Prestige hair color brand Madison Reed has pledged to use unaltered, raw photography. In these images, nothing will be adjusted. Hair color will be shown "as is."


"Recently, we had a photo shoot with six amazing women, some of whom are over the age of 50," said Heidi Dorosin, Madison Reed's chief marketing officer. "When we received the digital files, we thought, 'Why alter these photos?' Yes, these women have wrinkles. Yes, they have smile lines. But these are all qualities that made the women even more beautiful to us."


According to company executives, many brands have vowed to not "materially alter" the appearance of women in their imagery, but that leaves room for retouching. Madison Reed's promise goes a step further. Going forward, there will be zero alteration of all advertising photography. These untouched, raw photos will be easily identified by a Madison Reed "Real Mark." Web pages and packaging showing shades of each color will continue to be digitally altered, so clients have clear expectations of the end result. 


"Long ago, I decided Madison Reed would never use seductive photography," said Company Founder and CEO Amy Errett. "In fact, I named the company after my daughter to empower her to find her own path, with grace and without apology. So I am thrilled by our decision to promise zero photo alteration in our advertising. This pushes our brand, and the cause, forward. We encourage other beauty companies to join the movement."