Miriam Quevedo is the haircare queen

Get ready to braid your hair this summer and be among the trendsetters. This style tip-off comes from Miriam Quevedo, the Barcelona-based beautician and creator of the skincare and luxury haircare brand that also bears her name. At school, Miriam and the boy who was her high school sweetheart, and is now her husband and business partner, talked about their future: creating a new line of high-quality products to complete her family business portfolio.

In 2002, she and her husband formed the MQ company and in 2005, Miriam launched her first line of MQ branded skincare products. Soon, they expanded to the luxury haircare sector.

In 2007, she launched the haircare line Extreme Caviar by Miriam Quevedo, an anti-aging approach to haircare with its innovative fusion of effective skincare active ingredients with haircare techniques.

This was then followed by Sublime Gold by Miriam Quevedo, a high-tech line of haircare products all enriched with micronised 24K gold, reputed for its beautifying properties. Miriam was in Dubai recently to launch the next generation of haircare products, the Platinum and Diamond range.

Miriam lives in a small town just outside Barcelona and is a mother of two girls aged six and seven. She provides Friday with an exclusive, and exhaustive, look into her mind and the secrets to great hair. 

What are your memories as a little girl growing up in Barcelona?

One of the things I remember as a child with a lot of fondness was our holidays in the village. I also have very good memories of my school days. As a child I have always liked music, and the chance to travel with my parents was fascinating. Barcelona for me was always and will always be special. It's a city that brings people from so many different countries together. There is a true cosmopolitan atmosphere in the air. I loved going walking in the many parks that are in the city including Parque Guell, the city's Cathedral, the Gothic area surrounding the Cathedral and the magnificent plaza, Plaza Cataluña. 

You studied to be a beautician...

My family owned a number of small beauty salons close to where we lived and I decided that if ever I was to run their business I needed to be prepared from all aspects. It was also where I worked during the summer school vacations, so the world of beauty was very close to me and my family. 

All little girls have their mother as their heroine. What about you?

My mother had a huge influence on me as I was growing up. My relation with her was, and still is today excellent. She has taught me so many important values in my life that I wouldn't be today what I am without her. She is a huge believer in not judging others and she always has a very positive energy to her overall outlook.

My mother was something of a trendsetter; she is still what I call an innovator in the way she dresses compared to other women of her generation. 

Your high school sweetheart is now your husband. How much of this do you believe is destiny?

I really believe in destiny, so I would say 90 per cent. However, the love of two young people can be very strong, so this coupled with destiny is a winning formula. 

You together dreamed of setting up this business. What inspired you?

My husband and I have been together since high school, so our dreams have grown as we have grown as people and as a couple. From high school we started to dream of one day having a business together, but I would say that it was when we reached our early 20s that this dream started taking real shape and marked our business path for the future.

Juan Manuel has always worked in his family's business, which is very similar to mine and my initiation into business. His family have an important research and manufacturing unit for the cosmetic industry. They have been manufacturing cosmetics for many different brands for over 30 years. Now the business is run by Juan Manuel.

With his knowledge of product investigation and manufacturing and my understanding of the beauty sector, we combined our ideas based on ingredients that we knew worked and products that we felt were missing from the market. 

How did you decide on using caviar and gold for your niche brand? Have the merits of this been known for a long time in the cosmetics industry?

Caviar is an ingredient that has been used successfully in luxury skincare products with genuine proven results, so we looked to launch a haircare brand and range that was truly effective and luxurious.

As we are a haircare brand that not only treats the hair from the hair shaft but also from the scalp it was clear that an ingredient as powerful as caviar would enhance our products.

The use of gold was a very innovative proposition for us. The ancient Greeks were often found to use gold as an active ingredient for its mineral values. As a brand innovator, we are always looking for active ingredients that can make our brand stand out.

Gold is known for its mineral properties, which in this case enriches the scalp, but until now cost has always been a barrier in the utilisation of this precious metal.

We also use other very important active ingredients like argan oil or imperial orchid which are not common in haircare products, but MQ has a different approach in that we are taking the best from the skincare world and making a fusion with the technologies of the haircare sector, offering a global anti-ageing for hair.

So for us, the use of these two luxurious ingredients, caviar and gold, are extremely important as beneficial active ingredients in our product lines. 

What other ambitions do you have for your brand?

Ambitions, there are so many... Conquer the Middle East market (laughing).

Inside info

Where to buy: The Miriam Quevedo range is available at Bloomingdale's (The Dubai Mall), Harvey Nichols (Mall of the Emirates) and Saks Fifth Avenue (BurJuman).

Facts