Jennifer Aniston is forging a new career as a beauty brand founder by launching her own haircare line – 25 years after sparking a global trend with her iconic Friends haircut, The Rachel.
Although the 52-year-old has long-since moved on from the hit sitcom – and the popular choppy bob she modeled during its first few seasons – she will no doubt be hoping to replicate the success of The Rachel with her newly-launched brand, LolaVie.
Aniston, who first sparked speculation about a beauty-focused launch last week when she teased an upcoming project on Instagram, debuted her new company to the world on Wednesday, unveiling its debut product, while posing for a series of striking black-and-white campaign images.
The actress harked back to her early years in Hollywood when it came to naming the brand, taking inspiration from her own nickname, Lola, which her friends affectionately gave her when she first moved to California.
Businesswoman: Jennifer Aniston has launched her own haircare brand, called LolaVie after her own nickname, Lola, which her friends gave her when she first moved to California
Hard at work: The 52-year-old actress revealed that she has spent five years working on the line, which has launched with just one product – a multi-tasking detangler
Strike a pose: Aniston posed for a stunning series of black-and-white images in celebration of the brand’s launch – having chosen black and white packaging because it is ‘timelessly chic’
Speaking to People, Aniston explained that when she first arrived in the state, she bought her first car and decided to name it Lola, joking that she thinks her decision may have been prompted by her love of the Sarah Vaughan song, Whatever Lola Wants.
Throwback: LolaVie’s launch comes 25 years after Aniston sparked a global trend with The Rachel, the choppy shoulder-length ‘do that she modeled in the first seasons of Friends
Soon, the nickname had transferred to her, and now, decades later, she has passed it on to her burgeoning brand.
‘I named my car Lola on the spot,’ she explained. Maybe it’s because I love that song [Whatever Lola Wants]. Then every time I’d come over, they’d be like, “Lola’s here.”
‘So it just kind of became a name that I was called whenever I showed up.’
Years after earning herself the nickname Lola, Aniston earned global fame under her given name when she starred in the hit sitcom Friends – which turned her into an unlikely haircare icon thanks to the layered shoulder-length ‘do she modeled in the first few seasons of the show.
Aniston has since admitted that she ‘was not a fan’ of the style, telling Allure in 2011 that she though it was the ‘ugliest hair cut she had ever seen’.
Then, in 2015, she explained to Glamour that she found it ‘kind of cringe-y’, while also noting her dislike of the fact that it was so difficult to maintain and style at home.
Personal preference: Aniston chose to launch the brand with the $25 Glossing Detangler, partly because it is the product that works best in her own routine
Putting it through the ringer: ‘I love a really good detangler because my hair has gone through so much thrashing,’ she said of the product
Looking ahead: Although she has other haircare products in the works, Aniston says she is not limiting the brand to hair-focused formulas, noting that she may well expand in the future
Room to grow: ‘I don’t see any limits to anything,’ she said when asked about a potential move into skincare
The Hollywood starlet is now applying that same philosophy to her debut haircare product – a $25 Glossing Detangler – which is ‘suitable for all hair types’ and is meant to offer a wealth of hair health benefits, while making your tresses easier to style.
‘This 99 per cent naturally-derived detangling spray helps detangle hair, prime with vegan thermal shield, enhance shine with lemon extract, smooth with a superfruit complex and vegetable ceramides, and protect against damage by harnessing the power of chia seeds,’ the brand explained in a statement.
According to Aniston, she has been working on the brand and its products for the past five years – having first sparked an interest in the haircare arena when she worked on a collaboration with another brand, Living Proof, which she co-founded in 2012, before parting ways with the label when it was sold to Unilever.
Although there are other products currently in the works, the actress wanted to release the detangling spray first because she believes it is the ‘Swiss Army Knife’ of formulas – and it’s something that fills a gap in her own daily line-up.
‘I love a really good detangler because my hair has gone through so much thrashing,’ she told Allure, explaining that the LolaVie version is meant to replace multiple other steps in a routine.
‘I love for a product to have many jobs in one, so it has a heat protector and shine, and so it’s time-efficient.’
Boss lady: According to a statement from the brand, Aniston ‘has been heavily involved in its creation’, overseeing everything from product development to marketing
Important: The detangler, like all future LolaVie products, is vegan and cruelty-free, and it is made without silicones, parabens, sulfates, phthalates, gluten and preservatives
To ensure that the detangler would live up to the expectations of all her customers however, Aniston made sure to test it out on several of her friends – both male and female – asking people with all different hair types to offer their thoughts on the formula.
‘It was very helpful over the years to get the feedback, and that’s been a very key part of helping define what this [product] is and what it needs,’ she noted.
When it comes to the Glossing Detangler – and all of the other soon-to-be released formulas in the LolaVie collection – Aniston has vowed to uphold several standards, namely that the products will be vegan, cruelty-free, made without silicones, parabens, sulfates, phthalates, gluten and preservatives, and be made almost entirely from natural ingredients.
Although her main focus right now is haircare products, the actress isn’t ruling out a future expansion, explaining to People that there are ‘all sorts of ideas cooking in her brain’.
‘I don’t see any limits to anything,’ she added.
According to company documents obtained by Page Six, Aniston has made sure that she has options open to her in the future, with the publication revealing that ‘an application was filed to trademark the name LolaVie in the areas of face and body lotion, shower gel, candles and hair care in July 2019’.
While LolaVie marks the first time that Aniston has founded and created her own beauty brand, it is certainly not her first foray into the industry.
Over the years, the former Friends star has lent her face to several beauty campaigns, serving as a spokesmodel for haircare brand Living Proof, which she also co-founded, as well as skincare brand Aveeno.
She also currently serves as an ambassador for supplement brand Vital Proteins, having also been named as its new Chief Creative Officer at the end of 2020.