Former L’Oréal Executive Has a Solution to the Color Fade Quandary

The moment the blow dryer turns off and hairstylists are running their fingers through a client’s silky tresses, confidence is felt across the salon. Compliments pour in from onlookers giving enthusiastic nods of approval.

But when weeks pass, the client’s excitement from salon chair to bathroom mirror starts to fade along with the hair color. Some take their dismay online, sounding off on TikTok. While doomscrolling ways to control color fade, consumers begin sacrificing beloved hot showers, turning the knob to cold water in a futile attempt to maintain vibrancy, or wearing a hat to shield hair from the sun’s harsh rays.

To solve this color fade quandary, former L’Oréal executive Aditi Sharma — who handled marketing efforts for brands like Matrix, Biolage, Pureology and Redken for a decade—teamed with longtime friend and celebrity hairstylist Alfredo Lewis to introduce a product to “fight the fade.” The salon owner, master colorist and digital content creator is known for correcting viral hair-dye mishaps on social media. Together, the duo created a product that would preserve a “fresh-out-of-the-salon-chair experience” in between color treatments.

That product, dubbed QOAT (pronounced “coat”), is a finishing treatment that works to ensure shine and color retention akin to applying a topcoat to nails. It gets applied at the sink following color treatment and is left in for five minutes before being rinsed out.
Housed in a retro-colored, capsule-shaped bottle, QOAT utilizes a HydraGlow Shield technology to form an invisible, “breathable” shield around the hair to restore its natural ability to repel water and lock in color.

Two years in the making, in consultation with a chemist from Canada where the product is manufactured, this shield is formed using polyquaternium-113, a cationic film-forming polymer that shields color-treated hair from surfactant stripping. Other ingredients include mushroom extract and hyaluronic acid. QOAT is compatible with all color and prevents fade for up to 40 washes, according to the indie brand.

QOAT’s Premiere Orlando Debut

Sharma, who is QOAT’s cofounder and chief operating officer, insists the brand is filling a void in the hair care market for a color preservation product designed to mimic a hydrophobic barrier that doubles as a frizz protectant. Sharma and Lewis had the apropos opportunity to showcase the product (and its efficacy) at Premiere Orlando in June.

Sharma said 9,000 QOAT samples were doled out to attendees seeking relief from frizzy hair and salon owners whose interest was piqued after hearing about the brand on social media this past spring. At Premiere Orlando, QOAT was among more than 500 exhibiting brands on display and sold between 700 to 800 units for the first day of launch at the show, according to officials.

“A lot of stylists say it cuts blow-dry time in half because the hair is so easy to work with,” said Sharma of the product.

“QOAT is really a love letter from stylists to our clients,” said Lewis. “We spend hours perfecting their color, and this is about helping them enjoy that work for as long as possible.”

QOAT is available in the US and Canada at qoat.com, Salon Centric and select distributors in the US and Canada.