Aveda started as the vision of environmentalist Horst Rechelbacher, when he discovered the importance of connecting health and beauty with the earths natural aromas from plants. The offspring of a herbalist, Horst had a natural flair for scents and the plants they came from.
In the mid 60’s, Horst came to America and began working at a salon in Minneapolis. His dream was to create shampoos derived from a plant base for his more “environmentally inclined” clients. In his home kitchen, Horst began to experiement with plants such as of clove, black and blue malva, camomile and madder root … and his very first line of shampoos was born.
In 1970, Horst, on a trip to India, was introduced to the healing properties of Ayurveda (the science of longevity) and aroma and suddenly his vision for his company (thus the name Aveda) was born. Horst knew exactly what he wanted to create … a company that relied heavily on the scents and products of nature.
In 1977 he opened his first office and set up a product lab. At the same time, he established a cosmotology school and a year later Aveda (meaning “knowledge of nature” in Sanskrit) began manufacturing their first line of hair care products. Aveda is currently based in Minneapolis.
