Hairdresser Adam Reed’s name is often bandied about by the who’s who of London.
With clients that have included Madonna and Harry Styles to name just two, he’s a a go-to expert for many well-known faces and their iconic ‘dos.
Since his start in 1989, Reed has dominated the industry with his creative and passionate work. Having styled some of the world’s most famous heads of the nineties, noughties and beyond and working regularly behind the scenes of the top catwalks in London to the red carpets of New York, he knows exactly what it takes to make beautiful hair.
Over 30 years later the stylist has put his expertise into bottles, with the arrival of his line ARKIVE Headcare, just landed at MECCA.
Reed created the line of shampoos, conditioners and styling products to not only help us achieve the locks of our dreams, but also shake up how we approach our wellness routines.
The idea is to transform the at-times-mundane task of washing, treating and styling into something more meditative, a sensorial ritual that will encourage us to linger a little longer on ‘me-time’ instead of rushing headlong through the day and night without time for pause.
Carefully selected fragrance adds to the experience, encouraging a moment of calm and clarity. (As a side-role he consults for two well known fine-fragrance houses.)
The approach was cemented during Reed’s own battles with mental health challenges, when reconnecting with the physical routine of washing his hair made a real impact.
“I talk about looking after what goes on inside and on top of your head,” Reed tells MECCA’s In-Tray.
“You have to wash your hair – why not make it a nice massage? Why not make it smell nice? Why not learn the art of touch? Even just using your own hands on your own head is an amazing way of looking after yourself, of grounding yourself.”
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ARKIVE’s range includes everyday hair essentials like shampoo and conditioner, to high-performance styling and treatments for a range of hair types. He calls the products ‘genderful’ rather than genderless, saying they are for everyone.
A scalp scrub cleans and refreshes the scalp while giving that textural experience, while a serum for the scalp delivers essential nutrients right to the source where your strands are grown.
The range’s styling products help achieve modern texture and movement without weighing hair down or looking too overdone – the epitome of London cool that has made Reed so sought-after.
However there’s one product Reed recommends to anyone curious about trying the brand: Good Habit Hybrid Oil.
“It’s an oil and a serum – incredible nourishment for scalp and for hair,” he reveals, explaining that it can be used for ‘hair slugging’. That’s the hot-right-now trend of saturating stands with an omega-rich oil and leaving overnight in a wrap for a deep treatment.
The range is part of MECCA’s increasingly growing hair line up that also includes fellow UK stylist-to-the-stars Sam McKnight’s haircare and styling line.
