(···2.3s) Newest member of the Virtue Family, or the Virtue Line. And this product will sit, as you can tell, in recovery. we, you know, think this is gonna be certainly virtue's biggest launch of 2024. And kind of the, the whisper around is that this is likely to be one of the biggest launches in haircare, in 2024. So I hope you all are as excited as we are for the next few minutes.   

I feel that we're very lucky to have the two kind of leading experts, own this with us today. We have Alex, who's our head of marketing, (···0.5s) and Debbie, who is the, the head of product development and really the, the brains behind this. So (···0.5s) I am going to kind of shepherd us through the conversation, but really do defer, to the experts in this. So if you have questions, feel free to unmute yourself (···0.5s) or, or chat.   

Your question in our goal by the time we wrap up this session is for you to feel like you are incredibly excited and motivated, to, to, to use damage reverse serum, that you have enough information to kind of help your clients understand the importance of this product and kind of the transformational benefits to really, to all hair types and hair damage. the one thing y'all mention just to kind of, compound that excitement is everyone is gonna get 20% off your first damage reverse serum retail order, through the month of February and as long as supplies last.   

So make sure you jot down this capital reversed, once again, 20% off your first order. So go ahead and, get excited and ready for that. okay, so I'm gonna, just jump right in.   

you all, I think before we even get into damage reverse serum, it's important to kind of lay the groundwork, for why a product like this is important. So kind of, kind of create the imperative for damage reverse serum. And, and here you have it, 54% of people who responded to this question, said that they have either very or somewhat damaged here.   

Alex, I think you, compiled this slide, so I'll kick it over to you to, to talk a little bit about, what you heard, from consumer perception about damage. Yeah, totally. so lots of words and numbers on this slide, but in summary, every year we as a brand, conduct a brand health study where we reach out to prestige hair care shoppers and ask them, just to get their pulse around, you know, hair, other brands they're buying how they feel about virtue.   

And this last year, leading up to the launch of Damage Reverse, we really wanted to get their feedback on how they felt about damage. Just given you all, are the experts on this call, the damage repair category has skyrocketed in the past three to five years. So, with so many options out in the market, we wanted to know how are consumers really feeling about damage today, given they're being bombarded on Instagram and TikTok about what to buy?   

And what we found was that, you know, surprising, maybe not surprising, but over half of all women would categorize their own hair as being very or somewhat damaged. So to us, that told us there's, you know, a huge subset of women who are saying, yes, I truly believe my hair is pretty trashed. we took it a step further and we asked, you know, we know damage isn't one size fits all. We said, cool, you think your hair is damaged. What does that look like to you? So that's what this, kind of like word bubble on the right.   

You see the larger, the font size, the higher the respondent count. So when we asked women, we said, well, what does that look like in your own hair split ends, not shockingly, jumped to number one, but it was quickly followed by dryness, breakage, frizz, as well as thinning and brittleness. so, you know, that tells us huge amount of people out there who think their hair is like, pretty damaged, and it looks a little bit different to everyone. so we truly felt, and Sarah and Debbie will get into it, that we could make measurable impact just given we know that our technology, is superior in being able to reverse damage.   

(···1.4s) Great. Thanks Alex. And one thing I'll, I'll say, and we'll get into this a little bit more, what this product is and what it is not. and I know that we always wanna be careful that we're not trying to be everything to everybody, but just hearing what you had to say and looking at this slide and knowing that this is a leave in treatment, (···0.7s) is it true that this is a product that really can be used by everyone as a first step?   

(···7.5s) Okay. (···0.9s) I'm going to move us on. Are you all still there? (···2.7s) Yep. Sorry, I could get on mute fast enough. (···0.6s) Great. so I, here's a little bit about the concept. So Alex has talked to us about the perceived and real damage, so many of us have, and sets the stage for the damage reverse serum concept.   

Debbie, can I kick it over to you to talk a little bit about kind of the, the why and how behind this? Sure. So, as Alex and and Sarah have kind of led into this, (···0.6s) you know, we know that we are a treatment based brand and we are all about healing the hair and repairing the hair. So for us, it was really a natural path into this product.   

We know that damage, your hair gets damaged every day, right? It's, whether it's, color or chemical treatments, you're going outside with UV pollution, hair tools. We damage our hair every day. And, we know that when you have healthier hair, your hair looks and your hair feels better. So we started working on this product, you know, not just for split ends, but for all over your hair.   

And really the premise of this was that, if you are able to repair the hair as the damage happens, (···0.5s) you actually prevent it from ever accumulating again. Thus the name damage reverse serum. So, like Sarah said, this is the product that's going to instantly repair, the damage. And then the Forever Protect is if you use it, it's a cumulative result, right?   

If you're continuously using it, you're continuously filling back in that, that damaged keratin that comes out, you fill it right back in (···0.7s) and, you reverse the damage as it happens. (···1.7s) Wonderful. Thank you, Debbie. Mm-Hmm. And you all, once again, I think you could have, this is the first super clear shot we have of the packaging, and you can see that it, kind of beautifully fits right in with with recovery.   

(···1.9s) So a little bit more about what it is and is not. Debbie and Alex, I know you all have been through this slide a number of times and probably can do it with such, ease and grace. Can I turn this over to you all? (···1.6s) Sure. Okay. Alex, feel free to jump in, but you know, (···0.7s) this is your daily leave in, treatment. It's a serum. It's, it's a beautiful lightweight serum.   

It's the first step in your routine. So think of it as a primer, you know, that you would use on your skin or a serum that you would use on your skin. you always start with the lightest first. So you would apply this, on your hair while it's, while it's damp. You can use it on dry hair too, if you're not washing your hair and you wanna use it, but you use it first and then you add on whatever, whatever products you normally use. So I use six and one in healing oil, and I would use that after. who's it for?   

It's for everyone. Everyone, as I said earlier, has damaged hair. and, and really people that, you know, understand that they damage their hair and part of that is education, you know, letting them know that damage happens in all these ways. the key benefits are really damage repair and reversing damage, and you're protecting from future damage as well. and then we did, this is a really very seriously clinically tested product.   

as you know, virtue is all about, the proof is in the pudding, kind of. we do our testing in house to make sure first in our labs that we are beating the competition, that we're beating ourselves, that we're better than, you know, whatever we can be. and so then we take it out to a clinical lab (···0.5s) and we did an SEM study, that showed that 98% of split ends repaired instantly.   

There was an instant reduction in breakage, and increased elasticity, which is important because if you have damaged hair (···0.5s) and it's brittle, it snaps. So when you have elasticity and you're pulling on your hair, you're brushing it, you're styling it, you'd, the hair doesn't break. and then the highest concentration of our patented, alpha keratin 60 KU, which is bioidentical to hair, it's, it's the most serious, serum healing, you know, power we have in the line.   

And that's why it works so well with everything else. and then Alex, do you wanna talk a little bit about the headline and, and anything else I may have missed? No, I think you, summarized it. I think, you know, what differentiates this, which we're really proud of versus everything else that's kind of out there is that kind of (···0.5s) headline at the very bottom. So this product not only is instantly repairing like 98% of the damage that you currently have, but it's forever protecting it.   

So as you continue to, you know, heat style, color, (···0.5s) swim, go in the sun, et cetera, you're protecting your hair and kind of protecting that investment that you all are given to your clients every day. (···1.8s) Thank you both. And we're gonna get into the, the clinicals that you all mentioned in just a minute, but a couple things that jumped out that I just wanna underscore before we move on is this, this notion that it's for everyone.   

It is a product for everyone. And also, you know, I know Debbie, you mentioned this and Alex, this kind of, I think, came up in some of the, consumer perception conversation that a lot of people do, consider that, you know, they have damage and maybe through things like, you know, the chemical or heat drying more of the, the super clear stressors on here. I think it's good to remind people, that the, you know, the environmental factors, can also (···0.6s) cause damage.   

You know, the water we use, the air we're exposed to smoke, just kind of general environmental pollutants that I think sometimes, the average person forgets that those things can also be, as damaging as some other elements. So, your power as educators behind the chair, I think is gonna be critically important in something like damage reverse serum two. let's see. So moving into clinicals, and like Debbie said, this is, you know, the, the clinical testing at virtue is serious business.   

I think I'd always kind of assume that anything that I put in my mouth or put on my body has been rigorously tested, and that is simply not the case, how naive of me. but at virtue it is, it is the case. Like Debbie said, we do a significant amount of internal testing before we send it external to have all of our, claims confirmed. (···0.7s) And this, you know, they said, in the previous slide, (···1.2s) 98% split end repair.   

It's not a hundred percent, but it's really almost there so close. Debbie, I will let you talk a little bit about this and you all, it's one thing to look at the numbers when you see an image like this, SEM imaging, which gives us the opportunity to, what's that scanning electronic microscope. So we get to see a really, really detailed, view (···0.8s) of what's going on here in this picture.   

And it's really effective in showing, the efficacy of the product. So Debbie, do you wanna talk a little bit about this or do the pictures? Yeah, sure. Kind of tell the story. Yeah. So, we started with this really broken trash hair, at the lab. And you can see this is under the microscope as, as Sarah said, after one use. It's, it's really almost fully repaired, which is amazing.   

and what you're looking at (···0.7s) is you're able to see that ha as it repairs, the broken fibers are kind of weaving themselves back together with the protein because we know it's bioidentical, it's increasing flexibility and, and, and, you know, kind of reducing that breakage after, one use, it's refilling the lost keratin, and then after five, the damaged hair strand, you know, after five shampoos and using damage reverse was five times, you know, was that much stronger that it's actually, the hair is kind of back together.   

(···0.7s) It's (···0.5s) from the inside out. It's creating, again, that, that refilling, that lost keratin creating of a protective shield over those cuticle scales. And that's kind of keeping in the keratin from leaching out again. So you see like the one use, it's almost repaired and after five it pretty much is back together.   

So, really, really exciting results for us. (···0.6s) This, this doesn't happen with every product. Like, you know, Alex was talking about on the market because a lot of, you know, what you see out there is kind of like holding it together. and we were able to see that this worked from the inside out cuticle to Cortex. (···0.6s) Amazing. And I, I can't see the chat, so I'm not sure if they're questions, but Debbie, I I can guarantee somebody probably has the question here on the, the far right.   

shampooing five times, does it matter, do we have to use recovery shampoo and conditioner (···0.6s) for this to No, to (···0.6s) have, they can use any virtue shampoo or conditioner. Exactly. Yeah, you can use any virtue. And, just just to clarify on the usage, you don't have to use the damage reverse every day, you just have to use it, you know, continuously.   

So you can use it on wash days, like I use it every other day. you absolutely can use it every day. And that's why I mentioned damper dry hair. So if you wanna use it on days you don't wash, you can. it's very lightweight. It's a, it's absorbed super quickly. and that was really part of the key to developing this product. Amazing. I think we have one more clinical here.   

Yes. (···1.5s) The, yeah. So the, this is, this is showing the, the split, in the hair, you know, it's kind of like a branch. and (···0.7s) after one use, it really brings it back together. And again, it's not just gluing it back together because we know that this is working from the inside out, because of our SEM image. So, it's, it's helping with tensile testing. It's more resistant to breakage. Repeated grooming is with combing force reduced breakage by, two times after one use, and then the 98% split ends repaired instantly.   

love it. This is when I wish I could see everybody's face, (···1.3s) because when I see this, I think that it's like a jaw drop moment. It's like, oh my God, this is incredible. There's a product that's gonna do this. okay, Christiana, I'm gonna pause. We've got a couple more slides. I wanna get into a little bit of the profile usage, fragrance and ingredients. Are there any questions so far on (···0.7s) anything we've talked about?   

just confirming that this is the very first product that you use. so Heather had asked if you used this before leaving conditioner, the answer is yes, (···1.2s) Correct. Oh, And Chrissy is asking, is this something you could use before using a direct heating too, like a curling iron or a flat iron? (···1.3s) So this, this is not formulated with 450 heat protection. This is more, damage control as far as UV protection, pollution.   

so it's not necessarily, heat protectant. what I would say is, if you're going to use it before, a curling iron or flat iron, make sure the hair it's dry, make sure it, it absorbed in. Great. Thank you. You all keep the questions coming. okay. A little bit about the profile. You can see this, kinda the beautiful aesthetic there on the, the top left.   

just to reiterate, and what do they say? You have to say things like seven times before people really commit it to memory. this is a serum, it is a leave in treatment, and as Debbie and Alex have talked about this, does focus on needs of the whole here, fiber from the, outside in. So from cuticle to Cortex, the benefits we're gonna see, the three standouts are repairing those bonds that have been severed and giving the hair, greater strength, restoring the, the peptides that have been damaged and giving the, the hair more elasticity and flexibility, which is really important when we're thinking about, potential future damage.   

and then refilling the hair with our, alpha keratin 60 KU, that fresh natural bioidentical keratin, to smooth soften and protect the hair from damage that will, come in the future.   

(···3.0s) And then the usage, just to go over this once more, as Debbie mentioned, this can be used on damp or dry hair. we recommend applying two to three pumps from the root to the end. and this is always used as the first step in your hair care routine. once again, you will want to remind your, your clients that this is a leave in treatment and not a styler.   

(···3.3s) And then the fragrance you all this, as we mentioned, the product sits in the recovery family, and so you are getting that, as Martin says, vacation in a bottle. So, you're getting the fragrance of the creamy coconut and the yuzu extract and, those, warm notes of warm woods.   

(···2.8s) And then key ingredients, I've got to kick it over to Debbie on this one. I can talk about the alpha keratin 60 KU all day long and that this has our highest concentration, but it's got some other fancy things, Debbie, and I want you to talk about it, if you would. Sure. so very, very skincare esque. We use really highly efficacious ingredients in this to partner with our protein because it's a serum. we felt like these were really the, the best mix of ingredients to really make this product so transformative.   

So we have a lot of peptides in here. We have a peptide matrix technology, to really promote the healthy hair lifecycle, strengthening the follicles. And then, that works in conjunction with a biomimetic peptide. So that's really all about hair restoration. It protects from oxidative damage. the tram mushroom is a natural plant alternative to hyaluronic acid.   

And what's unique about this is that it's a lower molecular weight, so it's smaller. so it penetrates really nicely into the hair, for hydration and, and moisturization. and then of course, the multifaceted UV solar photo protection complex. These are all ingredients that are really working to protect the hair from damage, from drying, from, you (···0.6s) know, sensitizing effects of UV and photo exposure.   

they're really beautiful ingredients like sunflower seed oil, roast protein, a tariff fruit extract. These are all, proven ingredients to really help, you know, in conjunction with each other. So of course, I should have started with this, but our alpha keratin 60 EU is the hero ingredient. it's at the highest percentage, and that is really working, like I said many times today to refill that lost keratin and repair the hair that was damaged and then continue repairing the hair as it, you know, gets damaged in the future.   

(···1.3s) Thank you, Debbie. and you all, I have included some of these really beautiful images, that Alex and team have, have put together as we are launching and, and revealing damage averse here. Alex, I can flip through.   

we also have an, this, link here. You can see in the bottom right, I won't click on it now. You all will get the slide deck, on this slide. If you click on that link, it's gonna take you to the asset folder. So anything that, or all things damage reverse serum are there. So please feel free to explore that and use as needed. so Alex, just okay, if I flip through, do you wanna give a voice voiceover to any Of these? Yeah, totally. Totally. Yeah, I think just, you know, we wanted to share with you all, you know, sneak peek.   

You'll start to see these rollout (···0.5s) on, you know, our salon professional side, on our own website on both of our Instagram channels. but really we conducted a full new brand campaign around this product. So Adir Agel, whom you all know, was instrumental in this. We have, you know, four different beautiful models with before and afters, tons of product images, those really strong sciencey claims. So all of these assets are available for you all to use, in salon on your own digital channels to help, educate your clients, and share with them, the latest revolution from merchant.   

(···2.0s) Wonderful. (···1.8s) Do you all have any questions? Christiana, there anything that I'm missing in the chat? (···0.9s) Oh, Cynthia, your hand's raised. I can see that. Yeah, there's a whole bunch going on in the chat right now. a ton. So Nicole and Dan, with regards to station talk, station Stylers or Talkers, you will not get the shelf talker with your order, but as Sarah and Alex just, or Debbie just showed you, there are downloadable, signs that you can, that you can print and definitely a thin postcard sign will sit right in the, virtue sign holders that we have.   

if you need one of those, just let us know. We can mail one to you or you can put it in whatever sign holders you currently use in your space.   

and then there's a ton of other questions that I think, Debbie is addressing in the chat. I don't know if you want us to read them out loud or what have you. Yeah, I'm, (···0.8s) now that I've quit sharing my screen, I can, I can see this. Okay. but I think there's some that are worth just in case other people are driving or doing something else, I I think it's great to, to elevate some of these. So has it been tested on a hundred percent gray hair and Debbie confirms that it was yes, it has been tested at all their types.   

All types, yep. let's see. A couple people ask the amount, two to three pumps is what we recommend, but of course that's on average. Some people may need to use a little bit more depending on the amount of hair. and you are applying from root to end. let's see, (···0.6s) we talked, Debbie talked about the heat, that this is not formulated with heat protection. let's see, (···1.0s) And, and the reason Cynthia, answered this before too is 'cause it's not a Styler.   

and we do have stylers with 450 heat protection, so we're assuming they're gonna be using stylers over this. (···1.1s) That's right. Great, great point. Yeah. this is a good question that Allie's asked. What is the least number of times you would recommend for someone to use it per week to see the results? (···2.7s) You know, I don't really have an answer to that.   

I would, I would say that (···1.0s) my recommendation would be three to four times a week. (···0.7s) Okay. Great. And there's a, I'll ask a follow up question. Like, if someone only washes their hair one to two times a week, should they at least apply it? Yeah. On the days they're not. Yeah. Great. let's see. Oh, this is great. Amy, Carls, I'm sorry, go ahead. Yeah, I was just gonna say Amy Carlson had a good one. Yeah.   

Autoimmune. So we, we haven't tested this on, obviously that's a medical issue with autoimmune. what I would say is that we know that we help brittle hair. but again, you know, this is something, consult your doctor, consult your dermatologist, you know, make sure it's safe to use. But we know we, we know we can help the hair, with the elasticity. I (···0.8s) just don't know, you know, it depends on how severe their, their issues are.   

(···1.6s) Thanks, Debbie. Yeah, and Amy for the question. okay. Dan Paterno coming in with some great, cocktailing questions here. Would this, and I think, I think I know the answer probably, Debbie, that we haven't tested this out, but would this boost up the repair mask, so the restorative treatment mask if mixed in, or could you mix it in with color kit? Would that be even better? what would your response be to, to that?   

It's an interesting question, Dan. Thank you. Yeah. you know, cocktailing with this product I think is, is fine because obviously we use it with all of our stylers. so (···1.3s) are you asking with the repair mask as a rinse out? (···2.4s) I think I'm just trying to understand. Yeah, (···1.7s) That's a good point because the, the, this product damage reverse serum is a leave in.   

Yeah. And restorative treatment mask we leave on for three minutes and then wash out. Yes. is that Dan, is that what you were asking? you can hear me right? Yes. Hey, Dan. Oh, I was thinking, you know, sometimes I do, deep conditioning treatments with the repair mask, you know, with like a hot towel and leave it on for a little bit longer. (···0.5s) So the question was, (···0.6s) is it better to put this new product in that or continue using the color kick in the mask?   

Like I have been to do a super intensive deep conditioning treatment. (···0.9s) Yeah. I would say continue using the mask and the color kick for that. Okay. And then you could actually follow up with this. (···0.7s) Oh, okay. Oh, that's a great idea. Yeah. (···1.3s) Love it. Thank you. (···1.6s) Yeah, thanks for the question, Dan. Yeah, Good question. You all, I think that we are at (···1.1s) time, I know some people are jumping off, but I wanted to, oh, Chrissy asked this question.   

I think it's a good one to, to confirm, is this essentially replacing the leave in conditioner and the split in serum? Debbie, where are we and what's being we'll continue with the leave in conditioner. Correct. And this is, we are phasing out the split in serum, am I correct? Correct. Okay, (···0.7s) great. You all. and, And really the leave in conditioner offers deep moisturization.   

so, and, and this serum, you'll see it when you get it, Chrissy. It, it's not, it doesn't feel the same way as the leave-in conditioner when you have it in your hair. So using them together might still be something that your clients will wanna do that need that extra moisture. Fantastic. (···1.3s) And you all, before we wrap up, I just wanna remind you, I know Christiana popped this in at the top. Don't forget 20% off your first order in February as long as our supplies last.   

(···1.8s) Okay. Well you all, thank you so much for starting the week off with this, damage reverse serum conversation. I know Alex had to hop. Debbie, thank you so much for bringing (···0.7s) us your expertise, and Christiana for, setting all of this up and monitoring the chat and, and just helping out here. You all have a wonderful week and please be in touch with questions.   

I'll be sending the recording and the slide deck out to you. and we'll look forward to, to hearing your feedback. (···0.2s)