Maegan Scarlett and Liora Dudar, oVertone Haircare

At-home hair color and hair color care has been undergoing something of a renaissance in the past year or so, thanks to innovative brands like dpHue​; products and salons from Madison Reed​; and formulation updates to legacy brands like Coty’s Nice ‘n Easy​. All along, the oVertone Haircare business has been growing too.

Here, the beauty entrepreneurs share a profile of themselves and the brand.

Name:​ Maegan Scarlett and Liora Dudar, Co-Founders

Indie Beauty Company: ​oVertone Haircare

Launched: ​June 2014

Headquarters: ​Denver, Colorado

Cash flow: ​Describing milestone moments in their young company’s financial history, Scarlett says, The first time an order came through on our website that was not placed by a family member or friend, or even a friend-of-a-friend — that was a really huge deal. Also, being able to provide our first full-time employee with health benefits was a very significant milestone.

I would definitely agree with those, says Dudar. Another would be the day that oVertone paid for itself, and Maegan and I no longer had to dip into our personal accounts to pay for things related to the business.

Team work: ​We’re growing! Our team has increased by more than 45% in 2018 alone. We currently have 52 employees between our office in Tucson, Arizona, and our headquarters in Denver.

45 full-time employees and 7 part-time

Distribution: ​oVertone Haircare is available globally through our own ecommerce site, oVertone.co.

Years at oVertone Haircare: ​We launched the company inside of 30 days after coming up with the idea together, so it’s been 4 years.

Entrepreneurial experience: ​for Scarlett: I’ve been involved in various facets of business forever and started several other companies before launching oVertone. Most recently, I was heavily involved in a healthcare company.

for Dudar: Before oVertone, and even 9 months into launching, I was a freelance photographer. I was also involved in activism and helped build The Body Love Conference, an event focusing on body acceptance, from the ground up. Apart from that, I worked for many solo female entrepreneurs prior to branching out on my own as a photographer.

The business: ​oVertone Haircare offers cruelty-free pigmented conditioners that are used as a low-maintenance, hair-healthy solution for achieving and maintaining bright hair color.

The wow-factor: ​oVertone Conditioners are a new vertical in the beauty industry — in short, they’re a way to keep hair healthy and colorful every day, no matter how often you shampoo (or how many hot showers you take). The Daily Conditioner was made to replace any pigment lost from shampooing, and can be used anytime you’d normally condition. If you’re coloring your hair for the first time or need a hyper-hydrating boost for previously colored hair, the Deep Treatment is the best place to start. Formulated with nourishing ingredients free from parabens, sulfates, or heavy alcohols, oVertone brings a color solution to market that keeps hair of all types and textures vibrant and damage-free.

The customer: ​Anyone who wants to achieve and/or maintain bright hair color!

Milestone moment: ​for Scarlett, it was the first time I saw someone use oVertone as a verb. A YouTuber had made a DIY version of our product and said they had, “oVertone’d” their hair.

Dudar says, the first time we were shared by BuzzFeed was a really big day — and really, any time a publication would organically write about our product.

Advice for fellow indie beauty entrepreneurs: ​Scarlett says, pay very close attention to consumer feedback. Early on, Liora and I would personally reach out to see how our clients’ experiences with the product went. It really helped us to evolve our products and the brand over time to create something that was aligned with our customers' needs.

Dudar believes, legitimacy is an illusion. No amount of employees, investors, or sales will make you more or less legitimate. You are legitimate from the day you start — so get started!

Just one: ​Asked about her go-to product, Scarlett chose Paula’s Choice Resist Weekly Resurfacing Treatment with 10% AHA. I have at least four in my bathroom at any given time so I never run out.

Dudar went with Vernon François Mist Nourishing Water. It’s amazing for naturally curly hair and resets the hair curl pattern so you don’t have to do a full wash and style every day.

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Deanna Utroske, CosmeticsDesign.com Editor, covers beauty business news in the Americas region and publishes the weekly Indie Beauty Profile column, showcasing the inspiring work of entrepreneurs and innovative brands.