Celebrity Salon Does Shampoo

If you haven't heard of the Neil George Salon in Beverly Hills, you should have: it's the salon du jour for celebs and L.A. agents, moguls and socials - and has been since it opened on Civic Center Drive, three years ago.

Started by two transplanted Brit hairstylists - Neil Weisberg and Amanda George - it's modern looking, but old fashioned in feeling: even with stars like Hilary Swank, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lopez, Renee Zellweger, Reese Witherspoon, Ashley or Mary Kate Olsen, and Drew Barrymore often hanging out, reading magazines, and getting shampooed. That's because the two owners have created such a relaxed and low key environment, nobody looks up when Hilary Swank, courtesy of colorist Lorri Goddard-Clark, goes platinum blond and super-cropped for her role as Amelia Earhart.

Another reason for the comfort factor--the salon's never hired a publicist, and never exploited its high profile clientele. Sure, the papparazzi have followed Lindsay there, and Mary Kate - but are discouraged from loitering.

But now the salon's going a little more media conscious, now that Weisberg and George have finally created a Neil George product line - five pieces: two shampoos, two conditioners, and a hair mask.
Portoflio.com's Fashion Inc. spoke to the duo about the imminent product release in September:

Fashion Inc: Why products now?

Neil Weisberg: Well, it took two and half years years to create them! It's not an easy process. We didn't want to just private label existing formulas. We need to give our clientele something new - and we are also attempting to distribute them to Saks Fifth Avenue, Fred Segal, Nordstrom, the Bliss Spa. We're starting small with only five products, but we'll add six more at the end of March 09.

Fashion inc: What's special about the Neil George Products?

Amanda George: There's an everyday shampoo, everyday conditioner, an intense stimulating shampoo, instense stimulating conditioner, and a hair mask, all in 7.3 ounce tubes, which range in price from twenty dollars to thirty eight dollars for the mask. The special ingredient we found is an ayurvedic gooseberry from India.

Fashion Inc: What does it do?

Amanda George: It's in the mask and the intense conditioner - and we'll use it in treatment items we create later on. It's scented with sage and smells great - and it makes the hair shiney and moisturized better than any product I've experimented with. And being a woman and a hairdresser, I've been my own guinea pig with oils, Kerastaste - everything. This has the best results. Everyone who's tried our mask loves it.

Fashion Inc: You both have never really done any marketing. What about now?

Neil Weisberg: That's true. We are not going to do an ad campaign, because our salon has always worked on word of mouth, and that is part of the way it stays unpretentious. But we are in New York now, meeting with beauty editors, hoping to get some magazine editorial. But we are not going to exploit our celebrity clients.

Amanda George: Three months ago, we hired BluPrint pr in L.A. to help us get some press for the products, but they are our first pr agency ever. Of course, we'll gift everybody on their way out of the salon, and if they come back and say they love the products, we'll ask them if we can use their names or quotes in connection with them. We've never exploited them, which is why they trust us.

Fashion Inc: How is that word of mouth has worked so well for your salon in a town as competitive as Hollywood?

Neil Weisberg: Well - we know a lot of people, who know a lot of people, who know a lot of people. And we've hired to best colorists and stylists in town because we let them be who they are. And maybe because we're English!!!

by Merle Ginsberg

Photo courtesy of Neil George Salon