'Stranger Things' Hair Designer Sarah Hindsgaul On the Launch of Her Product Line
Beauty
TSS Talent
Sarah Hindsgaul
Beauty
TSS Talent
Sarah Hindsgaul
Inspired by her Scandinavian sensibility and 30 years of on-set experience, Hindsgaul created minimal-yet-hard-working hair-care range that will turn you routine upside down (in the best of ways).
If you expected “Stranger Things" hair designer Sarah Hindsgaul to launch an extra-strong Farrah Fawcett spray, you haven’t been paying attention. The success of Hindsgaul’s incredible work on the show, and what made retro styles like Steve’s mullet and Nancy’s perm so oddly covetable, was her light touch and her less-is-more approach to styling. “I would sometimes remove products from the trailers because I knew they were too heavy,” Hindsgaul laughs. “We had to think about how [the actors’] hair holds up through 16-hour days, and if you go putting heavy products in somebody’s hair, you’re going to have a problem removing it all by the end of the week.” Add to that the Copenhagen-born stylist’s personal hair preferences and a chance encounter in LA, and you have the birth of Hindsgaul Hair, a four-piece product range that is the epitome of effortless Scandinavian cool and the exact opposite of ’80s maximalism.
Hindsgaul hadn’t considered launching her own products until five years ago after attending a dinner party of a friend, film makeup artist Anouck Sullivan (most recently the department head for “Song Sung Blue”). Sullivan’s sister is Alissa Sullivan, co-founder of cool-girl fragrance brand, Liis. Hindsgaul and Alissa hit it off, and as their friendship grew, so did the hairstylist’s realization that she could create the products she’s been searching for her entire career herself. “It’s funny because I’m a hairstylist, but I want the products I use to feel like nothing in my hair, and I want to stretch that feeling as long as I can,” she tells The Set Set. “I was looking at some of these fabulous ranges that give women sexy, runway hair and that's just not who I am. I will use those products on my Saturday night, but what I want to do is just take care of my hair.”
Hindsgaul also wanted products that prioritized hair health and minimized upkeep, two factors important for her personally, as a mom of two, and professionally, when working with actors whose hair is put through the ringer on set. “I don’t think we talk enough about these kinds of products,” she says. “Stylers are so fun and they give you instant results, but the most important thing is having your foundation right.”
With the help of Sullivan, a longtime product developer, and her co-founder Leslie Hendin, whose background spans art and design, Hindsgaul made her range of “foundational” products a reality—a salt scrub, mask, mousse, and dry shampoo. They guided her through the long testing process, which went down throughout the filming of “Stranger Things” season five, providing Hindsgaul with an expansive group of testers made up of exacting actors and other hairstylists. “The younger actors especially helped educate me about what matters to them when it comes to products—they scan every bottle in the trailer to see if it’s up to their standards,” she explains. Her team of hairstylists on-set would test lab samples and act as a sounding board for her ideas. “I would ask, do you really want a basic dry shampoo without all the bells and whistles, and they were like, ‘Oh my god, yes!’ So it was great for concurring self doubts.”
All in all, Hindsgaul wanted to create a product line that made people’s lives easier and more joyful. “You choose to go into hairstyling like this because you like to make people happy, whether that’s in the salon chair or on set, helping actors transform into different characters. So for me, the end goal is that—that’s where I get my happiness.” Below, Hindsgaul breaks down the line in more detail and explains how these products can bring some joy and ease into your everyday hair routine.
Photo: Hindsgaul Hair
The Ingredients
The trick, according to Hindsgaul, was to get as much good stuff into the hair without showing or feeling it, which she and the formulators did with a complex of Nordic cotton, cloudberry, and peptides. “I’ve been using a lot of Scandinavian skin care that contains some of these ingredients, and I wondered how they would transfer to hair care,” says Hindsgaul. Turns out, they transfer beautifully. The peptides, derived from peas, and the antioxidant-rich cloudberry extract both support and strengthen the hair without weighing it down. Nordic cotton keeps hair soft and healthy, and anecdotally—according to friends who tested the salt scrub—is soothing for dry, itchy scalps.
The scent
Anyone who grew up in the Herbal Essences orgasm-era (IYKYK) understands that a hair product’s scent is key. Hindsgaul acknowledges that, but also knew she didn’t want a potent smell that competed with your perfume. “Professionally, I think it’s a bit rude to make people wear a scent for 16 hours that they didn’t choose,” she explains. “And personally, I don’t want to smell like my haircare all day.”
Luckily, she had the Liis team to guide her through the process with their superstar French perfumer, Jérôme Epinette. Hindsgaul sent Epinette—the nose behind Liis but also fragrances from Byredo, Noyz, and Victoria Beckham Beauty—collages, mostly of Danish landscapes and misty mornings. Epinette also took inspiration from the Nordic ingredients, particularly the cotton, finding ways to translate and incorporate the ingredient into a fresh, calming, natural aroma.
The packaging
In addition to being one of her favorite colors, butter yellow felt happy and calming—not to mention appealing to Hindsgaul’s Scandinavian sensibilities. “All those pink and green and black bottles lined up in white trailers … it’s a Scandinavian nightmare,” she laughs. There also isn’t a spray nozzle to be found. This decision is good for the environment and good for helping people adhere to Hindsgaul’s less-is-more approach. “I love sprays—they’re great for the right styles—but you always end up using twice as much product because it comes out really fast.” She likens it to going out to eat at a restaurant. “You get a really big plate and you eat the whole thing because you don’t want to waste it, even though you’re full and it’s not doing you any favors. It’s the same thing with hair.”
Hindsgaul also included a nod to her film and TV roots with the typewriter font, reflective of the typeface used in the hundreds of scripts she’s pored over throughout the years. “Also, when you think about it, a typewriter is quite soft,” she adds. “It's hard, it gets right to the point, but then it's also quite soft at the same time.”
Photo: Hindsgaul Hair
The Scalp Scrub Shampoo
The Scalp Scrub Shampoo is a deep cleanser Hindsgaul recommends using once a week to get rid of all the grime and oil build-up in your hair and leave your hair feeling ridiculously clean. The formula uses sea salt to gently break up debris on the scalp, transforming into a creamy lather once mixed with water. Caffeine helps with blood circulation in the scalp, while sweet almond oil ensures your hair and scalp feel soft (but not oily, which was very important to Hindsgaul). Because of the rich lather, Hindsgaul recommends using less than you think.
Photo: Hindsgaul Hair
The Mask Conditioner
“I’m very snooty when it comes to masks,” Hindsgaul says. Her hang-ups are formulas that leave hair too oily (although certain hair textures need more oils and in that case, look for masks packed with them!). This is why The Mask Conditioner uses pea peptides, plant extracts rich in strength-building proteins, and lightweight oils like jojoba, apricot, shea, and moringa to add moisture and restore elasticity. “If you don’t have elasticity and moisture in the lengths of your hair, you’re not going to get the movement you want,” she explains. The Mask was used frequently for a lot of the “Stranger Things” cast in season five because of how nourishing yet lightweight it is. Ideally, leave it on anywhere between five and 15 minutes, but even if you just have 30 seconds to use it, Hindsgaul says you’ll still reap the benefits.
Photo: Hindsgaul Hair
The Mousse Soft Hold
Hindsgaul has long talked about her love of mousse. Her most-used product on “Stranger Things” (she predicts she went through thousands of bottles over the 10 years). “Mousse is the perfect foundation product; you put it in wet hair and however you style your hair—air dry, rough dry, blowout—it will keep that shape and texture locked in.” The Mousse Soft Hold is exceptionally light, flexible, and moisturizing (that would be the glycerin, baobab extract, and vitamin E)— a far cry from the mousse formulas of the 1980s that let hair dry, sticky, and crunchy. “This is the perfect product for someone who doesn’t like products, and who doesn’t want to spend a lot of time on your hair,” she says.
Hindsgaul likes to run it through freshly-washed hair, let her hair air-dry and pin it up in a bun, which adds a little movement when it’s unpinned. However, the beauty of this airy formula is you can use it in a wide variety of ways. “That fresh, out-of-the-hair-salon feeling that everyone’s hungry for? That’s a clean scalp and a really simple blow-dry with mousse,” she says.
Photo: Hindsgaul Hair
The Dry Shampoo Puff
Hindsgaul wanted a dry shampoo without any bells and whistles. “I don’t want a texturizing spray in my dry shampoo because it can make the hair dry and crunchy, and I didn’t want this powder to have any grit to it.” Hindsgaul spent a long time working with the chemists to get the formula just right: lightweight, invisible, and not too matte. “I wanted it to keep the hair's natural sheen,” she says. In addition to the core three ingredients, The Dry Shampoo features corn, rice, tapioca, and kaolin powders—classic dry shampoo ingredients, as well as plant extracts to keep the hair feeling smooth and silky.
Most importantly, however, is the size and puff applicator of this product. “Loose dry shampoos and too messy and spray dry shampoos apply too much; the puff allows you to be more targeted, dabbing it just where you need it without caking your scalp in powders that can quickly build-up and weigh the hair down. Great for bangs and small strands along the hairline, the petite puff is perfect for stashing in your bag. “Having it with me all the time ensures my hair always feels fresh and clean,” she says.
