Scalp Detox for Beautiful Hair with Helen Reavey, ACT+ACRE

Hello, charming listeners, and welcome to the Longevity and Lifestyle Podcast, where I invite pioneers and thought leaders in all things longevity and lifestyle. To give us the strategies, tools, and practices to live better and help us reach our highest potential. Today's guest is Helen Rivie, co-founder and CCO of Act and Acre. That's spelled A-C-T plus sign and Acre, A-C-R-E. Act and Acre, a modern wellness brand dedicated to the health of the scalp and hair. Helen was trained under veteran hairstylist Sam McKnight, known for his work with celebrities including Princess Diana, Kate Moss, and Lady Gaga. Helen has always been passionate about clean hair care that works, and when she couldn't find any for her clients, who include Tilda Swinton, Alicia Keys, and Harry Styles, she set out to create Act Acre, the world's first cold-pressed hair wellness brand that focuses on your scalp. Originally from Ireland, Helen and her husband Colm created and patented the cold process technique to create their plant-based products. This avoids the traditional heat-based production, which can lessen the potency of nutrients in seed oils. In this episode, we discuss Helen's journey to creating Acton Acre and her mission to becoming a scalp detox specialist. Who would have known our scalp is our second microbiome after our gut? And that almost 50% of adults suffer from scalp-related issues. We dig deep into understanding what we can do to optimize for better hair and health, helped by her revolutionary hair and scalp wellness company, Act and Acre. Please enjoy.

Welcome to the Longevity and Lifestyle Podcast, Ellen. I am delighted to have you here today. Before we get started, I would love you to tell listeners what paradise location you have now made your new home and how this contrasts to where you grew up.

First off, I'd love to say how beautiful your voice is, Claudia, on the podcast. I know there's something I hate listening back to my voice because I hear my accent, you know, being from Northern Ireland. You've just such a beautiful tone to your voice. I'm currently in Tulum, Mexico. Very jealous. Relocated during COVID which I'm sure a lot of people have.

And you're originally from Northern Ireland, so you went from sort of more rainy days to sunshine and beaches.

Well, originally Northern Ireland, then to New York for the last close to 10 years, and then relocated to Mexico. And honestly, it was by accident. We came for a week with one suitcase and didn't return to New York probably for about 6 months.

Wow. And now it's really your new permanent home.

It's our new destination.

That's so exciting. So happy for you. So today we have a very interesting topic to discuss, and I think I'd like to start with the fact that I was really surprised to learn that about 50% of adults have scalp issues. Why is there so little focus on scalp health in the hair industry?

Yeah, I know that's a crazy number. And also, like, I think it's over the age of 40, at least one in every two as well will suffer some kind of hair loss as well. And that's only kind of like the North American market we're talking about there. That's not even taken into consideration the rest of the world, which is probably a much higher figure. But I think the reason why it's not really talked about is because it's not an obvious thing to most people or something embarrassing to people. It's definitely not a sexy subject. Skincare, you know, people maybe suffer from acne and you can notice it and they want to talk about it more because they want to get solutions. But I think with scalp, it's just something that we just have kind of shied away from.

And it's sort of ignored under the hair. And yeah, people just don't really talk about it. As a hair and scalp wellness expert, I'd love to talk also about another new fact that was new to me, namely the connection between gut health and the scalp microbiome. Can you explain this?

Yes, of course. So the scalp is an extension of the face. It actually ages 6 times faster, which was a study done by L'Oréal. Wow.

But the skin ages 6 times faster than the face.

Is that really faster than the face? Wow. And, you know, with that comes the skin microbiomes. Like, your face has a microbiome as well, or the skin on your face. And so your scalp will also have that. So similar to gut health, you know, you've good and bad bacteria, which helps keep the scalp balanced. But yet when we have different scalp issues, it's usually down to an overproduction of the bad bacteria. And we tend to go for those kind of like drug brands or brands, you know, that are for dandruff or psoriasis or various different scalp issues, but they end up stripping the good bacteria away with the bad bacteria. So you might have instant good results, but actually over time that exacerbates and kind of leads to that unbalanced microbiome, which can cause many of these issues.

Wow. So I guess it's almost like taking antibiotics for the gut microbiome. It's like an atomic bomb, right? And you need to replenish then as well. Super interesting. A bit of a different question, but has there been any particular person, perhaps a mentor or a role model, who has inspired you to become a pioneer and push boundaries to revolutionize hair and scalp care?

I suppose it comes at different stages of my career. I actually did a degree in business and finance before I decided to become a hairstylist. So that's kind of where I started my journey. And then I think very soon afterwards I went to hairdressing school. I trained in the UK, so we have this GNVQ, it's like a special kind of like college certificate.. And actually my lecturer there, or trainer, had just completed a course in London, a degree in trichology. So that's similar to a dermatologist for the skin. This is a doctor for the scalp. And I'm actually started my trichology degree, so I'll finish this October. But she really opened up my mind to this other kind of like hair and scalp health. So you go to school and you train how to use your tools and cut and color hair and perm and all the usual, but no one ever really spoke about scalp health. So I think I was in a very unique position where she really was passionate about that and relayed that on us, and we got on very well. I was probably one of the older students in my class. Everyone else was about 16, and I was coming in as a 22-year-old college graduate. So he loved that I was so passionate about it as well and really, you know, enjoyed the learning. Aspect of it. And so I think later in my career, when I moved from Ireland to New York to follow my dream in fashion, I started working with Sam McKnight. So he had his own products as well, worked very much doing hair for like Fashion Week for Chanel, Fendi, all the top kind of brands that you can imagine. He also was very famous for Kate Moss and doing Princess Diana's hair. But, you know, he really pushed me to like discover kind of like my talents in fashion and understand that kind of world, which to me, that really excited me. But it was kind of working backstage, working with models, understanding like how poor scalp health was and how product buildup in the hair and scalp actually made the hair underperform. And, you know, like there were so many products on the market to help treat things or quick fixes or style hair. But there was nothing really there to help scalp health and educate people on this problem and how that was actually affecting your hair performance and your hair long-term. So we've always seen it in skincare, this preventative thing, but no one had ever talked about haircare. But yet we're slowly starting to see, maybe not in your 20s, but some people did, but definitely in your 30s and 40s, people starting to have hair loss, postnatal hair loss. Stress-related hair loss, and then various different scalp issues that, you know, it really doesn't discriminate against anybody. We all can suffer from it. We all do suffer from it at some point in our lives. And so I think it was my husband really that pushed me in that direction to form a brand. And, you know, he left his job as a lawyer and helped us kind of like really bring Acton Acre to life. I came up with concept, the idea, but it's, you know, someone who's very creative and understand product. Business definitely wasn't my side of things. So he was that person that really was able to bring it to life from an operations supply chain and just really getting the product out there.

How excellent and how amazing that these mentors sort of come along the way and the journey. And there's a fabulous speech by Steve Jobs, the 2005 Stanford Commemoration Speech. I don't know if you've seen it, but he talks about only in retrospect when you can actually connect the dots. So, you know, had you not had that teacher at your hair training college, you might not have actually even had your eyes open to the importance of scalp health and brought you on this journey to where you are today. So it's very—

it's so amazing. Different points in your career, I think, as well, you start to see what other people are doing. You're like, oh, if I'd have started this earlier, maybe I'd have been further. And, you know, I always mentor the assistants that come on set with me and like You always have to believe it's your time, your journey. And I now understand that I wasn't meant to be in all these other places years ago because this is my journey. This is my path.

Oh, I love it that you found that. So many people searching, and I think it's so exciting when you find it and you're on track. And you were saying that Sami Ignazi, he was pushing you and encouraging you in a certain direction, and he obviously saw something in you. But how did he encourage you? What were his ways of kind of pushing you out of your comfort zone to try new things? Maybe you can talk a bit about those sort of tactics and tools that he used.

Yes, what I love about Sam and working with him is very different to most people, is that you actually did hair and, you know, you got stuck in, you're backstage, it's just model after model after model and you just have to pick up and you just have to watch and You are predicting what he needs, but you're also able to emulate what he's done as well with the hair. And like, he's an absolute hair legend. And just to be able to not only understand hair and kind of what it's capable of doing, but understand how to make natural hair look beautiful, undone, but yet polished. That's what he is so well known for. Like, he can do the most incredible shapes, incredible wigs, and different styles from different eras. But what he does unbelievably is make natural hair look effortless and polished.

Wow, so how special to have trained under him and work together with him. So on doing some research, I understand that you have a good story about a house swap. Can you tell us a bit about that?

Oh, this is one of these movie kind of stories, like this can't be true. It was Christmas of 2017. I'm going to say I could be wrong with the year, but I think it's 2017. We had traveled from New York. We'd done a house swap with a friend in the British Virgin Islands. So they were coming to New York to spend Christmas with their family there. And we just wanted something a little bit more tropical. And Colm had just come back from Asia. So he had been on a very long flight and we got on then another set of flights. And with the British Virgin Islands, you have to take a ferry from one of the islands anyway. So we arrived and, you know, our friend had sent us this extensive list of like where everything was, top restaurants, here's the taxi driver's number, they'll pick you up and bring you to the house. And so we arrived at the house. Everything was where she said it was, the gate, the number, the key was under the mat. I went in and I was initially like, Huh, this isn't what I was expecting, but okay. I was a little underwhelmed, especially because like how methodical she was with her list of everything.

So, and had she sent you photos or you didn't have any photos?

We had no photos, but we arrived anyway. And, you know, Colm, my husband, was extremely tired, so he went off to bed straight away. But I do what every Irish person does and tidied up a little bit because it was a little untidy and, you know, went to the fridge and there was like some food that I was like, oh, we're not going to eat that. That looks a little off. So we got rid of it, made my list, made myself some toast. I think I probably had a beer and I was gone off settling in, ready to unpack my suitcase. And I went to look for like the supermarket and obviously my Wi-Fi wasn't working, so I was trying to like understand the Wi-Fi wouldn't go in, wouldn't work, wasn't even coming up. I started to read over her list again and a few things just didn't make any sense, like where the bedroom was, where the towels would be, things like that. And all of a sudden it just hit me and I said, we're not in the right house. And I ran out the door. I felt like Goldilocks, you know, you'd been there, you'd eaten all the food and you'd got the bed. Drunk the beer. Tapped my husband on the shoulder. He says, darn it, I don't think we're in the right place here. And he woke up in shock, but he just felt it and knew it. And he's like, oh my God, we have to get the hell out of here straight away. Someone's got to come home. And, you know, find a foreign country here, and God knows how they'll react to it. So we went downstairs and we're like, there's no pictures of anybody here. This is an Irish friend, like it's just not very Irish. There's no home.

Yeah.

It felt like, you know, a bachelor lived in this house and we looked at letters. We were like, oh God, there's no names here. Yeah, we're definitely in the wrong place. But of course I wanted to undo everything that I had done in the last couple of hours. Tidy and throw food away. Grab your case and get the hell out of here. So we realized that there was a different cul-de-sac with same number. Same gate, key was under the mat exactly the same way as she had told us and walked in and the house was completely different.

Oh, it was. Wow.

That's a legend. Extremely funny. And yeah.

Did you ever find out?

We never found out. And we were kind of a little bit afraid to go back, but some guy definitely came home and thought that someone, a cleaner had come that day and, you know, tidied his apartment.

Or Goldilocks was there. Exactly. Potentially as well. Oh, I love that story. That's really, really great. So with all the daily commitments you have, Helen, growing your business and all the exciting things that you are doing, do you have any particular morning routine that you use to start your day as a success?

Yes, absolutely. And this has kind of developed over time, you know, where I've tried different things. So, you know, I think the first thing I would have started with was hot water and lemon and celery juice. And I also do like intermittent fasting. So from like 8 PM till 12 the next day. So, you know, that was really good. In the morning I'd have my water, my celery juice, my coffee, different kind of like moments in my life where different things are happening. I, you know, practice different things. Like I try to do my breathwork in the morning as well. But recently what I started doing and I absolutely love and instantly changes my mood. And so if I get up and I try not to look at my phone straight away, but some days you do, you can't help it. But very luckily in Mexico, they love a cold plunge pool. Now, when we arrived at this place, we thought it was a Jacuzzi and we're very excited, but we realized it's actually just a cold pool. But we go straight out in the morning and I jump into it and I have like about, you know, 3 to 4 minutes there and do my breathwork. But that cold jumpstarts your body for the day. It's incredible. Like, it really wakes you up. And it's something that, you know, I put off for so long. I was like, no, I'm not doing it. My husband did it. And then he was like, you really got to try this. And I did. I ended up loving it. And so that's how I start my day every morning, followed by the lemon water and celery juice whenever I can as well.

Oh, wow. That sounds like a winning routine. And I think Part of the reason they say with the cold therapy, I mean, Wim Hof is obviously the famous Dutchman, the Iceman as they call him, that does actual ice baths for I don't know how many minutes at a time. I won't misquote that, but it's really getting into your body and getting those senses going again because we're so in our mind the whole time and it's kind of resetting the body that way and starting the day out to win. So that, that sounds like a fantastic morning routine.

Well done.

Do you have any unusual habit or absurd thing that you love?

Okay, this is a difficult one because I think that again, it's something that probably changes over time. But the one thing that I'm obsessed with, and it's just from growing up with my mom, bought us these special pillows. I don't know what is so special about it. It's called a Dunlop pillow. It's like a latex with little holes in it, so it never loses shape. I hated feather pillows or anything like that, this particular pillow, and I cannot sleep without it. I travel everywhere with it, um, I go to hotels with it, I bring it on an airplane. So yeah, I'm one of those people on an airplane with a big massive pillow and people are looking at me, you know, they're kind of going, that's a bit strange, but also they're thinking, wow, that was actually genius, why didn't I?

And it's called the Dunlop pillow, like the tennis brand, is it?

Yep, Dunlop.

D-U-N-L-I-O, I believe. Dunlop. Okay, wow. And it has special beads in it, is that what it has?

Well, it's like a latex but has holes in it so it never gets warm on one side. It's like breathable, and you can wash it.

Oh, I love this. Yeah, because I, you know, the awkward pillows— and some of the hotels have all these brilliant pillow menus these days, but they're probably so disappointed when you Show up with your own pillow. Let's talk about your— we talked a bit about this, but the journey to fashion, you know, I'd like to deep dive into this. You know, what really took you from living your dream, working in fashion, having a stellar career, to actually not only discovering the needs to address scalp health for hair and overall vitality, but actually taking that giant step to creating something new? Can you talk about that process and those thoughts and challenges that went into that?

Yes, absolutely. And I don't even know where to begin here, but I suppose it's like having someone pushing you. Like, my husband really was incredible at pushing me to get from being a hairstylist on set, having a personal brand, and being booked to do hair for this, but now it's completely different. It's creating a product, putting something out there into the world. And, you know, it obviously involves a very different skill set, which along my journey I realized that, you know, I didn't really have this skill set either. So this is something that I had to develop and something that I had to learn and something I had to teach myself a lot. And COVID really did push me really into this. So before I have obviously had, you know, a team of people helping, and I was very much involved in product development, which I love, and I've been a part of, like, for a very long time, even for, like, other brands. And it has been a journey kind of switching from working for someone to working for yourself. And with this, it kind of, like, involved using completely different skill sets. So yes, the creative side of it, being on set, I've worked with designers developing the hair for shows and for photo shoots and for, you know, their different various campaigns. So yes, there was definitely that side of it that was involved in Activator. But there's also this whole new leadership side involving, you know, managing teams, leading people in a way, but inspiring them at the same time. So like, I'd never led teams before apart from like 35 hairstylists, but I showed them physically a look So I was using my hands before, obviously, you know, my research was like creatively looking up, you know, what's happening in fashion, hair, different looks like that, where now I'm kind of like running Excel sheets and running meetings. You struggle with it for a while, but I definitely signed up to every single newsletter. I really wanted to, you know, be the best at this. I wanted to be better than I've ever been at anything. You know, there is that competitive side of me as well that when I went into hair, it was like I wanted to be the best at that. And, you know, in school I didn't have the top grades or anything like that, but when I found hair, I was like, honestly, I'd find my calling. And I was like, I really was so good at it, and I loved it and was passionate about it. But then developing a brand, it was like completely different, and I had a different type of passion for it. And it's like, but I really wanted to be good at this as well, so I really did everything that I could, listened to every podcast. I also got a business coach, which was truly instrumental in developing me as a person, skills as a leader, how to work with people in a completely different way as well.

That sounds so amazing, and, and how you put your— pushed yourself out of your comfort zone from studying business and finance to going into hairdressing to making it in the fashion world, which is so cutthroat as it is, to to actually going and building your own brand and reinventing yourself. So well done for all those amazing steps in your journey. I know. How do Act and Acre products address the issues of scalp health? And did you have sort of an aha moment working in fashion where you realized it's actually all about the scalp health and it's not being addressed?

It was kind of that aha moment because When you think of Fashion Week, it's like a month long, and you know, when you come to the last show, everyone is super sensitive. Their scalp is sensitive, they've had so much product put on their hair, and what we find was it's impossible to get the hair to perform. And this was due to too much heat being used, like the amount of product on the scalp. You would do this on someone's scalp, like just lightly touch it, and they'd be like, ah, and you're like, this is like, wow, this really kind of like explained to me in a way that, okay, this product buildup, the amount of product, nobody's taking care of their scalp through this process, they're not using good products, they're using cheap hotel kind of like shampoo while they're on the road as well, and the hair was just like, blah. Wow.

And I think it was probably the exponential Showing after 1 month of intensive use what probably someone else experiences over maybe a year or 2 years, but what starts happening with the sort of floppy hair and they don't realize it, they try different products but nothing actually really helps. Can you tell us then how you decided to dive into developing the products? I understand you've also conducted clinical studies.

Can you talk a bit about that? So developing the product, there really was We wanted to create something clean, number one, that, you know, was taking a more holistic approach to the scalp health with the various different oils. And what we realized was that traditional heat method— so traditionally, hair product is made through a heat process to allow oil to pass into water. And so what that was doing was it was basically burning off the efficacy of the oils and you were really taking away the nutrient level. What traditional hair care brands had to do in the past is actually add chemicals— or not even chemicals, sorry, but like the nasty ingredients, the sulfates, the SLS, the silicones, the parabens— to help the performance. And so when we started on this journey, we actually had, I think, about 35 PhDs working out with chemists and botanists. Wow. Within the lab to develop the co-processing method. So taking kind of like from the CBD world and the juice press world, it was like, well, how do we retain efficacy here? How do we allow oil to pass into water? And so it was a hyperbaric chamber with cold air and 1,200 pounds of pressure. Wow. That allowed us to blend the ingredients together without losing the efficacy. So we know even from cooking, like, you know, you burn olive oil up to a certain temperature, or, you know, it degrades the efficacy of the nutrients that are in the ingredients and then the process, similar to the oils when you use them as well. So yeah, for us it was like it had to be clean, it had to perform, and to perform well it had to have this new process but also be backed by science. So we've done Princeton studies to understand how the nutrients and the ingredients within the various products actually remove 95% of sebum and buildup on the hair and scalp.

Oh wow, and is this buildup from other products or is this natural buildup that happens?

A mixture of both. So you'll have buildup from like dead skin, to environment, like if you looked under a microscope you'd see tiny particles of dust on your scalp as well. Products build up. Also, like, a cleanse or conditioner not being washed off properly or used properly, and that leaves like a residue. Silicone builds up like a residue on the hair as well. It kind of leaves a plastic coating on the hair. So yeah, various different things like that, but definitely dead skin being one that we don't even think of. And the oil in our scalp detox, actually similar to skincare oil, removes oil and buildup and balances production of your oil as well.

Well, it sounds fabulous. Can you walk me through the range of products you have and what issues they treat?

Yes, you know, we have another business partner, so it's myself, my husband, and Rachel, who is head of marketing and brand. We always knew that we wanted, you know, a scalp-focused hair wellness line that was problem solution instead of just having products as well. We wanted system, so we borrowed very much from the skincare. So like Clinique, their 3-step system. So we launched with our 3-step system, the Essentials, because we knew it was a new world that we were coming into here. We really were pioneers within the scalp care space, so the language was very different, so people didn't fully understand it. Now they're starting to really understand scalp care and how important it is. But in the past it didn't. So we wanted to borrow a lot from skincare that people understood well, and so we wanted to launch with these systems instead of products. So we have the Essential System, which is really your first step to scalp care and your scalp routine, and it is a detox, a cleanse, and condition. So it's your scalp oil that you put on your treatment, your pre-cleanse, then you shampoo, and then condition. And recently, with my— with an extension of this range, because people haven't been able to get to the salons, we also wanted to treat from root to tip. So we have our restorative range, which is a scalp renew, a hair mask, and then an apple stem cell serum. So one pre-cleanse and then one post-cleanse. And really, it is about that— we call it ageless scalp, not anti-aging, but the stem cells are really incredible for slowing down the aging process with the scalp so that you get a much longer life cycle out of your hair. And the apple stem cells are incredible for cell rejuvenation. So as the scalp ages, it loses the ability to hold moisture, and that's what leads to hair becoming brittle and much finer as we get older.

It's so incredible because I really see sort of comparisons between, you know, plants and the soil and your scalp and the hair, and I find it astounding that this hasn't been addressed before, that we always have been talking about hair, hair, hair, but actually pretty much ignoring the importance of the scalp and treating the, the base where the plants, if you will, the hair grows from. So it's fabulous that you guys have been—

when a plant is dead, what can you do for it? Like, there's not a whole lot. So you have to always remember that you need to— this is preventative as well, so you need treat it at the beginning. So for all this new hair growth, because when hair grows it is dead protein, there's only so much we can do to fix it when we see it. But really what you need to do is think of it from the beginning and, you know, obviously avoid as much heat as possible. But it really is about treating the scalp so when that hair grows, it's much healthier and stronger, and it stays longer then as well healthy.

Is that the case? And it doesn't fall out as much? What would you recommend for people suffering from scalp issues or also people just interested in looking after their scalp health? You mentioned sort of the different steps and the specific treatment plans, but is there sort of a one-size-fits-all or is it very dependent on what issues people have? What do you recommend?

It really is for preventative measure, it's a one-size-fits-all. So if you say, is this for my hair type, you know, especially with our scalp detox, it doesn't matter what hair type you have. This is about your scalp and how important it is to hydrate, nourish, remove, but very gently remove as well. So if you're using our Scalp Detox but then you're using like a tea gel or a medicated shampoo, it's not really going to have the same effect. So going back to that microbiome, and you know, our Scalp Renew is definitely more of an exfoliant. It's got salicylic acid, papaya seed extract, which are exfoliants. So really, for someone with obvious scalp issues like dandruff, it's really good. It's got antifungal properties and it will help remove that dead skin and balance the oil. But our scalp detox is for everybody, and it's the one thing that I'm like, you need to have some form of scalp treatment in your hair care or your scalp care ritual. We never think to moisturize our scalp, but we'd never go a day without washing or moisturizing our face. So really thinking about that when you're thinking about your scalp care routine. And anyone that starts this journey with us have always been like, I never even thought about my scalp as being part of my hair care routine, and how different their scalp starts to feel. You know, sometimes they suffer in winter from being tight and dry, but now they don't anymore. The hair just is like— a lot of people mention that their hair has returned to its natural state. So they've removed all these like various different ingredients and also it kind of makes you more conscious about what you're putting on your hair and the heat. And so over time they started to notice, oh, actually I've got a wave in my hair that I never even knew I had.

Discovering new hair. And with heat, it's sort of any hair dryer you say is bad, or any hair iron, things like that?

It really is about over time, so the amount that you use it. So I still use a hair dryer sometimes, especially just to blow dry my roots. I'll just keep it on medium heat but I'm not sitting there like heat on the hairbrush on the hair shaft like for hours, like flat iron. Sometimes I'll do a flat wave in my hair, but it's very rare. I try to leave it to dry naturally as often as I can. You know, I hate to say to people, don't ever use this or don't ever do that. We're here to fit into your lifestyle, not the other way around, and kind of help you on that journey and advise, well, if you are going to use heat, let's keep it at this temperature and use it less often, hold it for less time on the hair. But we're definitely not a, you can't do this or you can't do that.

Yeah, which helps people adopt the products, I think, as well.

And as soon as you've probably started them, it's hard to move back to going— anxiety to people when they think, oh, if I don't do that this way, I'm going to get it wrong. But no, it's like any form of kind of like wellness ritual, do it in whatever way it suits you. It's definitely better than not doing it at all.

And then as soon as you start noticing the effects, it becomes more addictive. And I wonder, are the products more focused towards women or also men? And what about men who have a genetical history of balding? You know, is it at all helpful for those type of situations as well?

So here's a fun fact that your hair does not actually tell what gender you are. You can't tell male or female. Different products for men and women. That's just a marketing play. You can use exactly the same products. Our products are definitely— we set out for it to be gender neutral. Just by our consumer base, it's definitely become more directed towards women. But then we've also realized that it's women buying it for men as well. So we're starting to like definitely focus a lot more on men coming up. We have a stimulating collection coming out later in the year, which we will focus a lot on men. But we've done our 60-day transformation programs, and there have been a lot of men using the product. And they're actually— we've realized they're so loyal. Once they realize that something is working for them, they will never change. And a lot of good customers to have. Exactly. And, you know, men don't have the best hair care routines to begin with. And that's what's causing a lot of these scalp issues. And, you know, obviously hair loss can be hereditary, but we can prevent a lot of that because, you know, a lot of it's due to not cleansing the scalp properly. So like, they'll come out of the gym and maybe only put water on their hair and wouldn't even wash it. So things like that can definitely slow down that aging process by cleansing properly, using, you know, a gentle cleanser, a scalp treatment as well, and because there's a lot of petroleum in styling products that lies on the scalp, stays on the hair, where the scalp detox, the oil in it would help dissolve that product and remove that. Because that's one of the causes of hair loss is because the petroleum is like on the hairline, it can cause acne, different kind of scalp issues can be the root of that being on the scalp and using those kind of ingredients.

Wow, you guys are really on to something. Can you also talk about your sustainability focus with Act and Acre? Which I think is so fantastic that you've incorporated this as well, and amongst other things.

Yes, and you know what, this is something that we are constantly trying to work on, from packaging to supply chain to ingredient sourcing. But at the beginning, like, we came out of that 2 years ago when sustainability was really at its peak, and I felt like every brand was coming out, you know, with different packaging solutions to be more sustainable.. And in the past that had been a luxury, where now it feels like if you're a new brand starting, that's a have-to-have. It should be part of your ethos, part of your DNA. No one had ever gone back to the beginning and challenged how the product was actually made. And so with 390 degrees of heat, you also are using a lot of energy. So with the co-process method, we use 90% less energy. So that was kind of the starting point for us. We were like, well, How else can we do this other than packaging? It's very difficult for shampoo and haircare brands to have glass packaging, especially in the shower. It's extremely dangerous. But we are working on like an in-shower installation where, you know, you can refill these bottles. But we did come out this year with some refill pouches which are 60% less plastic. We will offer kind of like refill solutions whenever we can. We will offer glass and aluminum tubes, you know, whenever we can outside kind of treatments outside of the shower. But our packaging is made from PETG-1, which is the highest grade of plastic and post-consumer plastic that can actually be recycled again.

Oh, excellent. It's so nice to see that more and more companies and products— that you guys really take this to your core and seriously and look at the whole supply chain around it, because you unfortunately hear a lot of, yeah, we, we focus on sustainability, but there might just be one a small part of the supply chain. It sounds like you guys have really thought it through, which is great. What lies ahead for Acton Acre? Can you talk a bit about plans that you have, be it new products or other growth areas that you're focusing on?

Yes, so actually one of the biggest discoveries after COVID is definitely hair loss. So I think hair loss being, you know, connected to the scalp Our plan is still to remain hair wellness, scalp-focused, but to offer other solutions for hair loss that don't involve medication or drugs that can have different side effects. And people really do come to us when they've probably tried everything else on the market and it hasn't worked, and now they want to try a more natural approach. They understand that that can really work and, you know, have an amazing impact, really just providing solutions from root to tip and being on that journey, listening to our consumer and what they really want from us as well.

Very exciting. I'd love to touch on something you mentioned earlier, but I'd love to hear specifics, especially also for the listeners, about the tools and strategies that you've learned and are using to overcome fears, if you will, that have enabled you to succeed as a trailblazing entrepreneur today. You mentioned a business coach, but is there any specifics, a specific book or technique? What things did your business coach help you with to really move from working in fashion to running this amazing company?

Definitely preparation. That's been one of the key takeaways for me, preparing for any kind of meeting, not going into it not understanding what you're going to talk about. So it's like taking 10 minutes to prep or something beforehand. And delegating, like, you know, really kind of like working with the team to understand their strengths, understand what your weaknesses are so that, you know, you can have someone come in where they're definitely stronger than you and delegate to that. Different books that I've been reading and really enjoyed: Atomic Habits. So I think like habits that you form will definitely help set you up for the day, but also like your evening. So, you know, that book is incredible. It really made me understand habits, addictions, different things like that. So, you know, addicted to chocolate or something like that, you know, tell yourself, okay, I'm gonna eat this chocolate right now, but say it out loud. But different things that make you happy during the day. So if it is that piece of chocolate and that makes you happy— but for, you know, public speaking for me has been really difficult and something that I've had to overcome, and my business coach has really helped me with that, and you Claudia as well. But clearly you're made for it. No, not exactly, but you know, he really set it up for me. He's like, you have to have something to look forward to at the end of speaking, and it can't be dependent on weather or place or person. So it's something that you enjoy, even if it's just a coffee or a piece of chocolate but you have to visualize that end result, and that really helped me. What do you visualize, out of curiosity? I do visualize either a piece of chocolate or— and I love coffee. It's one thing that I, you know, I did give up for a while, but it's something that I really need in my day, something to look forward to as well. But, you know, different podcasts that I've listened to as well, understanding people at this level And at a much bigger level as well is the amount of decisions that you have to make in one day. Reducing that to like simple things like your wardrobe, making your wardrobe just one color or two colors so you really don't— like, I buy multiple pairs of the same shoe, the same pants, the same t-shirt, and I do have like, you know, obviously different outfits that I like to wear for different occasions, but for me Setting yourself up for success, everything charged at night. I have one of those— I love this thing actually, it's a box that has like an extension cord inside it. All your cords are in that and you can travel around with it. It is the best thing that, you know, I've ever found because now I charge everything in one room at night. My phone's nowhere near me. And you can obviously go off course at times, but it's just reminding yourself And making promises for yourself and keeping them. That's another thing. So if I decide that I'm going to work out today, keeping that promise, I have to do that because at the end of the day, you feel like you've succeeded if you've kept that promise to yourself.

You've touched on so many interesting points there. So it's working the willpower muscle, I guess.

Right.

So it's the more you actually stick to those promises as you're calling them, the more strength you have in actually making decisions and taking decisions. And another topic you touched on that I really like is the concept of decision fatigue, which I didn't actually know was a proper term until I came across it in Dave Asprey's book Game Changers, where one of the people that he speaks with says you have like an allocation of decisions you can make in one day, and to set yourself up for success, you actually take the important decisions in the morning. And then, you know, as soon as you've done those 3 or however many they are, then everything else is kind of— we'll see. And you automate as much as possible, be it wardrobe, be it the days that you actually make phone calls or do conference calls, so that that thinking and waste of energy, if you will, can actually be automated. And you set yourself up to focus the energy on things where you really create value. So really interesting topics that you mentioned there as well. When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do? Are there any particular questions you ask yourself?

When I do feel overwhelmed, then I get a little bit like unsure about what I'm meant to be doing. And so it really is for me taking that moment to even go and watch just something silly on TV, like a Netflix show, like a cooking show or something like that, that just completely takes my mind off, doesn't involve any concentration. But obviously breathwork is like the most important thing to do, but sometimes you just don't feel like that, or go do a stretch or something. But definitely removing yourself from your phone, your laptop, just to like bring yourself like back to earth, be there, not be worried about it. Because as well, I don't like to be reactive. I like to sit and think about something if I'm overwhelmed about it, or I'm unsure of the answer, because I do feel like if I relax and calm down myself and my body, the answer will then come to me, as opposed to just reacting to it straight away. I try not to react if I'm upset about something or sure, or just as you said, feel overwhelmed, and just take that moment to really think about it and not say yes to everything.

I think that's part of the key, is freeing up the space to have time to think as well. It sounds from your answer just there that you've really honed in on such an amazing skill to not react off off the bat, but actually to recenter, refocus. Is that something you've always had or something you've trained in over the years?

I think that actually came before acting, really, because transitioning from like the salon world to the fashion world, you really do have to react so fast, answer an email, or you miss a job. You have to say yes to everything, but then maybe all of a sudden you have 3 jobs and you're like, oh, I don't know which one to react to, and you really just had to go away and understand that, you know, it's going to come, it's going to be okay. And having an agent really does help with that, but then again, you know, you could have 3 jobs in one day and you're trying to figure out what's the best for me, and what, you know, you're relying on them to make that decision for you, but really you need to make that decision for yourself. So I do remember you get an email come in and I said, you know what, I'm not going to answer that until the morning and maybe the answer is just going to come in. It's just trusting that you're attracting the right answer. And you know, it really is true. You'd wake up the next morning, the agent would be like, don't worry, that job moved to another day, so you're fine to do this. And I'm just like, thankfully I just waited for that. You know, that's not always the case, but I find in most cases that's the right answer.

Yeah, this is an area that I'm fascinated in and would love to learn more, is this intuition and building that. Intuitive sense. I think children are so attuned to that, and I think through our educational system we kind of lose that connection and touch. But people who are really able to kind of tune in and just have that knowing that, you know, I'm going to sleep on it tonight and let's see what happens tomorrow, and, you know, lo and behold, well, it gets pushed back and everything works out. So, yeah, I find it so fascinating.

Exactly, trusting your gut. Yeah, something as an adult I think you become more aware of. And there's a reason. And, you know, your body does tell the true story. And I think we're really understanding that there's science to back a lot of this about attraction and really listen to your body because you do know the answer. And really about that visualization, you know, being able to sit there in peace and visualize what it's meant to be and attract enough.

Yeah, exactly. And I've interviewed some other speakers as well who talk about the power of visualization, or I had a life coach as well talking about focus on the end results. And this having that clarity, and you don't need to know the process, you don't need to know how, it's just know which direction that you want to focus in.

And that's quite powerful as well. But also enjoying the process as well. Yes, I'm currently teaching myself that because a lot of the time I'm wishing to the end results instead of enjoying the process. And then you're constantly living in that stressful moment where you're like Yeah, oh, it'll get easier when I get to this stage, or get easier when I get to that stage. Yeah, where I'm reminding myself, you know, you used to enjoy parts of this here. So, you know, when you're feeling stressed or whatever, it's like, take a moment, go enjoy it. What do you love about this? Okay, hone in on those moments instead of, oh, wishing for the end of the week, because you can't live your whole life in that moment either.

And I think these are learnings that we develop over time. And it's, you know, so beautiful to get to a stage where you're able to— and I'm definitely still on this journey, but I sometimes speak to people who have really fully understood the sort of the power of now and just being in the present, and just this inner calmness that you have as well, instead of the monkey mind that often takes over. Helen, what are bad recommendations you hear in your profession?

A lot of people would recommend, this is don't wash your hair, just let your natural oils come through. And that is the biggest myth ever, really. And it's also the million-dollar question because people are like, how often should I wash my hair? But definitely more often than you think. The damage is really done if you're using like lots of product in your hair or using a lot of heat on your hair, but the damage isn't done by washing your hair. Obviously, you know, don't need to wash your hair twice a day or whatever, but this leaving it and using these 2-in-1 kind of like cleansing conditioners, I don't believe that they work. You really do need to remove that dead skin, remove that oil, remove that dirt, but in a gentle way. And this is like the complete opposite of that. This is like too gentle and it's not removing enough, and that can lead to follicle damage, it can lead to buildup on the hair. Definitely that, and then the overuse of dry shampoo. Like a heat hair and that.

Oh wow, didn't know that that was a thing, but for like 4 days in a row and they're like, yeah, this is okay, but it's not, instead of washing the hair.

Okay, interesting.

How has a failure or apparent failure set you up for later success?

Do you have a favorite failure? Oh, that's an interesting one. My dad has always had a business and he always said to us do not have your own business, you know, this is the one thing. So I like, I honestly never thought I'd have my own business because of that. But one thing my dad just always pushed and pushed no matter what was happening to his business. And growing up in Northern Ireland actually was pretty tough. And you know, it might not be parent that's done something wrong, but I always am so thankful for my upbringing and even though if you were to look at it from the outside, you might not think it was that great or whatever, but definitely, like, my parents have given me the tools to fight for things, to really push and be ambitious. I think that's probably the one thing I've really learned from them. So I don't think there's anything bad or anything they failed at, because I don't ever see it as a failure. I always see it as a learning and something that I can bring to my life in some way, I suppose.

Oh, that's perfect. What has been your most exciting purchase in the last 6 months? So you talked about your pillow, but it sounds like you've had this longer than 6 months. So anything where you can share specifics or brand or model, uh, where you can find it?

Definitely that toolbox that I talked about to hold all your wires in place. I don't know the brand, but I will send it to you afterwards. I bought my first pair of Vans, which I absolutely love. The shoes. Uh-huh. I know that's so silly, but it's the things that make you happy. Yeah. Um, no, they're just so easy to wear. I love them. But definitely that wire toolkit, like, has been the best thing I've bought this year.

So we'll have to put those in the show notes. See, once I read that after— probably part of the success and happiness is that you're not reliant on the material things. So you've found Part of the secret of happiness, I think.

Being productive is the key to my happiness.

Do you have a favorite quote or piece of advice received that was a real game changer for you?

For me, it's something actually that I tell a lot of people, and I definitely picked it up from someone, I don't know where in the past, but it's definitely like, it's never too late. It's absolutely never too late. You know, I moved to New York and started a whole new career when I turned 30. And, you know, a lot of people fear that, and I'm always like, no, you can never fear that. Someone's definitely told me that in the past, and it really is something that's stuck with me. And, you know, I don't have any fear when it comes to starting something. Like, we started Activaker when I was 36 or something, so, you know, much later in the game to a lot of people. And people in their 20s just find it so easy to do things, and I've always, like, stuck to that. And just always give it a chance, always give it a go and have no regrets.

I think that's fantastic. And I think most people forget or don't realize, I think Henry Ford was 48 years old when he started Ford Motors. So, and that was back then where 48 was different than 48 now. And of course, this podcast is called the Longevity and Lifestyle Show. So it's about living well longer. So being in your 30s is obviously very young still.

Exactly.

For people who would like to better understand scalp health, what resources, maybe books or online resources, would you recommend starting with?

For scalp health, there actually isn't a lot, but you do have the Institute of Trichology, which gives you a lot of information on scalp health. But I look a lot to nutrition, understanding like even the foods that you need to eat for healthy hair growth, like different smoothies for like Vitamin C, iron, they're vital supplements that you need for healthy hair growth. You'll find them in supplements, but obviously it's nice to introduce it to your daily routine. And basically, like all your fruits and vegetables, you're going to have some form of vitamin K, vitamin C, vitamin D, even sunshine.

Just getting that—

easily said in Mexico. Exactly. But When I started to like really understand hair loss, the key kind of like vitamin or nutrient that we're missing from our body is vitamin C that are, you know, help provide the amino acids and proteins to build the hair. And then iron, which is something that a lot of us are very low in, but it is one of the nutrients that is key to keeping the hair healthy and hair growth.

Where can people learn more about what you and Acton Acre are up to? To and find your products? I will link, of course, all these in the show notes.

So we are available through our own website, so it's actandacre.com. You'll put them in the notes. On our Instagram as well. We have various retailers in the UK because we haven't launched in the UK just yet, but we plan to later this year. We're on Net-a-Porter there, Free People, Urban Outfitters, Revolve, I think, you know, they all delivered to that area.

Do you have a final ask or recommendation for my listeners?

Any parting thoughts or message? Definitely incorporate— it doesn't have to be ActiNaker, but some form of scalp treatment, whether it's an oil treatment or a serum, into your hair care routine. And, you know, really think of it the same way as you take care of your skin. Skin, you want to kind of like manage your expectations of how your hair is going to look and prevent this and really take care of it because we hold a lot of stress, you know, in our jawline connected to our scalp. And, you know, understand that stress can lead to hair loss and just taking that moment for yourself.

Wonderful. This has been a pleasure, Helen. Thank you so much for your time. Really enjoyed speaking today.

Thank you for coming on this as well.

I could speak to you all day long. Me too.

Thanks so much, Helen. Hi everyone, this is Claudia again. Before you take off, thank you so much for listening to the podcast today. I hope you learned as many valuable insights on living better for longevity as I did. I'd love you to join our longevity tribe so we can learn and grow together, as well as hear your feedback. So please subscribe to the podcast and leave a review to let me know what you thought. Thanks so much and take care.