A Thread about how to use old DVDs in your haircare routine

Read to the end for some belated Met Gala LOLs

I’ve got a friend who gives amazing gifts. For my last birthday, she got me a haul from SSENSE, which included a marbled plastic comb that I’ve used every day since. I later learned that it’s from a brand called RE=COMB, founded by hairstylists Sarah Jo Palmer and Christopher Deagle. RE=COMB epitomises my favourite kind of brand - one that’s doing sustainability in a way that’s fun, sexy and desirable. Founded on the principle of ‘beauty from waste’, RE=COMB operates out of a workshop in London, collecting empty plastic beauty packaging and re-fashioning it into functional and beautiful hair tools. Here, I chat to Sarah about how they made it happen.

Don’t forget to subscribe for more Threads of Conversation. You can also listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and follow on Instagram.

Let's start at the beginning of your hair journey. How did you become a hairstylist?My mum was a hairstylist. So I worked for her when I was around 13, 14 on Saturdays, sweeping the floor and shampooing. Alongside hair, I was also studying art and sculpture. I had no idea about fashion at that point. I just loved working with my hands, building shapes and painting and that kind of like craftiness, as well as hair itself.

I moved to London when I was 21, and started assisting an amazing hairstylist called James Pecis - I worked with him for about eight years. Once I came to London, it opened my eyes to publications and I became obsessed with magazines. I was very into independent magazines and art prints - the paper and the quality of it, the different textures.

When did you start to become aware of the waste problem in the industry and feel like, “You know what? I want to do something about this.”
James [Pecis], who I worked for, he’s been such an inspiration. He's actually just launched Blu & Green - a very authentic eco hair product company. And his way of thinking was always very low waste, very minimal - being very conscious of how you're working. So I think that was really instilled into my mindset, and also through my own passion for rethinking waste and how we could do better.

I started talking about it with a friend of mine, Chris Deagle, when we were assisting on shows and looking at hair tooling. There wasn't really anything that was truly sustainable. There was a bamboo option, but it would still rot away or disintegrate. Also, there wasn't something that bridged consumer and pro. So we were like, “I wonder if we could do combs out of recycled plastic? Is that possible? The products that we're using, could those be part of the story?” Something that we use, and then fold back into our tooling itself, like a full circle. Beauty from waste. That became our slogan!

I really love that kind of upscaling - something that you turn from trash into something beautiful, but also very practical, that you can use in the shower or backstage.

Did you ever expect to get this far?
RE=COMB has expanded to be bigger than I ever I thought it would be. I think that if we can do it, as a self-funded, tiny company, then maybe we can encourage bigger companies to look at things slightly differently. I just really wanted to prove that it's possible.

How do you manage balancing RE=COMB alongside your hairstyling work?
I don't know how I'm managing it! I have my full time job. And then I come to the studio every other day that I can, really. I guess that's just a ‘small business’ way of doing things - you just do what you can. It's still a very, very small company. There's only four of us. But you can do quite big things with a tiny company, because we can move quickly.

Can you describe that journey from sitting backstage and talking to Chris, to being where you are now and actually having the physical product and selling it to stockists?
Our first conversation happened around 2017. After that we were just thinking about it and sitting on it. At the end of 2019 we started to research, looking online for micro recycling. There was a company called Precious Plastic, who provided microsized recycling resources. They share open source information, showing how things can be done, like how you can injection mould or sheet press or work with plastic. How you shred and grind down the plastic and how you get it to form. They've even got an academy where people go to learn about recycling. Everyone's super passionate about sharing their knowledge. We gathered knowledge on the way to make a hair comb in a mould, and how you actually do that.

Then we prototyped it. Our first mould wasn't as good as what we've got now. So it's been a bit of a journey in discovering what works and what doesn't. And then for us, obviously, it's really important to make something that's functional. So making something that actually works, and is really durable as well. So our first one, the teeth weren’t right, it was a bit too flimsy.

We also wanted something that’s made out of recycled material, but is also readily recyclable, which means not mixing any plastic ID codes. So say, a milk bottle, it's got a number (2) on it, and it's HDPE (2) HIGH-DENSITY POLYETHYLENE. So that's one source. And then another piece is number (5), which is POLYPROPYLENE (5). So they're two different plastics. What we do in the workshop is to separate each ID code. If we mixed them, there would be an inconsistency in the product, and it also wouldn't be home recyclable.

Once we had a few samples, whilst we were away on the shows, we gave them to lots of people to try. It was an amazing resource, having people in the industry trialling the product to see if it actually worked. We got feedback, and we improved them. Then we invested in the workshop, got our own machinery, and now we have our plastic bank and everything's super organised.

What are the main products that you're recycling and making into RE=COMB?
We get a lot of DVDs, which are amazing. Lots of people are clearing out, so we get tons of them. That's one colour source. A lot of salon waste such as shampoo and conditioner bottles etc. For the clear plastic, we use loads of takeaway boxes, milk bottles.

Do you have an arrangement with the council to give you recycling, or do you source your own empties?
Nothing from the council, it’s all through our connections. There are around 40 workshops around ours. We have a donation bin outside and lots of people know we're here. Also on set, I get loads of people giving me stuff. Lots of my friends in the industry will also come by and do drop offs. They often collect plastic empties through the salons that they work in. So we get a lot of salon waste. And then we have some bins in different places where we do collections.

We both know from working in fashion you've got to make something look sexy in order for people to buy it. With that in mind, I think the creative direction for RE=COMB is so strong. Can you tell me about coming up with the story and the creative?
RE=COMB was founded on that ‘beauty from waste’ idea, and re-messaging recycling. People think of it in a dirty way - if something's rubbish, then it's not clean. I loved spinning that idea and making it become sexy, or interesting, or artistic. I didn't want to give RE=COMB a traditional tooling identity - I wanted it to feel quite different, or like a beautiful object, and to shoot it in a fashion context.

What's the thing that’s surprised you most about running RE=COMB?
Sometimes I can feel something and know what plastic it is, which is something I never thought I’d know! Other than that, I'm a hairstylist, I'm dyslexic. I didn't think that I would have the skillset to understand the technical aspect, the machinery. But it’s actually really simple once you know how.

What's something that’s been challenging?
Probably when we do collections and things aren't clean. It takes a lot of time to clean them. Then with the messaging, it’s a challenge to get people to understand the authentic story. Because I think a lot of the time, it's like, “Oh, it's recycled.” But it's understanding the complex reality of what that means, and being conscious of what can be recycled onwards.

What's a product that you'd like to develop next?
We did a clip for Helen Kirkhum who makes upcycled trainers. We made a clip which she did for a bag. Another thing we do is a hair barrette, and we also do hair dice as well. I'd love to do more of those kind of things - different objects or different hair tools, or a collaboration with a brand. It would also be great to allow other companies to use our facilities. A next step where we could make products for other people who are interested in recycling. Because we've got all the resources and all the machines now.

re_comb

A post shared by @re_comb

I feel like there's circularity in terms of making RE=COMB, but also a circularity in terms of creativity. Do you feel like working on RE=COMB feeds you creatively?
Yeah, definitely. I really love the physicality of the material and the colorways, so I think that part is a very creative process. And when we can do shoots, that's a really nice creative outlet.

What’s one tip that you’d offer people that love fashion and beauty and want to become more sustainable?
I think a good tip for recycling is to clean things out - rinse them, get rid of any debris. Also taking off the lid, as they might be a different plastic ID. Or dismantling the different inserts in a beauty product before you put them in the recycling, as there are often a few different types of plastics used. Otherwise they’ll be scanned as a whole.

Shop RE=COMB on their website and follow them on Instagram and TikTok.

---

Loose Threads

I know we’re all over the Met Gala by now but I couldn’t resist

Podcast rec no.1: Law Roach on The Cutting Room Floor. One commenter said “I think this might be your Mugler robot” and they were right. This was my Northern Lights this week.

Podcast rec no.2: Editor-in-chief of The Cut Lindsay Peoples on Longform. Another inspiring listen.

Jia Tolentino’s reporting is as chilling and brilliant as ever.

The writer Paul Author passed away. His wife, writer Siri Hustvedt, wrote a very moving tribute to him, expressing her outrage at how quickly the media claimed ownership over his death.

Start your own Thread

Add your thoughts in the comments, and let me know whose Threads of Conversation you want to hear next! And if you enjoyed this edition, why not forward it to a friend?