One on One with Howard Margolin

By:  Richard Garner, Editor in Chief
& Ken Baszto, Executive Vice President – Business Development & Continuing Education
The Hair Society

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Icon: a person or thing regarded as a representative symbol or as worthy of veneration.
Legend: an extremely famous or notorious person, especially in a particular field.

Both of these definitions only begin to describe Howard Margolin and the contributions he has made to the hair replacement industry over the past 50+ years. Howard could easily be grouped with other industry Icon’s the likes of Sy Sperling, Randy Martin, and Arnold Zimmerman. The fact is, he really is on a level all by himself.

Howard is and does what he says, and is as loyal as they come when it comes to both personal and professional relationships. A man of his word and someone that would give you the shirt off his back. Recently The Hair Society had the distinct pleasure of flying to Tampa Florida to spend a couple of days with Howard listen to him share with us, his amazing story.

Howard’s first endeavor wasn’t even in the hair replacement industry. Howard first had a long and successful career as a singer and songwriter with the famed group The Demensions, a Doo-wop group (a style of pop music marked by the use of close harmony vocals, originating in the US in the 1950s.) started in the 1950s and received critical acclaim in the 60’s with their rendition of Somewhere Over The Rainbow, selling over 2.5 million copies worldwide, which back then was considered a major accomplishment. In 1963 The Demensions hit “My Foolish Heart” was featured on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand where the group frequented many a time.

After departing from the Demensions group, Howard help found an organization called HRS Network, a series of hair replacement salons and studios that were cutting edge in offering the best options in hair replacement. Howard and his wife were extremely successful with their businesses, however not long after their mutual success, Howard’s wife, a hair replacement technician, had fallen ill from toxic

exposure to the harsh chemicals in the adhesives used for bonding hair to one’s scalp. Now, most people probably would have changed careers after such a terrifying experience, not Howard. This only motivated him to develop a solution, one that would not cause anyone ever to have such a negative interaction with adhesives again. What made this endeavor even more challenging was that other industry leaders and longtime manufactures all told him it that he was embarking down an impossible path, and he should just let it go. This only motivated Howard even more.

So in 1994 Professional Hair Labs™ was conceived and was founded by Howard Margolin, President, and Chief Executive Officer. Recruiting his longtime friend the late Jimmy “The General” Toscano for testing, Howard developed and tested formulations of skin-friendly, safe bonding adhesives that are of a medical grade quality, free from toxic and harmful chemicals. Howard’s steadfast vision has been to bring only skin safe products to the hair replacement market, but that wasn’t good enough for Howard, he also wanted to make his products environmentally friendly and safe, so 100% of the product packaging is biodegradable and using ingredients that will not damage your skin. Together, Howard, with the help from Jimmy, helped shape the industry in more ways than one. Safety was and still is at the forefront of all of Howard’s product lines. So much so, he is the only adhesive manufacturer that publishes the MSDS (Material and Safety Data Sheets) for all to read, not just for our internal use.

Professional Hair Labs™ is much more than a manufacture or distributor of skin-friendly, toxic free adhesives and other hair care products. They are also educators in the area of bonding. They know first hand that in order for a hair replacement technician to be successful, they first need to be educated and trained in the proper application of these products and the nuances they bring from base design to application etcetera. Howard is currently in the process of building a new, state of the art training facility to do just that as well as provide continuing education for technicians and salon owners. Once the doors open on this 30 thousand square foot facility, named after the aforementioned late Jimmy Toscano, Howard will not only be a company with purportedly the safest and skin-friendly adhesives, he will also have one of if not the largest training facilities in North America.

Howard has three sons, all who work at Professional Hair Labs™ in different positions. Daryl Margolin is the Vice President of Professional Hair Labs™, and oversees the day to day production of a product and manages all of the logistics therein. Along with brother Dave Margolin, who as the Operations Manager oversees the North American distribution and logistics of Professional Hair Labs™. Ryan Margolin is the European Union Director and oversees the Marketing and Web Development aspect of the business while managing the offices in Ireland.

Driven by the executive team and the many Professional Hair Labs™ associates and a myriad of outside vendors, Professional Hair Labs™ is truly a juggernaut in the hair replacement industry and is an international staple within the hair replacement industry, known for its line of water-resistant cosmetic adhesives formulated for use with wigs and hair pieces. Professional Hair Labs™ also carries a line of Cleansers, Scalp Treatments, Shampoos, Professional Series Hair Care products and even Skin Care products.

If you ever have the opportunity to meet Howard, you will quickly see how this larger than life living legend has never rested on his laurels. To this day, Howard continues to look for ways to improve his product lines and even enhance them with new and innovative products.

On The Web At: www.prohairlabs.com

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