~ Luxury products tailored to our Caribbean lifestyle ~
Michelle and her mom Cristina are best known on the island for catering to the beauty-needs of residents and visitors alike. Located in Philipsburg, their business – Michelle’s Glamour Salon – has been offering hair, make-up and other beauty services for over 25 years.
A few years ago, fresh out of college, Michelle joined her mom in running the salon, with the ambition to improve and expand their business. Fearlessly following these ambitions, Michelle officially launched Glamaty, a luxury on-site service and Caribbean-inspired product line. Perfect for weddings, birthdays, girls night out or just to be pampered and avoid unnecessary stress of hair and makeup – services that both Michelle and her mom have vast experience with. Wanting to create a Caribbean-inspired brand with safe and simple ingredients that all her clients would be happy with, Michelle is now intent on expanding the essential product line.
Michelle: “Sint Maarten is a multicultural island, hence we have an array of skin and hair types that visit us at the salon. Having worked with so many different clients in the past years, I started to notice the need for our own products. Besides our diverse clientele, we also deal with a distinct climate and environment in the Caribbean that affect our skin and hair. This called for a personalized brand with products that use ingredients keeping the aforementioned factors in mind.”
Her hard work and determination paid off in December 2015 when Michelle launched Glamaty’s first line of mineral based lip-glosses, which proved to be a great success. And just last week the young entrepreneur launched a second product line, this time for hair care. It wasn’t an easy road to develop this Caribbean-inspired brand, but now that the products are finally on the shelves of her Salon, Michelle is even more confident in her products and the future of her brand.
Michelle: “I did extensive research into ingredients and properties used in beauty and hair care products. I wanted to create something that keeps the heat and effects of the sun in mind. Protecting and moisturizing were my top priorities. After knowing what should work and does not, I did a lot of product testing before finally being confident in my line. I love how my finished products work on my own hair and on my clients. The feedback I am getting is amazing, and having these personal products at hand that work with the Caribbean environment makes my job so much easier!”
Michelle’s Glamaty hair care product line, which includes shampoo, conditioner, leave-in conditioner, oil, heat protectant and volumizing mousse, aims to make your everyday beauty routine easy and contribute to the health your hair.
According to Michelle, ingredients are KEY! We should know what we use on a daily basis in our products, as this can drastically decrease or improve the health and vibrancy of our skin and hair! Some of the ingredients that are bad for your hair are parabens, sulphates, sodium chloride and alcohol. These ingredients are often used as fillers, do not benefit your hair, can dry your hair out and even have been linked to a number of diseases. These ingredients are not found in Glamaty-products. Michelle: “If they do not add any value, then why would I put them in my products or in your hair?”
The following are a few of the key ingredients that Michelle specifically chose for their benefits:
- Hydrolyzed Silk: Silk protein that helps bind moisture to hair, repair and strengthen while providing a protective barrier. This adds lustre, body and shine.
- Wheat Amino Acids: Blend of amino acids from wheat protein that penetrates the hair shaft to condition, repair and add shine to hair.
- Panthenol: Form of Vitamin B5 that penetrates through the cuticle of the hair and acts as a powerful humectant that helps hair maintain moisture in the cortex and on the surface, leaving it more pliable, shinier, stronger and thicker.
- Achillea Millefolium (Yarrow) Extract: Helps tone and heal dry or damaged scalp by reducing flaking and restoring suppleness while helping to promote hair growth.
- Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil: Conditioning agent that improves hair elasticity while adding a desirable sheen.
- Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil: Soothing to the scalp, stimulates circulation, and works to relieve dry scalp.
- Arctium Lappa (Burdock) Extract: Rich in phytosterols and essential fatty acids to help promote hair growth while maintaining a healthy scalp by alleviating grease and oil.
- Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil: Light emollient that is rich in monounsaturated fatty acids and Vitamin E that help moisturize, protect and nourish hair while adding extra shine.
- Betula Alba Bark (Birch) Extract: Stimulates hair growth, strengthens roots and prevents dandruff while adding shine.
- Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil: Deep penetrating oil that softens and conditions.
Michelle: “People should check more what they are putting in their hair and on their skin. It is just like eating, if you eat junk food every day, which contains a number of unhealthy ingredients and chemicals, you will gain weight, break out, and feel tired. The same goes for what you put in your hair. If you use ingredients that are not good for your hair, it can start to get dull, dry and break. Educate yourself and take extra care in choosing products that benefit your hair. You should treat yourself well!”
So next time you are in the beauty aisle looking for a bottle of shampoo, double check what you are actually going to use. If you want to be sure it’s a product that will improve the health of your hair, protect it from the heat and keep it moisturized, just head to Michelle’s Glamour Salon in Philipsburg and pick up the safe and easy to use Glamaty Products.
For more information, surf to www.glamaty.com, www.facebook.com/glamaty/ or find @Glamaty on instagram.
