Before the $2,400 haircut, before reality TV, before Fashion Weeks, before the bougie salons in hot neighborhoods on both coasts, before Angelina and Lupita and Chanel and Prada — there was Aveda.
Beauty’s most prolific power couple, Ted Gibson and Jason Backe, met in Minneapolis in the early 90s, when the former was teaching for Aveda and the latter was taking his class.
At the time, Gibson was rising fast at Aveda, mentored by the brand’s visionary founder Horst Rechelbacher. Gibson branched out into product development, creating formulas for textured hair that were groundbreaking at the time. He began traveling the world.
Eventually, Gibson and Backe would take everything they’d learned at Aveda and apply it to their numerous business ventures.
Even today, almost 30 years later, that influence — botanical ingredients, sustainability, wellness, the mind-body connection — is very much evident throughout Gibson and Backe’s newest venture, Ted Gibson Beauty Wellness Science.
The couple sat down recently to speak with American Salon about their innovative new brand, fueled by adaptogenic mushrooms and based on the philosophy that beauty always needs to start from within.
American Salon: Ted, you’d worked for Aveda as an educator, and then created some of the brand’s iconic products. How did you transition from teaching and doing hair to creating products? That seems like two very different skill sets.
Ted: It is. But I learned everything from Horst. He taught me so much about entrepreneurship, about leadership and education. I channel him every single day.
He taught me what it means to create a brand, how to dress hair, and even how to be on this planet.
You know, there’s something powerful about having someone in your life who believes in you — who sees something in you that you didn’t see in yourself. That was Horst.
AS: Did Horst say or do anything that gave you that kind of confidence? Or was it just his presence?
Ted: It was both. When I talk about our relationship, I always lead with: I never got a brush thrown at me! He threw brushes at a lot of people, but not me. (Laughs)
We had a real connection. I don’t think I’m any more special than anyone else; it’s just that I had this incredible mentor. I knew what I wanted and I went after it. I learned to be fearless about it. There was a small group of us who had a strong bond with Horst at that time.
Jason: Ted and I had started dating, and I got to squeeze into that circle. I remember Horst taking us out to lunch in the West Village, then shopping on the Upper East Side. I was in my 20s. I caught a glimpse of the lunch bill; it was $100 per person. This was back in 1995. I was floored.
After lunch, we went shopping and he told us to get whatever we wanted. We were so shy, we didn’t buy much.
But Horst had so much fun sharing with us, and that became a pivotal moment for me. I remember thinking, I want that kind of life. I wanted to be like him. Successful enough to inspire others, to share, to be generous, and to make a difference.
Ted: Thanks to Horst, I’ve always been very conscious about what I consume. And I had the motivation to grow beyond Aveda.
AS: After you both moved on from Aveda you created product lines together, opened salons in different states, worked in fashion, built a celebrity clientele. You even founded a nonprofit, WorthUp Alliance. You’ve done everything there is to do in beauty. Now you’re going into wellness. Why is that a priority now?
Jason: You're not wrong; Ted and I have truly touched almost every part of this industry. So as we've grown and experienced more, it felt natural to expand our focus.
For the last 25 to 30 years, we’ve concentrated on superficial beauty. And that’s not to discredit it — looking good makes you feel good. What we do behind the chair can’t be replaced.
But we’ve also seen what that lifestyle does. Not sleeping right, not eating right, working nonstop. Only now are we realizing how important it is to care for ourselves from the inside. That’s where beauty starts.
Ted: It began when my late mom was diagnosed with dementia. Caring for her made us think about how we could not only help her, but also ourselves.
Jason: We made a lifestyle shift to a more thoughtful, simple approach. Simplicity, we’ve found, is more powerful than excess. We consume less now than ever before.
We started researching. We did a deep dive into ingredients that support long-term health. And that’s what introduced us to adaptogenic mushrooms.
AS: Tell me more about that. What is it about these mushrooms that made you decide to base a brand around it?
Ted: They’re amazing. For cognitive function, for hair and skin health, gut health, weight management — everything.
We had no idea! Asian cultures have been using them for centuries for longevity, health, even immortality. By comparison, in the West, we barely touch them.
We partnered with a mycologist and a scientist to develop a functional ingestible blend.
Everyone was expecting us to launch this with a shampoo or a conditioner or styling product. That’s why we introduced a wellness supplement first. We wanted to make a statement about this brand and its focus on wellness.
So we’re introducing the first product at the International Beauty Show. It’s an ingestible blend called Ascension. It’s four mushrooms plus a rare blue-green algae found only in Oregon. It’s bonkers.
AS: Did you create this product just for yourselves at first? Or was the goal always to market it?
Ted: The more we learned about it, the more we realized we needed to make it available to the greater beauty community.
When you’re working with clients all day, you need physical and mental agility. It’s exhausting. Stylists are givers by nature. They love making people feel beautiful, and they overextend themselves to do it. They stand all day, they skip meals, they put everyone else first. I’ve never seen that level of self-neglect in other industries.
We wanted stylists to have something to help them focus, stay energized, and clear brain fog.
We wanted to give them something they can just add to coffee or tea, or mix with water — it’s the easiest wellness step in the world. It tastes good. And it makes a real difference. Plus it improves skin and hair!
AS: What else is in the product pipeline?
Jason: Our second formula is the Hyper Shroom Complex. That’s a proprietary blend of four mushrooms and a couple of peptides. It’s our anchor ingredient for every shampoo, conditioner, styling product, and skincare item. All the topicals.
We just finalized our first haircare product using it: our Hyper Shroom Complex Intensive Repair Hair Mask. It’s hands down the best I’ve ever used. Even the chemists at the lab are gagged by their own work. It’s amazing: the shine, the softness, on all textures. Plus it’s great for your scalp.
We're planning to launch two or three new products every quarter through 2027. Salon distribution is a big part of that plan. We’re hairdressers at heart, so that stamp of approval from the professional is important to us.
AS: Looking at your website, it’s very Aveda coded — the rituals, the focus on wellness, the aesthetic. Did it occur to you how much of that culture you’ve retained?
Jason: It’s never left us. That’s a big part of Horst’s legacy: everything you do has to be intentional and thoughtful and contribute to the greater good.
Like — sustainability is non-negotiable for us. Right now, we’re debating glass packaging. It sounds great, but glass comes from silica, which comes from sand, which destroys shorelines. Plus, it’s expensive to ship and has a heavy carbon footprint. So we’re asking: is post-consumer plastic the better route? There’s no easy answer, but it’s an exciting challenge.
AS: Let’s talk about the classes you’ll be teaching at the International Beauty Show in Las Vegas. What can people expect?
Ted: Of course you'll get techniques that you can take back and do on your clients.
But what's really great about what we provide is the inspiration, the wellness, and especially the business part of it. That’s really important.
Yes, you want to make people feel good. But at the end of the day, if you don't make any money, then what are you doing? What's the point?
Jason: I have a unique perspective on running a business. Whether it’s running a rental salon or a commission salon, or running a booth or a salon suite — I've done all of them, and I've been really successful at all of them.
So helping people to make more money from clients behind the chair is the biggest thing.
AS: Let’s talk about the individual classes. Give me one big takeaway per class that the students will leave with. Starting with the OG: the iconic $2400 Haircut.
Ted: I love to cut and style hair, so specifically I’m doing this one haircut I’ve been loving lately, a shag.
The class is always a combination of what’s happening right now in fashion and entertainment. We’re always, always, always at the top of that. And, you get to be in my back pocket. You get to hear the years of experience working with A-list celebrities.
AS: How about this one: Tea Talk – Backstage Pass to Cutting Edge Hair Techniques and Career Secrets.
Ted: This one’s really focused on elevated hairdressing. Techniques I’ve used on red carpets, for the covers of magazines, for the Oscars, the Golden Globes, Cannes Film Festival. And maybe a little Hollywood goss!
AS: Color the Cut – Red Carpet Hair. Real World Results.
Ted: Well, usually in salons, you color first and then cut. We’re flipping that. I’ll cut first, then Jason’s got this technique for coloring the hair after.
We’re inspired by artists like Miley Cyrus or Doechii. Lola Young — she’s got this amazing flat-top, color-blocked mullet. A common thread in this class is the idea of how these haircuts and color go together that’s different than what we’ve seen in a while. It’s so inspired; it is so of the moment. I’m really excited for it.
AS: Centered and Inspired: A Ted Gibson Wellness Experience.
Ted: This is a first! We’re bringing wellness to hairdressers in a meaningful way through a meditation and sound bath. It's free and open to all attendees.
We’ve always included moments of meditation or spiritual connection in our classes. But this one goes deeper. It's designed to be transformative.
AS: On behalf of hair stylists who want to work with high-profile clients: What’s one thing stylists need to start doing right now if they want celebrity clientele?
Ted: Start marketing to them. It doesn’t have to be in Hollywood or New York City. It can be Knoxville, Tennessee; it can be Oklahoma City; it can be Waco, Texas.
Figure out who are the influential people in your market. The ones you want to work with right now. These days, a “celebrity” doesn’t have to be in L.A. or New York. They’re everywhere.
AS: What’s one thing they need to stop doing if they want to work with high-profile clients?
Ted: Stop thinking that being “Instagram famous” is enough. That might get you noticed, but it will not keep you in the room.
You have to show up with professionalism — the right tools, the right mindset. You have to show up with real work ethic. You have to deliver.
If your client’s going out on the red carpet and being photographed and seen by millions, you need the skill and the calm to handle that pressure.
AS: What’s the biggest mistake someone can make when working with high-profile clients?
Ted: Not remembering that you need to keep your mouth shut.
Those hours your client spend in the chair are intimate. Just like in a salon, celebrity clients open up, and that trust is sacred. You never repeat what someone told you. I wouldn’t even tell Jason what I heard in those rooms. I respect the space.
AS: How do you support a client who might be really nervous about what they’re about to step into, like a red-carpet moment or a live performance?
Ted: As a hairstylist or makeup artist, you have to read the room. Hairdressers and makeup artists — I won’t say we’re empaths, but we can feel energy. You have to tune into what’s happening emotionally, especially if someone is nervous or under pressure.
I’ve learned that over time. Great hairdressers, the ones who become legends — all have a certain energy. A kind of calm confidence.
AS: What was the best part about working on TV?
Ted: I was on six seasons of What Not to Wear. I’d replaced Nick Arrojo in season 7.
And I don’t know if they could do What Not to Wear today. It was brutal. By the time those women got to me, they were torn down and broken. My job was to build them back up, and that is where I thrived.
That’s my specialty: helping women feel beautiful about themselves. Not trying to make them into someone else, but bring out their own beauty.
Whether she's a movie star or a stay-at-home mom, whether she's a size 2 or a 24, every woman wants to be seen and heard and made to feel beautiful. I'm good at that.
Oh my God, I loved that show. I'd do it again in a second.
Ted Gibson and Jason Backe will be teaching "The $2400 Haircut," "Color the Cut with Celebrity Stylists Ted & Jason: Red Carpet Hair, Real World Results," "Cutting-Edge Hair Techniques & Career Secrets with Celebrity Stylists Ted Gibson & Jason Backe," and leading the workshop "Centered & Inspired: A Ted Gibson Wellness Experience" at the International Beauty Show-Las Vegas from June 21-23, 2025. Register here.