AG Hair

AG Hair, also referred to as AG Care, is a Canadian professional hair-care company based in British Columbia. The business develops and manufactures products for cleansing, conditioning, treatment, styling, and other aspects of salon and personal hair care. It is described as Canada's largest independent manufacturer of professional hair-care products, distinguishing it from mass-market consumer brands through its salon-oriented heritage and professional distribution network. The company was founded in 1989 by Lotte Davis, a South African-born graphic designer, and her husband, John Davis, a Liverpool-born hairdresser. The couple began formulating products in the basement of their North Vancouver home and started selling directly to salons in 1990. This early direct-to-professional model established the brand's core relationship with hairdressers and salons while allowing the company to develop products around practical styling and care needs. AG Hair expanded into the United States in 2001, when its products began being sold to American salons. Its later distribution footprint included Canada, the United States, and Australia, with availability through professional and specialty retailers such as Ulta Beauty, Chatters, COBIA Beauty, Tommy Gun's Original Barbershop, and Price Attack. The brand therefore occupies a hybrid position: it remains rooted in professional hairdressing while also making its products available to individual consumers through retail channels. The company emphasizes formulation standards associated with contemporary professional and ethical beauty. Its products are described as vegan and cruelty-free and as being made without drying sulfates, gluten, DEA, parabens, PABA, or DMDMDH. These claims support a positioning centered on performance, ingredient-conscious formulation, and salon-quality use, although the available reference material does not provide a complete product-by-product ingredient or certification record. Sustainability became more visible in the company's packaging strategy in 2022. AG Care introduced aluminum and post-consumer-recycled plastic bottles and removed large-format plastic bottles in favor of refill pouches. The change linked packaging reduction and reuse with the brand's broader environmental messaging. Social impact is another significant part of the company's public identity. In 2008, Lotte Davis founded the One Girl Can Society, an organization supporting education for girls in Africa through school construction and secondary, vocational, and university scholarships. AG Care has supported the initiative through employee volunteering and financial and in-kind contributions. The company states that proceeds from AG Care product sales have contributed more than $2.2 million and helped build five schools in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2015, the brand released limited-edition packaging for Firewall Argan Flat Iron Spray to raise funds, with 50 cents from each bottle sold directed to the foundation. Recognition has included the 2008 Pacific Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for business-to-business products and services, presented to John and Lotte Davis, and inclusion that year among British Columbia's best companies to work for by BC Business Magazine. AG Care also appeared on Business in Vancouver's 2016 list of the largest manufacturers in Metro Vancouver, and Deloitte has named it one of Canada's Best Managed Companies since 2017. Publicly available material does not establish a stock listing, parent corporation, current executive roster, or precise revenue figures.

AG Hair, or AG Care, began in 1989 in North Vancouver, British Columbia. Lotte Davis and John Davis founded the company after combining her background in graphic design with his experience as a hairdresser. The first formulations were produced in the basement of the couple's home, reflecting a small, founder-led manufacturing operation rather than a conventional large cosmetics corporation. In 1990, the company began selling its products directly to salons, establishing the professional channel that would remain central to its identity. The brand's early proposition was built around professional hair care: products intended for use by hairdressers and salons across cleansing, conditioning, treatment, and styling categories. The company later broadened its reach beyond Canada. In 2001, AG Care products began reaching salons in the United States, marking the first documented international expansion. Over time, the brand became available in Canada, the United States, and Australia through a mix of salons, professional distributors, specialty retailers, and consumer-facing outlets. AG Care's formulation and brand communications emphasize vegan and cruelty-free products made without drying sulfates, gluten, DEA, parabens, PABA, or DMDMDH. These attributes place the company within the ingredient-conscious segment of professional beauty, while its salon origin differentiates it from brands developed solely for supermarket or general mass retail distribution. The company's public profile also includes a substantial social-impact component. In 2008, Lotte Davis founded the One Girl Can Society to help girls in Africa access education. The organization supports school construction and provides secondary, vocational, and university scholarships. AG Care has contributed employee volunteer time, financial support, and products or other in-kind assistance. The company reports that proceeds from product sales have generated more than $2.2 million and supported the construction of five schools in sub-Saharan Africa. A 2015 limited-edition package for Firewall Argan Flat Iron Spray connected a specific product promotion to the initiative by allocating 50 cents per bottle to the foundation. The founders received the Pacific Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2008 in the business-to-business products and services category. That year, BC Business Magazine also identified AG Care as one of the best companies to work for in British Columbia. Further recognition followed with the company's inclusion in Business in Vancouver's 2016 ranking of major Metro Vancouver manufacturers and Deloitte's Best Managed Companies recognition beginning in 2017. In 2022, AG Care made a documented packaging transition. It introduced aluminum and post-consumer-recycled plastic packaging, eliminated large-format plastic bottles, and adopted refill pouches. This move represented a strategic effort to reduce packaging impacts while retaining the professional product portfolio. The available reference material does not provide enough information to document later ownership changes, revenue, detailed leadership succession, manufacturing sites beyond British Columbia, or a complete chronology of product launches.

• 2022

  Sustainable packaging transition

  [1]AG Hairen.wikipedia.org

  The company introduces aluminum and post-consumer-recycled packaging and replaces large plastic bottles with refill pouches.

• 2017

  Deloitte Best Managed Companies recognition begins

  [1]AG Hairen.wikipedia.org

  Deloitte begins listing AG Care among Canada's Best Managed Companies.

• 2016

  Recognition as a major Metro Vancouver manufacturer

  [1]AG Hairen.wikipedia.org

  AG Care appears in Business in Vancouver's list of the top 100 manufacturers in Metro Vancouver.

• 2015

  Fundraising edition of Firewall Argan Flat Iron Spray

  [1]AG Hairen.wikipedia.org

  Limited-edition packaging supports One Girl Can through a per-bottle donation.

• 2008

  Founder recognition and social-impact expansion

  [1]AG Hairen.wikipedia.org

  John and Lotte Davis receive a Pacific Entrepreneur of the Year award, while Lotte Davis establishes the One Girl Can Society.

• 2001

  Expansion into United States salons

  [1]AG Hairen.wikipedia.org

  AG Care products begin being sold to salons in the United States.

• 1990

  Direct salon sales begin

  [1]AG Hairen.wikipedia.org

  The company starts selling its products directly to salons, establishing its professional distribution model.

• 1989

  AG Care is founded in North Vancouver

  [1]AG Hairen.wikipedia.org

  Lotte and John Davis establish the company and begin formulating professional hair-care products in their North Vancouver basement.

Independent, salon-rooted Canadian hair-care company combining professional performance, ingredient-conscious formulation, retail accessibility, and sustainability initiatives.

• Hair cleansing

  Shampoos

  AG Hair's cleansing range is part of its core professional hair-care portfolio. These products are designed for salon and home routines and sit alongside conditioners, treatments, and styling products. The available reference material identifies shampoos as a major category but does not provide a complete list of formulas, variants, or launch dates.

• Hair conditioning

  Conditioners

  Conditioning products form a central part of AG Hair's salon-oriented offering, supporting moisture, manageability, and routine post-cleansing care. The brand presents its portfolio as suitable for professional hairdressers as well as consumers, but detailed product specifications and individual launch dates are not established by the supplied sources.

• Hair repair and treatment

  Hair treatments

  AG Hair markets treatment products within its broader professional care system. The category covers specialized care beyond ordinary cleansing and conditioning, intended for salon services and at-home maintenance. Public reference material confirms the category but does not identify every treatment or substantiate product-specific performance claims.

• Hair styling

  Styling products

  Styling is one of AG Hair's principal product areas, reflecting the company's origins in professional hairdressing. Products serve salon styling and everyday consumer use, including preparation, finishing, and heat-related routines. The range includes Firewall Argan Flat Iron Spray, while a complete current assortment is not documented in the supplied material.

• Heat protection and styling

  Firewall Argan Flat Iron Spray

  Firewall Argan Flat Iron Spray is a heat-protection and styling product associated with AG Hair's professional portfolio. In 2015, the product received limited-edition packaging tied to a One Girl Can fundraising campaign, with part of the proceeds directed to the education-focused foundation.

• 2015Firewall Argan Flat Iron Spray One Girl Can fundraising edition

  Canada · United States

  AG Care used limited-edition packaging for Firewall Argan Flat Iron Spray to support One Girl Can, the education organization founded by Lotte Davis. Fifty cents from each bottle sold was allocated to the foundation.

  Outcome. The campaign connected a specific AG Hair product to the company's longer-term education and social-impact program; the supplied source does not provide campaign-specific sales totals.

  Source
• 2008One Girl Can partnership and employee support

  Africa · Canada

  Following Lotte Davis's founding of One Girl Can Society, AG Care supported the initiative through employee volunteering, financial contributions, and in-kind assistance aimed at girls' education in Africa.

  Outcome. The company reports that product-sale proceeds have contributed more than $2.2 million and helped build five schools in sub-Saharan Africa since the initiative began.

  Source

• 2022

  Shift toward lower-impact and refill packagingStrategy

  Background

  AG Care identified packaging as an area where it could reduce material use and incorporate recycled inputs.

  Action taken

  The company introduced aluminum and post-consumer-recycled plastic bottles, eliminated large-format plastic bottles, and adopted refill pouches.

  Aftermath

  The packaging change strengthened the brand's sustainability positioning. The supplied material does not quantify the resulting reduction in plastic use or provide financial results.

  Source

• 2015

  Product-linked donation program for One Girl CanOther

  Background

  AG Care sought to connect its commercial product activity with its founders' education-focused social-impact work.

  Action taken

  It issued limited-edition Firewall Argan Flat Iron Spray packaging and committed 50 cents from each bottle sold to One Girl Can.

  Aftermath

  The program provided a product-level fundraising mechanism, although the available source does not state the total amount raised by this particular edition.

  Source

• 2022

  AG Care introduces aluminum, recycled-plastic, and refill packaging[1]AG Hairen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch · Other

  The company launched new packaging using aluminum and post-consumer-recycled bottles and replaced large plastic formats with refill pouches as part of a sustainability effort.

• 2017

  AG Care receives repeated Canada's Best Managed Companies recognition[1]AG Hairen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Deloitte began identifying AG Care among Canada's Best Managed Companies from 2017 onward, according to the reference material.

• 2016

  AG Care appears among Metro Vancouver's major manufacturers[1]AG Hairen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Business in Vancouver included AG Care in its list of the top 100 manufacturers in Metro Vancouver.

• 2015

  Firewall Argan Flat Iron Spray receives One Girl Can fundraising packaging[1]AG Hairen.wikipedia.org

  Campaign · Product launch

  AG Care released limited-edition packaging for Firewall Argan Flat Iron Spray, directing 50 cents from each bottle sold to the One Girl Can foundation.

• 2008

  John and Lotte Davis receive Pacific Entrepreneur of the Year award[1]AG Hairen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The founders were recognized with the Pacific Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in the business-to-business products and services category.

1. 1AG Hairen.wikipedia.org