Behind the Brand: SWAIR Was Created by Runners To Offer Game-Changing Hair Products for Active Lifestyles
SWAIR’s Showerless Shampoo ($14-$36) is a dry shampoo alternative that cleanses hair without suds, rinsing or residue.
Founded by two friends who are active runners, SWAIR is an innovative haircare brand that was created out of a need for a product that would keep hair clean and fresh in-between workouts and marathons—while at the same time, minimize upkeep and maintenance. Meredith Krill and Carrie Sporer combined their ideas and experience together and ultimately came up with the idea for a game-changing haircare brand that launched in 2020.
“We met training for the New York City Marathon in 2007, and after the race we continued to work out together most mornings,” say Krill and Sporer. "We dreamed up various business ideas together over the years, but when we started talking about SWAIR, we immediately knew this was the real deal. Carrie’s background is in sales and operations, and Meredith works in finance, so our skills complement each other really nicely, but we did have to get up to speed on the haircare industry quickly and we are definitely still learning!”
SWAIR’s debut product, Showerless Shampoo, is an alternative to dry shampoo that cleanses hair without suds, rinsing or residue. Designed for those that work out and have active lifestyles, the product works by helping the surface of hair follicles and the scalp repel dirt, sweat, and grime. All you have to do is towel dry then air or blow-dry to remove excess moisture and voila—you’re good to go!
“While sustainability will always be an ongoing and ever-improving process, we have created SWAIR with the health of our customers and our planet in mind,” add Krill and Sporer. “We chose packaging and materials that are made from recycled materials or can be recycled. In addition, we’ve made a conscious effort not to include excess filler in our shipping boxes. Also, by using Showerless Shampoo, customers are saving a significant amount of water over time. We’ve crunched the numbers and by cleaning your hair out of the shower just twice a week, you save over 300 gallons of water each year.”
We chatted with Krill and Sporer, who shared more about how they came up with the idea for SWAIR, tips for using the product, future plans for the brand, and more.
When was SWAIR founded and what does the name mean?
We decided to create SWAIR in 2019 and recently launched in September 2020. The name, though not glamorous, came from thinking about how our core product is for “sweaty hair.”
What inspired its creation?
SWAIR’s Showerless Shampoo came 100% from personal need. We both work out almost daily and had to plan our workouts around what days we did or did not have enough time to wash our hair afterwards. We tried dozens of products over the years, but never found anything that left our hair feeling shower-clean. We knew we couldn’t be the only people with this problem, so we decided to create the dream product that was missing from our routine.
Tell us more about your product and what makes it special.
Most people are familiar with dry shampoo and we are excited to introduce them to Showerless Shampoo. Unlike dry shampoo, which uses powder to absorb oil and often leaves you with pasty hair or an itchy scalp, Showerless Shampoo actually cleans your hair. The technology in Showerless Shampoo loosens the dirt/sweat/daily grime from the surface of the hair follicles and scalp. Then, you can towel dry your hair to actually lift away the dirt. What we’re most proud of is that we can achieve these results with a formula that is vegan, cruelty-free, alcohol-free, sulfate-free, paraben-free, phthalate-free, formaldehyde-free, and free from artificial dyes.
Meredith Krill and Carrie Sporer.
Any tips for how to use Showerless Shampoo?
We like to say “spray sparingly, towel dry vigorously.” Also, after you use Showerless Shampoo, the coating remains active on your hair so you can towel dry again without adding more product if you’re in need of a midday touch up. It’s a total game-changer.
Where are your products sold?
On our website.
What's next for the brand?
We want to continue to create revolutionary hair products for people that work out. Rather than create new versions of something that you may already have in your bathroom or gym bag, we want to focus on innovative time-saving and multi-tasking products. There are a few exciting things in development for 2021, but one of the things we love about being a small company is communicating directly with our customers to hear what they want next from us and what is on their haircare wishlist.
For more information and to purchase, visit swairhair.com and follow on Instagram: @swairhair
[Images courtesy of SWAIR]
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