Beauty Bosses: Danger Jones Co-Founders Alexis and David Thurston Are Disrupting the Industry With Innovative Hair Color Products That Intersect With Music and Fashion
Alexis and David Thurston.
This week’s Beauty Bosses are Alexis and David Thurston, the husband-and-wife team behind Danger Jones—a creative hair color, fashion, and media brand. Their innovative product line is sold globally through a network of professional distributors in more than 20 countries, with CosmoProf being their largest distributor. They also have a fashion line that is sustainably made in Los Angeles that includes unisex tees, vintage tees, oversized hoodies, and more.
Prior to launching Danger Jones, the couple founded successful professional hair color brand Pulp Riot, which was acquired by L’Oréal in 2018. They are also the owners of Butterfly Loft Salon Spa, an award-winning, green-certified salon and spa in LA that is home to a collective of more than 30 of the industry’s best stylists. Over the years, they have helped elevate the careers of many of the industry’s biggest names including Larisa Love through their renowned Butterfly Circus, a touring educational group of hairstylists and educators.
Danger Jones features innovative formulas and a wide variety of products ranging from vibrant hair color shades to gloss toners with bonder that process in only 10 minutes. Their eye-catching product packaging showcases commissioned art inspired by music and rock band gig posters with edgy and bold designs.
Beyond creating high-quality products for salon professionals, Alexis and David are on a mission to support artists through community by providing artists with a platform for creativity, ongoing education, and career-enhancing opportunities. They are often invited to be keynote speakers and educators at various beauty industry events around the world.
We spoke with Alexis and David, who shared more about the inspiration behind their brand and its unique mission, future plans, beauty and wellness tips, best advice, success secrets, and more.
When was Danger Jones founded and what does the name mean?
David: We launched Danger Jones in Spring 2023. “Danger” is a risky, edgy word. “Jones” is a proper English surname that denotes quality and reliability. The words seem to be a contradiction, but so is our brand and so are our lives.
Danger Jones is the first blonding and toning brand that has a non-corporate artistic edge. It’s also the first vivid color brand that has a sophisticated feel to it. When I go out, I often wear a suit…and that’s Jones. But my hands are tattooed, that’s Danger. The suit on its own and the tattoos on their own aren’t particularly interesting, but together they are.
What inspired the creation of the brand?
David: Having a life purpose is an important ingredient to happiness. Our purpose right now is to create cool things with interesting people, to create a community of artists and help them become more successful, and to prove there is a better way for a brand to behave in the beauty industry. Our industry is dominated by billion-dollar corporate giants that seem awfully disconnected from the artists they are supposed to serve. We want to prove there is a better way for a brand to work with the artist community.
How did you come up with the product designs and packaging?
David: My first job was at a record store. When I wasn’t working, I spent all of my free time and money going record shopping in the record stores in Hollywood. On their walls, they would have gig posters. I often wondered what it would be like to be in one of those bands, or to tour in one of the exotic locations listed on the gig poster. I always loved the artwork.
When it came time to create the packaging artwork for our vivid colors, I decided that we would think of Danger Jones as a mythical rock band, and that each box artwork would be a different gig poster, replete with tour dates and venues. We hired seven artists from five different countries, and these artists create gig posters for some of the biggest bands in the world. What I love about our packaging for these colors is that there is no corporate logo; Danger Jones is written differently each time.
Does Danger Jones have a hero product?
David: I would say that our hero product is Danger Jones Powder Lightener. It’s truly an innovation. It’s the only lightener that exists that lightens the hair quickly, has a bonder inside to protect the hair, and seaweed inside to protect the scalp. It also has 9+ levels of lift. Most of our competitors with 9+ level lighteners charge $30 for their lighteners, but we just lowered the price of our lightener to $23 to help out our artist community during this tough economic time.
What are your favorite products from the line?
Alexis: I love our Liquid Gloss Toners. The top-selling Gloss Toner line in our industry was created in 1980. It takes 20 minutes to process and really dries out the hair. Danger Jones Gloss Toners only take 10 minutes or less to process and it leaves the hair in peak condition. All of our Gloss Toner colors have a bonder inside. The vegan plant-based bonder protects and strengthens the hair, and also reduces hair breakage. As the Chief Product Creator for Danger Jones, it’s the Gloss Toners that I’m most proud of.
Where are your products sold?
Alexis: Danger Jones launched less than two years ago, and we’re already sold in 40 countries through a network of elite professional beauty distributors. Cosmoprof, in the United States, is our largest distributor.
Future plans for the brand?
Alexis: We’re currently formulating our permanent color line. We’re also continuing to grow and strengthen our artist community, which is full of the most passionate artists in our industry.
David: We’re also releasing our first feature-length motion picture in the coming months. It’s a rock documentary about the Sunset Marquis hotel in Hollywood, which is where all of the rock stars stay. Producing this movie made sense for Danger Jones because the hotel has also cultivated an artist community, but instead of stylists, they’re rock stars.
Who inspires you?
Alexis: Sonia Jhas. She was recently a keynote speaker at our annual DangerFest artist retreat in Mexico. I think her message is so empowering.
David: My parents. They continue create cool things, stay curious, adapt new technology, and explore the world.
Secret to success?
David: We seem to become more successful when we focus on making others more successful. It’s funny how that works.
Beauty secrets?
Alexis: Lately I’ve been using hyaluronic acid on my face once a day before moisturizing to help my skin stay hydrated and to reduce the appearance of fine lines.
David: I’ve been using a French skin care anti-aging product called A313 once a week which contains retinyl palmitate, a form of vitamin A. My dermatologist also just gave me my first IPL (intense pulse light) treatment on my face. I notice a difference.
Wellness tips?
David: We have a lot of responsibility on our shoulders, are often put in stressful situations, and travel a ton. In order to pull that off, Alexis and I eat healthy. We must be in the top 0.001% of consumers of fish. Alexis frequently works out on her Peloton bike and lifts weights. I lift weights, jog, and do yoga once a week with my yoga instructor. We also exercise our minds while traveling by listening to podcasts.
Best advice?
Alexis: Let it go!
David: Let right be done!
Favorite ways to relax?
Alexis: When we’re traveling for work, we always try to book some off days to totally unplug and recharge. Some of the most relaxing days are when we wake up at a hotel and go down to the restaurant for a late, leisurely breakfast, followed by a workout at the gym. On days like these, we like to make it so that we only have one responsibility all day, and that is deciding where to go for dinner.
For more information about Danger Jones, visit their website and follow them on Instagram: @dangerjonescreative
[Images courtesy of Danger Jones]
Kamala Kirk is a University of Southern California graduate and has been an editor/writer for more than a decade. She has written for E! Online, Total Beauty, TravelAge West, Malibu Times Magazine, and many more. She resides in Los Angeles and is a proud pug mom. Follow her on Instagram: @kamalakirk