Dayton Beauty-Based Business Has International Impact

DAYTON-Local hairstylists Bridget House and Melissa McCowen have designed a product called Embee Meche, that makes adding highlights to customers' hair much easier than the traditional method of using foil.

Much to their delight, the Embee Meche is being marketed internationally, along with their other product called Solaris, a clay-based lightener and developer.

"I'm not a huge fan of using foil," House said about the usual process to achieve highlights in hair. "I researched tons and tons of stuff. We needed something that is reusable, won't rip or stain," she said. "Plus it couldn't be too thick or too thin."

McCowen agrees. "The idea of being able to wash, and reuse the product was huge," she said.

The plastic tool the duo developed separates sections of the hair, so coloring products do not bleed.

In 2014, House and McCowen saw a YouTube video of a European company using a similar product to the one they wanted to use. They said they sent away for the product, and the wrong one was sent.

"Something got lost in the translation," said House.

So they brainstormed and came up with their own design.

"We contacted many companies to source material. There was a lot of trial and error," McCowen said.

"Now we have a trademark for our products," said House, proudly.

Embee Meche was distributed internationally within the first year, and 14% of sales are exported internationally, she said.

Both agree that a vital component of their marketing plan is to keep their business as local as possible.

The Embee Meche is manufactured in the Seattle area using materials sourced in the United States, and the boxes are made in four sizes by a company in Spokane, McCowan said.

House and McCowen lease property for distribution of their products from the Port of Columbia and are based at the Rock Hill Industrial Park.

They have four employees: Pat Lehr, Emily Lewis, James Lehr and Kolbie Rodriguez, who contributes some of her time to managing social media.

"Our logo was done by Beth Edwards Rahn, who was the bartender at Mead Mace Works," House said.

House also said they like the conservation aspect of their business. She said that the slogan reduce, reuse, and recycle resonates with her. Some salons search them out because they are eco-friendly, she added.

House and McCowen thank social media for being the most valuable marketing tool for them.

House said that at first they thought they would have to travel around in the car selling the Embee Meche out of the trunk, but an Instagram message from Guy Tang, a popular stylist in West Hollywood, gave them a different idea.

Tang used their product on his clients, and in the process he told them how to use social media to build a platform with other stylists, for their brand.

The pair said they receive around 500 Instagrams every day, and that social media is responsible for 98% of their sales.

So far McCowen and House have traveled to New York, New Orleans, Phoenix, and Atlanta to offer training in the use of their products. They said they are tentatively scheduled to go to New York sometime this month.

Also, a noted Virginia hairstylist named Ruby Devine will be training stylists using Embee Meche, at Walla Walla Community College on May 16.

The duo's vision for the future is to keep the business growing, with more distribution. They would also like to continue hosting events.

"Hosting is fun, and educating is fun, too," said House.

McCowen said, "I want a bigger warehouse. Primarily, we want to keep everything local, and support each other," she added.

McCowen and House said they wanted to thank Christine Delp, the owner of the Main Street Salon, where they are employed, for storing the "five gazillion packs of whatever" at the shop, before their move into the industrial park.

They also expressed gratitude to Brad McMasters with the Port of Columbia for his interest and help.