It was 1998 around Christmas in CA. The son of Joico hair care came to me and said: ” I coach a lot of kids for swimming and they can’t seem to find the strongest hair gel to hold their hair style. Can you develop something?” Developing a strong hair gel is easy. To develop a water-resistant hair gel will require some thoughts. Then I spotted a spiking trend going on at the time- kids were layering mousse, gel, hair spray to get the spiking look. Voila- The first multi-tasking water resistant GLUE was conceived. It uses technologies in mousse, hair gel, and hair spray + sunscreen waterproofing technology!
During the development, I would check each hair resin to make sure they do not FLAKE when I rub in between my fingers- the last thing you want on a glossy black hair like mine is flakes like dandruff. I would check the “hold-factor” on hair swatches to make sure it’s a durable hold. I would dip the mannequin’s head in a bucket of water for 80 minutes and check the holding style. After numerous revisions, Ice Spiker was created in early 1999. A patent application was filed but the company did not follow up.
Ice Spiker was not (and still is) only the strongest holding glue without flaking, it holds the hair style after swimming and extreme sports. Some kids reported they love it because they don’t need to brush their hair in the morning as the hair style stayed put all day and all night. At one point, it was even considered to be marketed as a 2 day party perm (it does work!). Extensions of Ice Spikers like Spiker colors and a special shampoo to get rid of the strong holding factor were created. Five years later, there are many copies of thsi product on the market including some global giant hair care companies.
Even thought this styler was originally developed for teens as the Ice Line was targeting the teen market, it is a versatile glue which everyone can use everyday. I still use it until this date but I usually dilute it with tap water in my palm so the effect is not as dramatic. Over the years, there are always people admiring my hair style and ask what do I use- yes, Ice spiker! Long Live the Ice Spiker. You make me proud :-).
