Emma Stone’s hairstylist spent 20 years using other people’s products. Then she built her own.
How Mara Roszak turned two decades behind the chair into RŌZ—a clean haircare brand that’s having a serious Q1
Emma Stone’s curved bob at the Golden Globes was everywhere. The chin-length cut floated along her jawline effortlessly, a style that’s deceptively hard to pull off. Behind it: Mara Roszak, the celebrity hairstylist who’s spent two decades perfecting that signature look for clients like Stone, Zoe Saldaña, and Natalie Portman.
But this awards season, Roszak had more than red carpets on her schedule. Her haircare brand, RŌZ, was taking off. Last year a Sephora expansion brought national visibility. This February, an Erewhon collaboration put samples in thousands of new hands. Stone’s Golden Globes bob—created entirely with RŌZ products—became one of the night’s most talked-about looks. And today, billboards dropped on Sunset Boulevard featuring Lily Collins to promote a Shop exclusive bundle. Four years in, RŌZ isn’t just growing—it’s everywhere.
Why it’s working
Roszak opened her West Hollywood salon, Mare, in 2015. “After two decades behind the chair working with women with every hair type and concern, I knew exactly what worked—and what didn’t,” she says. Professional products weren’t clean, but clean products didn’t hold up. Her clients were asking for both. “I remember looking at the shelves in my own salon and realizing I couldn’t recommend anything that met both of those needs. That was the moment I knew something needed to change.”
By 2021, she was ready to solve the problem herself with professional-grade products built from clean ingredients. “Performance is non-negotiable for me,” she says. She launched with one product—the Santa Lucia Styling Oil—and built from there.
She credits her momentum to trusted relationships she’s built with celebrity clients whose hair she’s actually worked on. “Some of these women I’ve worked with for more than twenty years,” she says. “They’ve seen me build my career, open my salon, and launch RŌZ. And they genuinely use the products.”
That dual existence—styling celebrities on red carpets while running a salon—constantly informs how she builds. Stone’s Golden Globes bob is a perfect example. The look was polished enough for a major red carpet moment but felt effortless—the kind of style that makes people think, I could do that at home. Roszak shared exactly which products she used on TikTok—RŌZ Milk Hair Serum to prep, Air Thickening Spray for movement and hold, and Evergreen Style Cream to finish—showing viewers how to replicate the style at home.
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“The amazing thing about doing both editorial and salon work is that I see both worlds,” Roszak says. “I work on red carpets, but I also spend time behind the chair with women who are getting ready for their everyday lives. Those experiences constantly inform each other.”
When deciding what products to create next, she pulls from all of it. Her salon clients represent the everyday customer—“women with busy schedules who want their hair to look beautiful without spending hours styling it.” Her celebrity clients push products to perform under intense conditions like long shoot days and red carpets. And then there’s her own naturally frizzy hair. “I always say if something works on my hair, it will probably work on anyone’s,” she says.
Meeting customers where they are
The Sephora launch last year was a turning point, bringing RŌZ to a national audience. “Sephora really helped accelerate awareness,” Roszak says. The Refill Bundle became one of the brand’s top three best-sellers. “That’s from clients who have used the product and are coming back for more,” she says.
Showing up in unexpected places has also helped the brand find new customers. Take the RŌZ Garden smoothie at Erewhon this February. “With RŌZ my goal has always been to meet the client where she already is,” she says. “We’re an LA-based brand—I grew up in LA—so the Erewhon partnership made sense. We were also able to sample a mini Milk Hair Serum with every smoothie purchase.”
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That same philosophy led RŌZ to Shop. “The way people discover and buy products is constantly evolving,” Roszak says. “Our customer is a working woman with a busy life. She’s looking for products she can trust that are easy to use. The more accessible we can make RŌZ across platforms and retailers, the better we can serve her.”
Since launching on Shop, RŌZ has seen returning customer revenue nearly double year-over-year. That momentum made Shop the natural platform for today’s campaign launch with Lily Collins, one of Roszak’s longtime clients. Billboards on Sunset Boulevard promote Lily’s RŌZ Essentials bundle—exclusive to Shop—which includes Air Thickening Spray, Milk Hair Serum, Foundation Shampoo, and Foundation Conditioner.
“Community has always been central to RŌZ,” Roszak says. “The brand grew through real relationships—stylists sharing products with their clients, women recommending products to their friends. Lily and I have worked together for years, so collaborations like this feel authentic. They’re rooted in real relationships and real use of the products.”
Building without compromise
As RŌZ continues to scale, Roszak’s non-negotiables haven’t changed. “As founder, it’s important to stay clear on your values as your business scales,” she says. “For me, that’s product quality. It takes years of innovating and testing with pros and myself. If we stay true to that, everything else will come.”
For someone who spent twenty years making other people’s products work, she’s now built something that finally works the way she always knew it could.