Linda Parodi Pivots Her Eponymous Brand To Bring Professional Grade Relief To All

Clients usually spill their secrets to their hairstylists, but when it comes to Parodi Professional Care products, the stylists are returning the favor.

The body care line, created by veteran hair stylist and beauty professional Linda GiIlette Parodi to heal the ailments most common among salon and spa pros — dry hands, sore feet and aching muscles — is gaining traction with a wider audience introduced to it on the salon floor. “We started distributing in the salon industry in hopes that the professionals would use the product, and that happened,” Parodi says. “But we also had hoped that they would share this with their clients and retail it in their salons.”

Within six months of stylists starting to slip Parodi Moisturizing Hand Cream samples to their clients, Parodi started getting calls and emails from these clients asking where they could buy full size products. Her professional salon brand was now in — and on — the hands of demanding consumers. “I was always working on brands that were for the professional salon industry,” explains Parodi. “We had to scramble really quick to get to where we could sell product online. That totally wasn’t in the plans in the beginning.”

Parodi’s latest launch, Comforting Muscle Lotion, has even more crossover appeal. Developed to deal with the stiff neck and shoulders many beauty pros suffer from, the herb- and mineral-infused roll-on tonic brings relief to the muscle woes of athletes and administrators alike, sans the signature smells of traditional topical pain relievers.

“It took two to two-and-a-half years to get it right,” shares Parodi about the formula. “We used the traditional ingredients like menthol and camphor, then we added arnica and magnesium oil. [Those are] the things that really do the magic. You don’t have to smell like Icy Hot or Bengay. It’s the evolution of muscle care. It’s excellent for the gym bag.”

Comforting Muscle Lotion joins four other products in the Parodi line: Daily Moisturizing Hand Cream, Intensive Moisturizing Hand Cream, Nourishing Foot Cream and Smoothing Exfoliant for Feet. The brand’s prices range from $18 to $22 for 2-oz. sizes. Parodi plans to expand the assortment with at least two new products this year. She’s intent on finding the right retail partners for the products to raise consumer awareness.

“The meetings with buyers [are] a learning process for me,” says Parodi, adding that she’s not in a rush to snag an account. “It’s got to be a good match. It’s got be someone who wants to work with the brand. With independent brands, you’re not well-known, so there is work that has to take place, whether it’s through the distributor or through the retailer. I’m looking for someone that understands that, that understand the needs of any indie brands. Then, you grow together.”

Until retail relationships are forged, Parodi products are available for purchase at select salons and spas, the brand’s website and Amazon. The brand also recently added an option for consumers to shop directly from its Instagram feed.

“A lot of retailers will look at how busy and how active your social media [is],” divulges Parodi. “I don’t have a 100,000 followers yet, but there is an underground current happening with Parodi. We have lots of repeat purchases.”

Amazon is currently brand’s bread and butter, a phenomenon that surprised Parodi, who was born in the U.S., but has lived of late in Switzerland. “Everyone has Prime accounts and shops on Amazon numerous times per week,” says an amazed Parodi. “For us, it’s been very nice to be on Amazon Prime. That’s where the majority of our products are shipping out from.”

Whether formulating with stylists or school teachers in mind, Parodi is clear on her brand’s value proposition. “Parodi Care will be a body care brand. Body care products that are different and that really work,” she says. “I don’t want to cover up any problems. If you have dry hands, I don’t want to cover it up, if you have sore feet, I don’t want to cover them up. If you have sore muscles, let’s try to make you feel better. We formulate [the products] as if they are facial care products. We want to make products that really make a difference, that you can tell isn’t like anything else on the market.”