Edward Bess jokes that his hair has become like a Siamese twin. “We go everywhere together. People talk to him,” he says, pointing to his head, “before they talk to me.” When you lay eyes on Bess, it’s easy to see why; his chestnut brown hair has become a signature, at times an inconvenience (Will it get stuck in a bag? Or connected to a zipper?) and, according to some, a psychic antenna. But above all else, it is distractingly beautiful: shiny and silky, with asymmetric texture and an easy flow, straight in some areas and wavy in others. And thanks to what he calls a “100 percent selfish endeavor,” it’s cared for by five essential products he created, which are now available at The Conservatory.

“As I’ve done with makeup and skincare and perfume, I wanted to have immediate staples for hair, formulas where you wouldn’t have to play favorites,” he says. Rather than getting overly focused on a different blend for every strand, he wanted to create universally luxe and nourishing products that work whether your hair is cut into a pixie, pin straight, or bursting with curls.
It all starts with Frou Frou Volume Shampoo, what he calls “the foundation of a good hair day,” followed by the Frou Frou Silky Conditioner. Hair Hero Infinite Style cream can go on at the root or all over, Fixer Elixir detangles and makes hair shine all over, and More Amore Super Hair Treatment gives even more shine and a substantive gloss. Each item has its own scent, many playing with an earthy smokiness more typically found in fine fragrance than the hair care aisle.
“The number one thing is you don’t have to be an expert,” he says. “You can’t mess up. It’s the same approach as with the makeup: Use it and it’s just going to look good.”