The Canadian Hair-Care Brand Championing All-Natural Styles
Discovering Stephen J.
Plant-based has become more than a descriptor for a diet or a meal. It instead encompasses a whole way of being. One area seeing excelled growth of plant-based alternatives is skin and hair care.
One such option, Stephen J, was founded by Stephen James in Calgary in 2019 with the goal of changing how people think about plant-based hair products. Research has shown that the plant-based skin-care industry is set to continue growing through 2031, and while there may be a temptation to get as many products out as possible to capitalize, Stephen J is intent on being more deliberate about its output.
Stephen J’s lineup consists of a shampoo and a conditioner plus six styling products: styling cream, dry clay, matte paste, refresh primer, treatment styling serum, and texture spray. The Calm shampoo and conditioner do what it says on the bottles, leaving a canvas for myriad styling options, including a texture spray that marries light hairspray and sea salt spray. All Stephen J’s products are made in Canada and developed without animal testing, and seven of the eight are vegan. With Stephen J, James is “challenging the industry and adopters to view hair as a persona, a reflection of one’s ambitions and a true narrative of oneself through self-acceptance.”
