BOSTON HERALD
NOVEMBER 2006

Back to his roots: Labrecque's haircare line lands in Hub

Another local has landed at Louis. Paul Labrecque, who grew up in Andover but now runs two successful salons in New York City, said having Boston's premier shopping institution carry his new hair-care line is a return, of sort, to his roots. "It's a circle" He said. "Life goes around in a circle."

Labrecque's path to a top scissor man - he gets $400 a haircut - was actually more triangle than circle. He had an aunt in the wig business and had done hair since he was a kid. But his parents pressed him to attend Fitchburg State College, where he got a teaching degree in 1983.

He taught in Florida for a short time, but the passion for hair resurfaced, and Labrecque moved to London to learn the trade. He opened his first salon 10 years ago on Manhattan's Upper West Side. His longtime partner, Brian Cantor, runs the operations side of the business.

"We have 185 employees and growing." Said Labrecque.

The hair-care line, launched 10 months ago, follows Labrecque's "simpler is better" philosophy.

"In my line, no one needs more than four products: shampoo, conditioner, style and finisher," he said.

Color-coded bottles - red for curly, orange for straight - make it easier for customers to find the product they need.

"There are no fancy French names. You can just say, 'I want that yellow shampoo,'"he said. "It's that easy."

Paul Labrecque Haircare - Buy now.