There’s a lot to be excited about in the beauty world right now and the latest international brand to land on our shores is one of the biggest launches yet. Say hello to honey-based hair care brand Gisou, which has found a home at MECCA, both exclusively online and in 60 stores.
You may already be familiar with the brand name, or you might know the founder, Negin Mirsalehi (who has over 6.5 million Instagram followers and counting). Not only does she have some of the most enviable tresses in the world, but she’s also passionate about sustainability, saving the bees and continuing on a longstanding family tradition. We’ll let her tell you all about it herself, though.
Below, we chat to Negin about her must-have Gisou product, the benefits of honey-based hair care and of course, how she gets those iconic curls.
Oh, and if like us, you’ve been dying to get your hands on Gisou products since the brand launched in 2015, you can shop the range exclusively at MECCA here. We can’t wait to open the bottle and smell the product we’ve heard so many heavenly things about.
Gisou is certainly unique so how did you come up with the idea to create a honey-based haircare range?
I come from a six generation-heritage in beekeeping — my father was taught by my grandfather, and so on. And to this day, he oversees our family’s bee garden in the Netherlands. My father has a true passion for beekeeping, which rubbed off on me and inspired me to become a beekeeper myself. As my family used honey for nearly everything growing up, my mother, a hairdresser by trade, also decided to start experimenting with my father’s honey to formulate her own haircare solutions.
When I started blogging about my passions for fashion and beauty as a creative outlet during my studies, I realized my followers were interested in my personal life as well. When I shared more about my family’s bee garden and beekeeping heritage, I noticed that my followers were curious to learn more. At the same time, I was receiving questions and compliments about my hair on a daily basis, both on and offline. As a result, I was inspired to launch Gisou in 2015 with my mom’s homemade family recipe, the Honey Infused Hair Oil —Gisou’s most iconic multipurpose hero product.
What are some of the benefits honey can provide to your hair?
Honey is a really powerful natural substance with so many benefits for overall health, including the health of your hair. But it wasn’t until my mother started experimenting with my father’s honey to create her own haircare formulas that she discovered how truly nourishing and moisturizing it is. It’s not only rich in vitamins, minerals, amino acids and antioxidants, but it’s also a natural humectant, which means it attracts water to the hair to keep it hydrated. It’s the key ingredient in Gisou Honey Infused product to strengthen, seal split-ends and achieve nourished, moisturized, hydrated and shiny hair.
If you could only recommend one product from the range, which one would it be and why?
The Honey Infused Hair Oil — our first product and the one I recommend to everyone new to Gisou. Like all of our products, it’s a multipurpose multitasker for all hair types, to use on a daily basis. Infused with honey, it’s deeply nourishing and moisturizing, strengthening, sealing split-ends, and leaving behind a healthy shine. To maintain the health of my hair, I apply a few drops after my washing routine to lock-in moisture, or before and after styling to prevent frizz, enhance shine and ensure smooth locks. Sometimes I also leave it in overnight to deeply nourish and re-moisturize while I sleep.
I think the question on everyone’s mind is — what is your personal haircare routine? And how do you get those incredible curls?
At the core of my haircare routine I try to be gentle —just like my mother taught me. This means I wash my hair 2-3 times per week at maximum to maintain its natural moisture levels. Our Honey Infused Hair Wash and Conditioner are specially formulated to be gentle yet effective at cleansing. After my washing routine, I lock-in moisture, nourish and prevent frizz with our Gisou Honey Infused Hair Oil. I keep our mini in my purse so that I can reapply throughout the day to tame frizz, smooth flyaways and enhance shine. About once or twice a week, I take a bit more time for my haircare routine with a deep treatment, which I make by mixing our Gisou Honey Infused Hair Mask with a few drops of Honey Infused Hair Oil. But either can be used on their own! I heat style my hair about 2-3 times a week — usually as often as I wash my hair, but I always protect my hair beforehand with our Propolis Infused Heat Protecting Spray. After that, I use about a pea-sized amount of our styling multitasker — the Propolis Infused Polishing Primer — which prevents frizz, reduces drying time, enhances volume and texture and ensures my hairstyle will hold. If I don’t use heat to style my hair, the primer is also great on its own, either to achieve a sleek look or to define my natural hair texture.
Are there any funny hair-related fails you’ve had over the years that make you laugh now?
I wouldn’t consider this so much a failure but I definitely look back and laugh at my selection of hair colour choices I’ve done throughout the years! I experimented a lot with different hair colours before toning it down a bit and
focusing more on the health of my hair by only getting highlights now and then and it’s the best decision I ever made.
What does a ‘you’ day look like?
Since the pandemic I have had the opportunity to really take a step back and enjoy being at home, focus on self-care and spend more time in nature. I like to go for a walk with my dog Mosey, even if it’s just for 10-15 minutes, going outside to get some fresh air makes a world of a difference. For that same reason, I love spending time in my family’s beegarden with my Dad and our bees, it’s a great way to connect to nature. During my weekly self-care sessions, I like to maintain my weekly hair treatment with our Honey Infused Hair Mask, I mix a few drops into the Honey Infused Hair Mask for an extra deep rich treatment. After a long week, it’s just the nourishment and moisture my hair needs.
What are your hopes for Gisou in the Australian space?
After receiving so much love and support from Gisou Community members and noticing such high demand for our honey infused haircare, I’m so excited to finally launch Gisou exclusively with Mecca and share our honey infused haircare with our community members in Australia and New Zealand! We’re so lucky to have such a supportive community, I can’t wait for them to experience our Gisou honey-infused favorites first-hand. I have so many hopes and ambitions for Gisou moving forward and our global community is our guiding light. Although I don’t want to give too much away, I’m so excited for what’s next to come and can’t wait to share it with the local community.
