New Brand Monday Ensures Every Day Is A Good Hair Day

Monday Haircare Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner

Courtesy of Monday Haircare

Mondays don’t have the best reputation. It’s pretty much everyone’s least favorite day of the week. But Monday Haircare is aiming to change that—along with the rest of the hair industry. The brainchild of New Zealand-based beauty entrepreneur Jaimee Lupton, the line is making its stateside debut at Target today and entering Ulta on February 15. “It seems silly for people to save their best hair days for weekends,” Lupton says. “Why can’t you have a good hair day on a Monday as well? Why should Friday get all the attention?”

Monday Haircare made quite the splash when it debuted in Australia and New Zealand last year, selling out six months of stock in just six weeks. Now the number one brand in both countries, it has shipped over two million bottles to market since its launch. “Monday stemmed from my own extensive beauty habit,” Lupton says. “I was spending so much on expensive beauty products. I’ve always believed beauty products should work without costing a week’s salary. Why couldn’t I buy results-oriented product at supermarket and mass stores? And everything looked the same. With Monday, we decided to create a luxury look and feel. Everything else is screaming when you walk the aisles; I wanted to create something that whispered and had a good aesthetic.”

Monday Haircare Co-founder Jaimee Lupton

Courtesy of Monday Haircare

A “good aesthetic” is an understatement. Between its soft pink hue and architectural silhouette, the bottles are delightful and practically beg for a shelfie. “We wanted the packaging to be both functional and aesthetically pleasing,” Lupton says. “In a single tone of pink, we’re sleek and minimal. We wanted to produce something you’d expect from a high-end haircare brand. It mirrors our brand’s commitment to making good hair as uncomplicated as possible. We realized that people wanted a pump, not a cap or lid. It’s completely color blocked and it really does stand out against everything else on the shelf.”

The unique square shape isn’t just for appearances—it’s because more square bottles can fit in packing containers than round ones, which helps reduce their carbon footprint. Sustainability is a main driver for Monday. “There is a huge waste problem in the beauty industry and this was at the forefront of my decision making,” Lupton says. “There are far too many products made every year that are not recyclable. The Gen Z and Millennial consumer we’re targeting want sustainability and an ethically minded supply chain; I wanted to reflect that in the brand values. We decided to forgo adhesive sticky labels so the bottles could easily be recycled because lots of people don’t take labels off.” Plus, the bottles are made with recycled plastic to minimize their carbon footprint and reduce landfill. Monday is currently developing refillable pouches as part of their commitment to a better beauty future.

Monday Haircare Smooth Shampoo and Conditioner

Courtesy of Monday Haircare

But what’s on the inside is even more impressive. It isn’t easy to create a range of salon quality haircare at accessible supermarket prices, which is why Monday Haircare was roughly two years in the making. “It’s not only what our pink bottle looks like, but what’s in the pink bottles,” Lupton says. “We wanted to feature natural extracts and combine them with high performance ingredients. There are no sulfates, no parabens, no triclosans—none of those nasties. Beauty lovers have a greater awareness of what goes in their products.”

Monday has four targeted ranges—Smooth, Moisture, Gentle and Volume—each with a shampoo and conditioner. “The reason we launched with such a tight sku count is we wanted to make the line as uncomplicated as possible,” Lupton says. “We hit all the keys that we need, but we’re also keeping it easy to shop.” Each range has 11 amino acids and is chock full of essential plant extracts. The formulas went through seven stages of research and development to ensure they were up to the same standard as salon brands. So how do they make prestige-quality haircare at mass prices? “The simple answer to that is volume and scale,” Lupton says. “At the scale of our production, we can negotiate the cost of materials. That’s why we’re able to create luxury products but keep that price point low.”

Monday Haircare Volume Shampoo and Conditioner

Courtesy of Monday Haircare

The luxury world is one that Lupton is familiar with, as she worked as a publicist with some of the biggest, grandest brands in the world, including Bottega Veneta, Celine and Range Rover. “I took that experience and harvested everything in Monday,” she says. “It really helped us to elevate the brand.” They also launched with a series of Monday muses and tapped Georgia Fowler to be the face of the brand. Coincidentally, the model is an old friend of Lupton’s—they went to primary school together. “Georgia made complete sense for the role,” Lupton says. “I chose her because she is a friend and there is a level trust of there. She is part of the Monday family and was instrumental in launching the brand in New Zealand. She’s very involved with our content; she’s the creative director on all her own shoots and content. She’s been incredible in getting Monday in the hands of her network.”

In addition to launching in the US, Monday is being introduced to the UK and Canadian markets this year. “Ulta and Target are pretty phenomenal launch partners for us in the US,” Lupton says. “We’re the perfect fit in terms of being leaders in that space of beauty for the accessibility message.” Besides growing their global reach, Monday will also expand their product offerings over time, while keeping their core range tight. After refillable pouches, expect minis for travel as well as a treatment mask and dry shampoo. “We want to be the leader in the mass category and leader in accessible haircare,” Lupton says. “When people hear the word ‘Monday’ we want them to think of us instead of the day of the week.”