Conscia is the vision of Nicole Brown, hair stylist and owner of Tailored, one of San Francisco’s top salons. After two decades in the industry, Nicole had become acutely aware of the water and plastic waste in hair products. Struggling to find anything eco-friendly and salon-grade, she set out to change the way we think about haircare.
Nicole shared her mission with longtime client Victoria Heldt, and a partnership was born. An investment manager overseeing a portfolio of renewable energy assets, Victoria had developed a passion for environmental sustainability and immediately saw the opportunity in redefining luxury haircare for today’s mindful consumer.
The two put their heads together to conceive of “mindful haircare” with a concentration not just on hair but also on scalp and mind. Years of researching, formulating, testing, and tweaking yielded a collection of clean products made with active botanical ingredients, and without water in the formulations or plastic packaging. Conscia’s ultimate aim is to offer a premium self-care experience that combines holistic philosophy, social purpose and eco responsibility, and to build a community united by a more aware way of living.
Born and raised in Michigan, Nicole left for Los Angeles at the age of 18 to pursue a career in the hair care industry, a fantasy since childhood. After training with Vidal Sassoon, she was promoted from stylist to creative director and global Sassoon educator. In 2013, she opened Tailored Salon in downtown San Francisco. Expanding her teaching expertise to Tokyo, Nicole landed a collaboration with Mizutani, one of the premier manufacturers of handcrafted scissors in Japan, to design exclusive Tailored Scissors, which are consistently Mizutani’s top-selling scissors internationally. As a leader and innovator in her field, Nicole’s current mission is to cut plastic and water waste in hair care. She spent three years researching and formulating Conscia products from clean, effective, sustainable ingredients that can be sculpted into solid, waterless forms. She travels between San Francisco and her home in Portland, where she is raising her daughter and deepening relationships with the local suppliers of Conscia’s ingredients.
Victoria has extensive experience co-managing a multi-billion dollar portfolio of investments in renewable energy assets. While working in this sector, she fostered a passion for environmental sustainability. With Conscia, she aims to merge that focus with the skills she learned over the past eight years in banking and finance in order to effect change, both at the individual and global level. Victoria was born and raised in Iowa, currently resides in San Francisco, and is committed to a daily meditation practice as part of her interest in clean wellness and beauty, energy work and personal betterment. In her down time, she is the singer in the indie band Tourist Club. Like Nicole, she is an earth sign.
