Paul Millus Quoted in NY Daily News, "Stylist allegedly stole top-secret hair Color Formula Cards"

Media Source: NY Daily News

Hair salon to the stars John Sahag Ltd. has alleged that stylist Reyna Garcia stole secret hair color formulas when she left to work for their competitors in June.

Their secrets were hair today, gone tomorrow.

A hair salon to the stars says it believes one of its stylists swiped information from its top-secret hair “Color Formula Cards.”

In papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, John Sahag Ltd. — whose clients have included the likes of Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston and Jennifer Lopez — says it believes a turncoat stylist named Reyna Garcia left with some of the secret formulas.

“The Color Formula Cards are the key to the business. They list the specific needs of the client and the precise formula used to satisfy those needs,” the suit says.

“With this information, a competitor can be in a position to service the client without the need for experimentation to achieve desired color.”

Sahag is concerned that’s the case here, because Garcia abruptly left the company in June after five years to work for rival Metodo Rossano Ferretti Hair Spa.

Garcia, the court filings say, had been serving between 200 and 400 Sahag clients when she left, and if she has all their information, it could mean serious financial harm to the storied salon on Madison Ave. in midtown.

The suit said that in recent days, four clients have told Sahag that the Ferretti firm had contacted them to say their Sahag appointments with Garcia had been changed and they should now go to Ferretti for their haircoloring.

That raised several red flags for Sahag, because customer contact information is included on the formula cards.

Sahag rushed to court seeking an emergency order barring Ferretti, also on Madison Ave. in midtown, from contacting its clients and using its hair formulas.

“Haircuts come and go. It’s the color developed by Sahag that enhances a woman’s beauty. It’s the color that’s important,” said the company’s lawyer Paul Millus.

He said Sahag’s stylists take a long time to perfect the combinations that make their clients happy.

“The information on our cards is proprietary, precise,” Millus said. “It involves formulas and combinations that were worked out over long periods of time. It’s doubtful that she would have memorized the information.”

Garcia, 33, of Queens, and Ferretti declined to comment.

In court Tuesday, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Anil Singh signed an order barring Garcia from using the haircoloring formulas, but did allow her and Ferretti to reach out to former clients.

Ferretti lawyer Steven Miller said he didn’t believe his client had any of the Sahag cards, and accused the rival of going on “a fishing expedition” to find out which customers have switched salons.

He said the judge’s order allows Garcia to cut and color hair from former Sahag clients —she just can’t use Sahag's formulas.

The Sahag suit also seeks unspecified money damages.