also concerned about volume and thickness?

ADRIEN: For that, you have the La Brume Mémoire. La Brume Mémoire is like a texturizing hair spray for waves, or a salt spray without the salt. Salt sprays dry the hair, they make it crunchy…I don’t like that. So with this formula, you have more acidity, you have more hydration from rose distillate and almond, and you have natural sugars to give you waves and texture. 

You can use it on wet hair or dry hair. You spray it on from about 5 inches away: mist, mist, scrunch if you want to promote some natural movement. Use it every day if you want, all day long. You can use it just to refresh the natural movement of your hair or to build texture.

Dara: Now, tell us about the Fluide Multi-Moody.

ADRIEN: The Fluide Multi-Moody is like your daily leave-in cream, the equivalent of your daily face cream but for the hair. I created this product to be reactive because hair can change so much: one day it’s good, then the next day it’s not good. It’s frizzy, then it’s not frizzy. 

You can use it on wet or dry hair. On wet hair, it protects hair from the heat if you blow-dry. And you can put it on every day before brushing your hair, or just scrunching it in, for a little extra something that makes your hair feel better. It also helps protect from environmental damage, UV for example. So you can consider it like a leave-in cream, with some extra nourishing ingredients to help protectthe hair.

It’s not necessary to use both the Crème de Soin and the Fluide Multi-Moody. If you want something you can use in four different ways (shampoo alternative, conditioner, leave-in, pre-shampoo mask), you can choose the Crème de Soin. But if you just want a leave-in, I’d go with the Fluide Multi-Moody; it’s very easy to use. Just don’t be shy about applying it all the way through the hair lengths; work it in with your hands to make sure it really goes in so that you get the results you want. It’s nice because it’s not heavy; it gives you hair what it needs to look its best.

Dara: Now, Shake Shake: this is like a dry shampoo, but not dry.

ADRIEN: Yes, it's an innovation—it's the first in France. I created it because when you are a stylist at fashion shows or working on a photo shoot, and you see models coming to you with greasy hair but you don't have water wash it with, you cannot use dry shampoo. I mean, you can…but when you use that kind of product, you cannot do anything with the hair, you know. 

So that's why I wanted to create something like this: a dry shampoo, but without the visible powder you get with that. And at the same time, I wanted to be able to rebuild the blow dry and recreate more looks with the hair.

So you have to shake shake…and you put it on your scalp, you wait a little, you massage, and then after that you can brush, you can do your blow dry, and your hair is clean again. And the scent is very nice because you feel fresh. The only thing is you have to shake shake because it’s biphasic.

Dara: And you don’t have any buildup with it, either, which I love.

ADRIEN: No, because the formula has acidity, amino acids, and probiotics. For me, every product needs to be able to care for the scalp — even if you don’t put it on your scalp. It’s not just styling, but styling care.

Dara: What about Le Touch Up?

ADRIEN: It’s good to touch up your hair and smooth flyaways if you put it up, but it’s also good when people are going swimming or spending the day by the pool: they can put a little on before swimming because it’s like a barrier. Then when you shampoo your hair, afterwards, it’s very soft and shiny.

Dara: I love the pre-shampoo trick. I’m going to try that today with L’Huile Sérum.

ADRIEN: Yes, remember less is more, and massage it into your hair. Then when you use the Masque Intense or Crème de Soin to condition afterwards, massage your hair with that, too. And don’t towel dry it before applying the conditioning product; your towel will make the hair crunchy, which is not good. So you just massage it along the lengths of your hair, really get it in (inside and outside), brush it, rinse it, and that’s it. 

Of course, you can leave the product on for a while if you need more nourishment, which is better. Like 5 to 10 minutes, nothing crazy. With all these products you can put on your hair, after 15 to 20 minutes, they won’t do anything else for you.

Dara: What are some examples of common product combinations that your clients use?

ADRIEN: The most popular products in France are the Hair Lumière range: the Shampoing Soin Intense and the Masque Intense. Everyone wants shiny hair, and almost everyone has dry hair. But depending on your needs, you can make some different choices.

For example, if you have a greasy scalp but the hair is dry, and you have balayage or another treatment on the lengths, you can use the Nettoyant Micellaire and then the Masque Intense on the lengths. 

Or, what some of my customers do is they buy both shampoos and they’ll double cleanse with the Nettoyant Micellaire followed by the Shampoing Soin Intense…or sometimes they just do the Nettoyant Micellaire for a week, and the next week they’ll just use the Intense, depending on what their hair needs. For example, if you go to the beach for a week, or you’ve seen your hairstylist for a color treatment, you need more hydration—so you just use the Intense.

Shop Coelho Beauty at Ayla and learn more about Adrien in our Brand Spotlight.