The Wella story began way back in 1880 in Germany with Franz Stroher, who started a company that made bases for wigs. Over the next 130 years, the Wella brand has expanded to include the likes of hair care, hair colorants and styling tools. Wella is one of the most recognizable hair brands, available internationally to salons and individuals.

A Wella Timeline

Wella is a company with a long and rich history highlighted by many significant dates, including:

 

• 1880 –  Wella is founded in East Germany by inventor Franz Stroher.

• 1894 – The first factory opens in RothenKirchen, Germany, producing the brand’s wig line.

• 1924 – The Wella brand name is officially registered.

• 1927 – With wigs falling out of favor, Wella moves into permanent wave products.

• 1930 – Wella develops the first hair dryer and portable perming device.

• 1950 – The company branches into hair care with the launch of Koleston, a nourishing hair balm.

• 1960s – The Wella Privat range is launched as a line of professional-style products for home use.

• 1972 – Wella Balsam is launched, its first shampoo for retail sale. Also this year, the branch launches its product range for men.

• 2002 – The first Wella TrendVision global hairdressing competition takes place.

• 2011 – Wella partners with Unicef to found the Making Waves program, which teaches both life and hairdressing skills to underprivileged youth around the world.

• 2014 – Wella identifies itself as a real innovator with the introduction of ME+.

• 2015 – Wella celebrates an amazing 130 years in the hair care industry.

 

Wella – Innovators of the Hair Industry

As the timeline shows, Wella has a long history of being an innovator in the hair care industry. Possibly its most significant innovation came in 2014 with the development of ME+, a substitute for  p-phenylenediamine (PPD). PPD is a popular compound used in hair dye to fix the color. Unfortunately, PPD has been known to induce mild to severe allergic reactions. These reactions can occur at any time, even if PPD products have been used many times before. The ME+ molecule has greatly reduced the risk of allergic reactions when used with hair colorants, and Wella’s Koleston Perfect Innosense hair colors were the first permanent hair dyes to be approved by the European Centre for Allergy Research Foundation.

Wella’s Recent Awards

The Wella Professionals range of products has been a prolific award winner in recent years, taking home three awards in the behindthechair.com 2016 Stylist Choice Awards, including: Favorite Overall Professional Products Company, Favorite Lightener for Foil Highlights, and Favorite Lightener for Balayage and Hand-Painted Highlights.

 

Wella is clearly a brand that’s at the forefront when it comes to hair colorants, innovation and award-winning quality in its field. So if you are looking to get a color done next time you visit your salon, ask for Wella hair colorant and experience over 130 years of beauty.