Paula Kent Meehan, founder of Redken Laboratories, Inc., passed away yesterday at her Beverly Hills Home. She was surrounded by her family and friends. She is survived by Michael Miller and his wife Jeeny along with grand children Courtland Miller and his wife Monica Mack Miller, Patrick Lydon and his wife Faviola, stepsons Chris and Matt Meehan and their wives, Shari and Brenda, step grandchildren Renee Tab, Amir Tab, Candice Tab and great grandchildren Mya Lydon, Gia Lydon, Debra Mack Flanagan and Alexander Tab Tuffin.

The Redken team has said that they “will forever be grateful and indebted to Paula for her vision, inspiration and generosity while she was leading our Redken, and beyond, in the 21 years subsequent to our acquisition. She continued to support our relationships witnessed by her hosting the 50th Anniversary Reunion in 2010 for 416 returning Redken alumni at the Beverly Hills Hotel. It’s been said, ‘You just cannot out give Paula Kent Meehan.’ “

In 1960, as a young actress and model, Paula Kent, launched her business career, founding with Jheri Redding, a small California based company, Redken Laboratories, Inc.

On the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of Redken, Modern Salon Magazine’s publisher honored Redken as “the company that changed an industry forever.”

Kent pioneered the “Scientific Approach to Beauty” based on her dedication to developing products compatible with the natural elements of hair and skin. Her highly sensitive skin and hair reacted adversely to many products on the market. Her quest was to discover why. Redken began with three products and an intensive education program for hairdressers about the chemistry of hair and skin thereby enabling them to better serve their clients and generally elevating a career in hairdressing to that of a profession.

The formulas were developed based on three principles;
Protein technology (since hair is composed primarily of protein)
An acidic pH of 4.5-5.5 complementing the natural pH of the hair and skin
Products recommended exclusively by licensed cosmetologists in professional salons

Redken Laboratories, Inc., also designed programs and trained hairdressers to successfully market Redken products in the salon, something unheard of at the time.