Jessica Clancy-Strawn spent nearly two decades as a licensed cosmetologist before becoming a registered dietitian. Now, she’s sharing the Redken hair-care line she relies on to keep her curls moisturized, shiny, and healthy-looking.
Jessica Clancy-Strawn spent nearly two decades as a licensed hairdresser while studying nutrition and chemistry, and in that time she learned an important lesson: reading the backside of a haircare product is just as important, if not more than reading the front.
“Studying chemistry helped me understand hair products and how they work, and I became intrigued by how the products actually helped people’s hair,” Clancy-Strawn says. “I started to teach those classes and that concept of chemistry to the hairdressers so they could also share that with their clients.”
The “chemistry matters” because it can be useful to see if a haircare product will live up to promises made on the bottle or in commercials, she adds.
“It’s more than marketing,” Clancy-Strawn says. “Marketing is great but it doesn't always account for everybody's hair. I have a daughter that has African-American hair, so I've learned that not every product is for everybody, and especially with her hair type being so kinky, so that's just an important message for people to think about.”
Now a registered dietitian nutritionist focusing on kidney health, Clancy-Strawn says she’s still passionate about finding the best haircare products with proven ingredients.
That’s why the former cosmetologist recommends the Redken Acidic Bonding Curls haircare line.
“The chemistry angle is that healthy hair sits at a slightly acidic pH. Color, bleach, and heat will push it to alkaline, which lifts a cuticle. That's when you'll get the frizz and the breakage,” she says. “This line is built on citric acid and glycine to bring the pH back down and help strengthen bonds with oils like avocado, coconut, and shea butter, which is better for moisture. It's sulfate- and silicone-free, which helps the curls stay light instead of weighted down. That's exactly the kind of label science I used to teach other stylists.”
Clancy-Strawn has used Redken products for decades, and previously worked for them when she first got into the haircare business.
“One of my first jobs in high school was at a Redken Beauty Supply, we would fill product orders for local salons,” she says. “That's where I first got to know the brand in the 90s. So their products gave my curls the moisture and shine they needed, and Redken has kept up with the science ever since.”
This particular line was introduced to Clancy-Strawn by her neighbor in 2023, and it quickly became a mainstay in her haircare repertoire.
