What does truly healthy hair look like? Is it a glossy, fresh-from-the-salon blowout? Or is the shine and bounce we see on social media only tell one part of the story? International hair visionary, salon owner, and K18’s newest global ambassador Tom Smith is far more interested in real, lasting hair health that looks as good as it feels in our real everyday lives.

Renowned for his forward-thinking approach to hair longevity, education, and viral trend forecasting (he totally called Bottleneck Bangs and Expensive Brunette), K18 is thrilled to partner with Smith at a defining moment for the future of hair health.

“Traditionally, it's all been about how the hair looks. But now, it's not enough for it to look nice in a snapshot moment on social media; it’s about looking and feeling good from all angles and at all times,” Smith says. “It's about how it acts in your real life and how resilient it is to go through all life stages and beyond to the future.”

His London-based salon, Aevum (co-founded with luxury salon expert Chris Donohue), is actively redefining the future of hair by combining styling craftsmanship with proven wellness treatments to create a fully integrated approach to hair health and longevity for every client.

driving the future of hair forward

From a young age, Smith was driven toward self-improvement. “I come from very humble beginnings,” he says. “I've always sought better for myself.”

This commitment to continual evolution has defined his career. Even more importantly, it has connected him to every client who’s ever sat in his chair, ready for a big change. It might start with their hair, but it has a way of bleeding into their life, too. “I get to make them feel the best version of themselves,” he says.l

Smith started his career at a traditional salon where stylists focused on mastering one discipline. He chose color but knew even then that he wanted to be a full-concept stylist. “I moved on after four years to build my skillset, which 20 years later includes cutting, color, texture services, extensions, and holistic hair health education.” 

Now, he’s ready to share this multidisciplinary approach with the next generation of stylists. The hope? To drive the hair industry forward. To keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in the chair when you prioritize modern science and innovation. 

Smith’s approach is about more than just broadening the scope of what it means to be a hairstylist; it’s expanding the very definition of healthy hair. Smith sees the stylist's role evolving to support the intersection of aesthetics and function for their clients’ lives. The new focus is the hairspan. 

“There’s all this conversation around the fact it's no longer enough to just increase our lifespan,” he says. “We don't just want to be alive for as long as possible in any state. We want to increase our healthspan.” In other words, it’s not only about the quantity of years, but the quality of them. 

“In the same way, we no longer just want long hair,” he says. “If you want long hair, we know that you need to start with improving your hair’s health—and that takes more than your semi-annual cut or color.”

the three pillars of healthy hair

Smith thinks of healthy hair in three very distinct categories: care and routine, molecular repair, and pre-growth support.

The first category—care and routine—is the one that’s been around the longest. “Care is conditioners that smooth or detangle, but aren't fundamentally changing the structure of the hair,” he says. Think of this as daily maintenance. 

A “routine” is all the things that we do to manage our hair on an ongoing basis: How often we're showering and shampooing, what kind of damage we're subjecting our sensitive strands to (think: hot tools and high ponytails). “Care and routine is the first category of getting healthy hair that people pay attention to,” Smith says. “And it's what the majority of the world is still most focused on right now.” 

The second category, according to Smith, is molecular repair. “This is where I think K18 has made such important developments. These are products that are actually fundamentally changing the molecular structure of the hair and not just making it look and feel healthier, but actually [giving it] more integrity on a molecular level,” Smith says. Think of this as a way to reverse existing damage + fortify our hair so it can keep up with our lives.

The third (game-changing) category is all the clinically proven treatments you can do to support the quality and health of your hair before it grows out of your head. Things like stem cell treatments, red light therapy, scalp serums, and so on (note: you won’t find any instant fixes here). These are more holistic, long-term approaches to hair care, all of which dabble in the science of hair that actually gets healthier over time. 

“It's about the months and years that have gone past and how it's been treated in that time. To have hair longevity, we need to be thinking about this third category.” 

This is the driving force behind Aevum, Smith and Donohue’s first-of-its-kind holistic salon. 

complete regeneration at every appointment

Derived from the Latin word Aevum (meaning age, lifetime, eternity), Smith and Donohue’s salon is their response to an eternal truth: time is precious and how we spend it matters. Inspired by their personal interest in the importance of longevity, Aevum blends a layered wellness protocol into one intelligent salon experience. The focus is not just on how a client's hair looks after an appointment, but on their well-being—in short, they care about the person attached to the beautiful new balayage. 

From doctor-led DNA testing and advanced scalp injectables to acupuncture, reflexology, red light therapy, and molecular hair repair, every hair appointment becomes a gateway to complete regeneration.

“Hair health sometimes isn't that sexy,” Smith says. “You can go to a trichologist, dermatologist, or a scalp spa, but that’s a more clinical experience. Then you have luxury salons that will give you a beautiful cut and color, but aren't as informed on how to really look after your hair from a health point of view.” 

Smith and Donohoe wanted to create a place that had combined the best parts of a luxury salon experience, but with hair health at the center. 

How do Smith and Donohue determine what treatments make the cut at Aevum? They look at the science and proven results—and they test everything on themselves first. “The practitioners and treatments that we have available are things that we really believe in and that we have experienced and value. Only what we would give our own time and money to as clients,” Smith says. 

scalp health = hair health

An often overlooked aspect of healthy hair? The scalp. “It's just not possible to grow healthy hair without a healthy scalp,” Smith says. “Many people pay a lot of attention to the skin on their face and their hair, but completely forget about the scalp.”

As an example, anyone with a naturally oily scalp may find it hard to get healthy, shiny hair. That’s because more frequent shampooing followed by more heat styling causes more damage than the hair can sustain. At Aevum they tackle this head on (literally). 

It’s a balancing act keeping your scalp clean—not stripped—and feeling fresh without daily washing. “You want to make sure that you're removing and lifting everything away to keep the scalp really clean and clear.” Between wash days, a weightless, buildup-free dry shampoo is your best friend. “AirWash™ is the absolute best dry shampoo that someone could invest in,” he says. It’s the best of both worlds: it prevents excessive washing without leaving buildup behind.

hair longevity at home

For those of us who can’t drop everything to go to London for an appointment at Aevum, what can you do to set your hair up for future success in your everyday life? When it comes to hair and scalp longevity, consistent habits make a bigger difference than periodic salon visits. 

Smith advises starting with fundamentals like a healthy diet, getting your blood work checked, and adding supplementation if needed. “But there's also more and more coming in the topical space. Products that you apply to your scalp or tools and devices and treatments you can use at home,” Smith says.

Red light therapy is another easy one to add into your daily routine. “It really is only effective if you're using it multiple times every week,” Smith says.

his favorite wellness protocols 

• Red light: “I have a two-meter-tall, full-body red light panel that I use at home. It’s a sunbed, but only has one panel and it's for red light. This allows me to get whole-body benefits in one go,” 

• EMS suit: “It’s basically a space suit that you put on that has an electrical current going through all your muscles. I use it at home at least once or twice a week.” 

• Targeted supplements: “I won't just take something because it's trending. I have blood work done twice a year to check my levels, and I supplement what it shows my body needs.”

• Sleep hygiene: “I have an eye mask and headphones every night. I also have a NeuroSim, which is a vagal-nerve-stimulating device, which helps put you into a parasympathetic nervous system. It's just good for increasing your HRV and reducing stress.” 

 Prioritizing self-care is both a business decision and a personal one. For Smith, his health always comes first. “I expect a lot from myself, and I work really hard and do a lot of things,” he says. “When you put that pressure on yourself, you have a responsibility to fill up your cup and to do things that are going to allow you to continue operating at that level.” 

true hair health comes from within

Smith invests not only in skincare or devices, but also in what's going on inside—meditation and talk therapy—and then he shares it all with his clients. 

That’s because he knows that happiness or stress always shows up in your external appearance. “Hair is absolutely a marker of our nervous system,” he explains.  “This comes from anxiety,” Smith says. “If someone's nervous system is not in a great place, their hair is absolutely a marker of that in the same way that if the body is malnourished, if someone's not eating the right nutrition, their hair's going to suffer first because it's a non-essential tissue.” 

This is another huge factor in Aevum’s mission: you come for the highlights but end up getting a full mental and physical rejuvenation in that same amount of time. It’s more than a salon appointment, it’s an essential self-care ritual tailored to exactly where you are at when you sit down in Smith’s chair.