Their latest innovation, the Sage SILVER-SHINE TREATMENT, is specially formulated for the needs of blonde hair, which can often be dull and frizzy. A problem Fabienne Sutter is all too familiar with: the 28-year-old had been looking for a care product for her high-maintenance bleached hair for a long time. Finding nothing that met her expectations, the business graduate took matters into her own hands and developed (for not entirely unselfish reasons) the Sage SILVER-SHINE TREATMENT. We asked her how the treatment came to be and what makes it so special.

Fabienne, you’ve worked in the R&D department at RAUSCH for four years. What do you like most about your job?

The variety of my job suits me particularly well. Every day is different. There are always new challenges, new projects and lots of interesting opportunities to learn more about active ingredients and raw materials. I really enjoy trying out and improving the prod-ucts while they’re being developed too. I also like trying out products made by other companies. There’s always something new to learn.

Who came up with the idea for the Sage SILVER-SHINE LINE?

The idea came from the R&D department when we realised we currently only offer a treatment for dry hair. Blonde hair, however, has different needs entirely. So we got to work. Development of the new hair treatment, from idea to product launch, took almost exactly one year.

What was the main challenge in developing the product?

In particular, we focused on identifying the perfect combination of herbal extracts and active ingredients, in addition to optimum tolerability. The formula aims to provide highly effective nourishment for very high-maintenance blonde and grey hair. The result is an intensive treatment that doesn’t weigh down the hair.


The challenge here was undoubtedly finding out what quantity of nourish-ing ingredients was enough and what was too much. The treatment also has an intense blue-purple tone, so we also had to work out how intense that tone needed to be to neutralise the yellow hue while not tinting the hair blue. After many attempts, we obtained an optimal result.

Why does the line now contain plant-based keratin?

Blonde hair and grey hair have quite specific needs. Bleaching in particular deeply affects the hair’s structure and puts the hair under intense stress. In healthy hair, the outermost layer is closed. Bleaching opens this cuticle through a chemical process, exposing the inside of the hair. Environmental influences can then penetrate through to the cortex and damage the structure.


Free radicals also lead to the breakdown of protein (keratin), causing the hair to split and break. The plant-based keratin contained in the treatment, shampoo and rinse conditioner provides intensive nourishment to hair damaged by the lightening process. The hair structure is no-ticeably improved and damage is repaired.

Do you test the products yourself?

When we have developed a prototype, we always test it ourselves at home. We concentrate on very different things and con-stantly improve the product until we’ve obtained a result we’re 100% satisfied with. In the development of the Sage SILVER-SHINE TREATMENT, we focused on combability and shine, in addition to the treatment and prevention of yellow hues. Being blonde myself, I knew precisely what a perfect result would look like.

You also ran a panel test for the treatment. How does this work?

In a panel test, different versions of our product are given to selected test subjects. For our Sage SILVER-SHINE TREATMENT, these test subjects were people with blonde or grey hair from a wide variety of age groups. In the test, the products have a variety of scents and ingredient concentrations.


Test subjects are asked whether they like the scents, how effective they think the product is, how their hair feels during and after using the product and lots of other questions. We use their feedback to choose a prototype or rework the product and conduct a new test. Feedback from lots of external test subjects, as well as staff from a variety of RAUSCH depart-ments, gives us a sense of how consumers would rate the product.

How does the finished product get from your test laboratory to the production plant?

In Development, we have a facility that can make one litre of the product for our laboratory tests. The samples for our panel test are then made using a 10-litre machine. Any initial adjustments to the parameters of the machine must be made at this point. We then take the step from finished product to the production plant in collaboration with the Production team. Up to this point, we’ve already made the product many times.


We therefore have a very good idea of what each individual step of the manufacturing process in-volves, how the intermediate products ought to look and where the critical work stages are. Based on this experience, we can then fine-tune the machine parameters in production to ensure that we obtain a product we can make at the same consistently high quality.

What do you like most about our purple line?

Our purple line is perfect for my hair type, so these products are a bathroom staple for me. I particularly like how thoroughly the shampoo cleans my hair, its rich foam and refreshing sage scent. After using it just once, I can feel that all the residue from hairspray and other products has been removed and my hair is squeaky clean. I then use the rinse conditioner so I can comb my hair easily. I use this after every wash, as it nourishes my hair without weighing it down, giving it a lovely shine and adding volume.


Once or twice a week I use the Sage SILVER-SHINE TREATMENT. I leave it in for at least five minutes before rinsing it out. Afterwards, my hair feels really soft and silky. I can run a comb straight through it, it has a beautiful sheen and it looks healthy and well-cared-for. Our Sage SILVER-SHINE LINE is the perfect haircare ritual for my high-maintenance blonde hair.