Friday, December 7, 2007

Hairspray: The Cause

Breast cancer research gains from association with celebrity stylist


By DANA DUGAN
Express Staff Writer

Téa Leoni and Laurent Dufourg teamed up to help Expedition Inspiration. Courtesy photo

Some partnerships are just made in heaven. When a good cause is adopted by a passionate supporter, it can open new pathways and encourage a broader awareness.

One such partnership began years ago when the actress Téa Leoni became the celebrity spokesperson for the Los Angeles Take-A-Walk, a fundraising initiative for Expedition Inspiration Fund for Breast Cancer Research, a Ketchum-based nonprofit organization.

Leoni's philanthropic genes come by way of her grandmother, Helenka Pantaleoni, who co-founded the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in 1947 and served as its president for 25 years.

Three years ago she introduced her friend and stylist, Laurent Dufourg, to Expedition Inspiration. Since then, his company, Privé Professional Products, has donated a portion of the sales of one new product to the organization each year. This year the product is hairspray made with calendula, nettle, sesame and pistachio seed oil.

For every can of the 10-ounce Privé Firm Hold Hairspray sold between Oct. 1, 2007, and Sept. 30, 2008, Privé will donate $1 to Expedition Inspiration. In an equally proactive manner, women can sign up to receive a certificate for a free professional hair care service if they've had a mammogram in the last 12 months. The "I've Had My Mammogram" certificates are available online at Privéproducts.com and can be used at salons that carry Privé.

In the month of October, there were more than 1,300 certificates issued, said Laura Nidetz, a regional sales manager at Privé.

"Our CEO Jackie Applebaum is a 17-year survivor," Nidetz said. "Jackie credits her survival to early detection. Organizations like EI are near and dear to her heart. She survived breast cancer and her sister did not."

Laurent and Applebaum, who is a well-known businesswoman in California, are longtime friends. He developed the products by going back to his native France to create the naturally blended herbal products and she supported him in marketing the project, Nidetz said.

As well as the product sale, Leoni helped to start a Cut-a-thon, in which money was donated for every haircut done in a single day.

"Téa brought in Laurent because she wanted to do something special for the 10th anniversary of the Walk-a-thon," Nidetz said. "She came up with the Cut-a-thon and the product donation. Téa was a huge resource for us and continues to be. She's very committed, though she is now Goodwill Ambassador of The United States Fund for UNICEF."

There are 500 top salons nationwide that carry Privé. Independently they have held cut-a-thons through Privé to make donations to Expedition Inspiration.

To date, between the Cut-a-thons and the product sales, more than $50,000 has been raised for Expedition Inspiration.

The Privé salons are in Beverly Hills, the Soho Grande in Manhattan and Bethesda, Md.

Privé products, including the hairspray, are now available at the Sun Valley Salon & Day Spa, located in the Sun Valley Lodge.




 Local Weather 
Search archives:


Copyright © 2024 Express Publishing Inc.   Terms of Use   Privacy Policy
All Rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Express Publishing Inc. is prohibited. 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.