Meet The Founder: Lorri Weisen of AHNESTI Haircare

“Helping others to be proactive about their own health and wellness has become a priority for me.”  

When she’s not running her company, AHNESTI Haircare, Lorri Weisen devotes all of her time to wellness. She is an avid yogi, loves to walk along her hometown waterways (in Minneapolis) and enjoys cooking. “I’m passionate about health and wellness and, after recently losing my husband to cancer, I enrolled in the Institute for Integrative Nutrition program to dive deeper into holistic health and nutrition. Helping others to be proactive about their own health and wellness has become even more of a priority for me, and I hope to incorporate what I’m learning into the AHNESTI Lifestyle.”

AHNESTI Haircare believes that the ingredients in beauty products should support health and wellbeing, not conflict with it. In keeping with this belief, all AHNESTI Haircare products are American-made with organic and natural ingredients, and are non-GMO, vegan, silicone free, cruelty-free and toxin-free.

Lorri adds, “Many salon brands claim to be ‘green’ but aren’t, and many natural brands claim to perform, yet don’t. I wanted to bridge that gap and create salon-quality hair care that was toxin-free and non-exclusive. Everyone should be able to have healthy beautiful hair and still uphold their values.”

How did you land on the idea for AHNESTI? Why should we all be rushing to add AHNESTI to our beauty routines?

It was during my husband’s second battle with cancer, and while I was a salon owner, that I learned about chemicals in cosmetics and personal care products. I wondered if we were somehow contributing to our unwanted health issues by what we were applying to our bodies, and if we started using more organic, natural and toxin-free ingredients, maybe our health situations would improve. I walked into my salon and stared at the rows of haircare products lining my shelves — full of chemicals that I no longer wanted on my body — and I knew I had a moral obligation to change things. Everyone should have access to healthy beauty.

Can you tell us about life before that airport a-ha moment? Have you always been a proponent of natural beauty products?

I wasn’t a big proponent, no. And more than likely, against them. In the salon world it’s “better living through chemistry” and I never questioned it. It’s what we were taught. Natural products had a bad reputation of poor performance (in addition to short shelf life, separation, odor) and I agreed with that. But just like so many others, it was my husband’s health crisis 10 years ago that woke me up. I really didn’t have a clue before that.

Do you have any advice for people who are trying to make the leap into natural beauty?

Start slow and replace one by one! Wait until each of your current products are empty before replacing with toxin-free formulas or it will break your wallet. Do your research ahead of time and learn about the company you’re purchasing from. It’s really up to each of us to question the integrity of the ingredients we’re applying to our bodies and not blindly trust. The websites where we can do our research, unfortunately, have lots of data gaps and there is also a lot of misinformation out there — so be your own detective and listen to your own intuition. If you question it, put it back on the shelf.

Tell us about your own daily wellness routine — any favorite products/tips/tricks?

My daily wellness routine always consists of a 15-minute morning meditation, a little yoga stretching and a cup of coffee. For my body, I just started dry-brushing so I’ll have to report back on that!

How does the AHNESTI range fit in to your beauty regimen? Do you have a favorite product from the assortment?

They’re all my favorites, of course! I shampoo every three days and use the Puriti Shampoo and Conditioner, the Utiliti Styling Gel for shine and a light hold, and the Whipped Paste for smoothing and control before and after I flat iron. Sometimes I’ll scrunch in the Eterniti Hair & Scalp Refresher for some extra texture if I air-dry.

What’s next for AHNESTI?

We’re listening to our customers and hope to create a silicone-free hair serum and toxin-free hairspray in the future. Stay tuned!

We often think of beauty as a surface quality – how do you nurture your inner beauty?

Inner beauty, to me, is self-love and mindfulness. I think the two perfectly compliment each other. I try to nurture this with my meditation practice. Keeping my “center” when chaos surrounds me helps me to be the best version of myself and I feel it reflects in all I do. If I’m centered, then I can truly be present with whatever I am doing or whomever I’m with — even if it’s just me. If I’m good to myself and love myself, I’m not looking outwardly to have something, or someone, feather my nest.

Beautifully said. Thank you Lorri. <3

Follow AHNESTI on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and check out their website for more information.

+ Shop all AHNESTI Haircare on Free People here

Follow Joanna on Instagram.

0 0 vote
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
5 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Would love to try her products!

Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com

Natasha
7 years ago

I loved this article. Also, such a small thing, but it would be great if your links automatically opened a new tab. Makes it so nice to be able to click away at all the links while still being able to read the article. I realize I can do this myself, but I just love it when it’s linked that way already!

7 years ago

I have had the privilege of meeting Lorri, and have been using her products for a couple of years. I’m obsessed with the Whipped Paste and Eterniti .. I can’t recommend the products enough!
It feels good to use products that are not only good for us, but by a company that is woman owned and run. She is a powerhouse and I’m so happy to see her featured on your blog. She is the real deal.

jane dailey
7 years ago

I’ve used these products and they are amazing and really do perform (which is a BIG deal)! Also love, love the story behind the brand.