When the topic of hair damage sparks up, the natural response is often to point a finger at the usual suspects, such as bleach, chemical services, and coloring. Countless products have been experimented with and sold in response to these factors, perpetuating the promise to repair split ends, strengthen strands, and restore damaged hair.
But what if someone told you one of the biggest contributors to damage is not your next coloring appointment, but instead something that has been sitting on your bathroom counter all along?
Inventor of the OO!brush and beauty entrepreneur Dave Richmond, suggests that one of the most overlooked sources of hair damage is the friction caused by the hairbrushes we use daily.
He challenges one of the industry’s most traditional goals: to repair damage as first priority. He urges professionals and consumers to ask, how can the damage be prevented in the first place?
The Everyday Tool No One Questions
Dave Richmond has spent over 25 years developing beauty technology, ranging from co-inventing the InStyler, the original rotating iron, to earning more than 100 patents throughout his career. But even after numerous innovations, an everyday product continued to enrapture his attention.
“The brush is the most common hair tool that’s used,” Richmond said. “And it’s used most frequently. Combs and brushes.”
Despite this aforementioned frequency, he argues that the fundamental design of the hairbrush has remained relatively the same.
“Traditional hairbrushes are passive,” he explained. “They work under one principle, which is a friction principle.”
He describes how every traditional brush relies on dragging bristles through hair strands, and though some may include features such as softer pins or flexible cushions, he maintains the belief that they all operate under an identical concept, which is friction.
“We’re constantly… brushing, stretching, lifting the cuticle,” he said. “And then they’re off to the store to go buy a serum or an oil or some type of treatment to repair this damage… Our thing is, let’s not cause the damage.”
Prevention Over Repair
The professional beauty industry has made significant advances in repairing damaged hair, such as bond-building technologies, peptide treatments, scalp-focused formulas, and longevity-driven haircare, all of which shift the way stylists handle hair health.
Richmond isn’t against these ingenuities, but he does conclude that they have overshadowed a more significant conversation, which is, again, how to prevent damage from happening at all. His perspective now shifts the conversation from products to process.
His philosophy ultimately led him to develop the OO!brush, a hairbrush aimed to reduce this friction caused by brushing. It relies on Harmonic Resonance Technology, which is rhythmic micro-vibrations intended to help decrease the pulling and dragging associated with traditional brushes. He explains that the goal is to minimize unneeded stress on the hair and thus prevent damage.
Regardless of whether stylists agree with this assessment or not, it does serve as a reminder that healthy hair is not built exclusively during salon appointments; the routines clients practice in their daily-life are just as important!
Innovation Should Be More Than Marketing
Throughout the conversation, Richmond focused his attention to an additional passion of his: separate authentic innovation from skillful marketing.
“What makes a product successful…can be the thing or it can be the hype around the thing,” he said. “When there’s hype around something that doesn’t have substance, I’m not interested.”
This philosophy he holds has guided his inventing career, prompting him to solve a problem consumers actually experience rather than creating for the sake of trendiness.
“So what makes a product great to me?,” he said. “Two main things. One, novelty. I love something new… And quality, man. Put quality. Deliver.”
His most intense criticism was not aimed at his competitors, it was aimed at products that promise a lot and deliver a little.
“If you want to rob somebody, get a gun,” he said. “Don’t put out a product that’s just a lie.”
During a time period when hype is often prioritized over substance, Richmond argues that lasting success comes from delivering products that genuinely perform.
What Comes Next For Haircare?
Richmond feels quite optimistic about where beauty technology is headed, referencing significant advancements made in research and a stronger overall understanding of hair biology. But he continues to conclude that tools deserve just as much attention as formulas.
“I think there is so much opportunity if companies will just put the R&D work in and care,” he shared.
As discussions around hair health continue to evolve, Richmond believes the next breakthrough comes from rethinking the way clients use their everyday hair tools.
Questioning long-held assumptions has always been one of the industry’s greatest drivers of creativity, and Dave Richmond is here to do just that.
Dive into the full conversation with Dave Richmond on Volume Up by The Tease to hear more about the OO!brush and why he believes the future of healthy hair starts long before the shampoo bowl.
