The full article appeared on Forbes May 31, 2024. Click here to read the full article
We know hair guru Chaz Dean for trailblazing the “no poo” (no shampoo) movement back in the 1990s—which only recently caught up. We also know him as the King of the Hollywood billboard, which is all over Los Angeles, his TV appearances on everything from QVC to Flipping Out, and his California tan, which apparently—isn’t even real.
“I’ve been self-tanning for over 15 years,” says Dean while at The Summer Club in New York City for Swim + Resort Day. “I look like a corpse without self-tanning.”
The truth is, he isn’t alone. This is why Dean is making waves with his new Self-Tanning Bronzing Mist. Since it came out last year, it has been a hit with reality stars like Kelly Bensimon and Jeff Lewis.
Dean’s own personal journey with self-tanning—and his bout with skin cancer—paved the way for the development of his own self-tanner. Dean grew up in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and said he didn’t feel confident with the way he looked until he moved to California, and “the sun glow helped me feel better about myself,” he said. “Without sun, I looked like Casper the ghost.”
CHAZ DEAN
It led him to using tanning beds for a confidence boost. “I got skin cancer about 15 years ago,” he said. “I got it on my back. “I went to a dermatologist’s office, and he numbed the area and cut it out. I never went to tanning beds again.”
He was afraid to lay out in the sun, too. “I started using self-tanners,” he said. “I tried everything that was out there.” He used tanning foams, creams and sprays, but none of them worked well, they gave him an orange tint, making him smell like self-tanner.
It led him to creating his own Self-Tanning Bronzing Mist. “It tans you with plant-based sugars, and you don’t have to shower it off,” said Dean. “It transports you to your own natural proteins and your own amino acids, your own natural DNA.”
He suggests using it once a week across your full body, then does what he calls “Spot tanning” on his face, chest, hands and elbows, “Because we wash those areas so much more often,” said Dean, “so they fade faster.”
CHAZ DEAN
He sells his tanning mist with a cruelty-free kabuki brush (what we usually use to apply foundation to your face) to apply the tanning mist. “You spray your arm, and just lightly graze over the hands and feet,” said Dean. There are two different versions, a light and a dark tanning mist (Light/Medium and Medium/Deep).
What makes him different from others in the market is that he claims it doesn’t leave an orange tint on your skin or give a dirty appearance. “It tans the skin evenly and fades naturally,” he said. “It also doesn’t have the typical self-tanner smell and doesn’t transfer over your clothing or bed sheets.”
Dean is also expanding his brand’s best-selling Bella Spirit Indigo collection and introducing a Toning Styling Creme and Treatment Mousse. Both products will “add volume, body and shine to all hair types,” he said. “It will remove brassiness from all hair colors, whether it has been treated, or natural.”
The Bella Spirit line contains 12 proprietary ingredients that are exclusive to their brand, which include lavender water, cucumber water, bamboo water, and various types of honey. “These ingredients provide strength, hydration, shine, and volume to both hair and skin,” said Dean, who has had much of his success come from selling his products on QVC, where he has won over 50 Customer Choice Beauty Awards.
CHAZ DEAN
Though he is based in L.A. catch Dean in New York when he’s at the Chaz Dean Studio NYC, a full-service hair salon in Greenwich Village. This is where fans of Dean’s work can get haircuts, glossing, a color treatment or a blowout. This salon’s signature treatment is their Re-Moist treatment, which is designed to rejuvenate and rehydrate dry, damaged hair with a combination of cleansing conditioners, essential oils and vegetable color.
Next up, expect to see a film that has been made about Dean’s love affair with L.A. billboards, and the impact they’ve had on his brand. Directed by Scott Lazer, the film entitled “Chaz Dean Billboards” will make its way to film festivals soon, so stay tuned. “The film turned out really well, it has depth to it,” said Dean. “It’s crazy how our billboards took off.”
CHAZ DEAN