Adrienne Vendetti and Stephanie Vendetti are sisters and the co-founders of How to be a Redhead (known as H2BAR), the beauty brand for redheads. As authors of the “How to be a Redhead” beauty book, they curate the seasonal Deluxe H2BAR Beauty Subscription Box and the How to be a Redhead makeup line.
Adrienne and Stephanie are both natural redheads who struggled as young women to find beauty and fashion items catering to redheaded women. As children, they both had trouble finding ‘Redhead Friendly’ Approved products because most items caused their sensitive skin to irritate or break out. Many makeup consultants at department stores avoided helping them find mascara or blush that worked for their unique complexions.
When Stephanie was a teenager, she dyed her hair blonde to “fit in”, but realized she felt and looked best with her natural red locks. The sisters took it upon themselves to test and try different types of products. They loved expressing their fun redhead personalities with colorful wardrobes. When they discovered mascara could coat their blonde lashes and brow products could fill in their transparent brows, they felt beautiful. The discovery of streak-free instant tan, products to tame their frizzy hair, natural-looking bronzers, and non-irritating lotions was revolutionary.
Over the years, Adrienne and Stephanie mastered complementary beauty techniques for redheads. Since there was no resource for them to turn to for redhead beauty advice, they created HowtobeaRedhead.com in 2011. All featured products on the site have been tested on a redhead for 10+ days and receive the ‘Redhead Friendly’ Approved stamp of approval.
Adrienne and Stephanie hope to provide top beauty and lifestyle advice for redheads, while creating an empowering and confident community. They coined the phrase “Rock it like a Redhead” as a tagline on their blog and social media to proclaim the importance of rockin’ natural red hair.
Since launching in 2011, HowtobeaRedhead.com has been recognized by top beauty companies worldwide. In 2012, Adrienne and Stephanie became L’Oreal Paris Brand Ambassadors. The influential sister duo also produces and curates Rock it like a Redhead events, with two successful country-wide USA tours bringing together their audience with empowering brands.
In 2016, the “How to be a Redhead” book was released globally. The sisters also curate a seasonal Deluxe H2BAR Box beauty subscription service. “It’s amazing to provide a beauty service like this for redheads,” says Adrienne. “Stephanie and I always wished we had this growing up and it’s a joy to curate it.”
To expand the brand, the How to be a Redhead beauty line is now available! With four eyebrow products in the Finally Have Brows series, five mascara shades in the Finally Have Lashes line, and a gloss-boosting shampoo in the Finally Glossy collection, redheads are rejoicing.
Adrienne and Stephanie Vendetti both earned Business degrees from the University of Miami. Adrienne focuses on business development for How to be a Redhead, while Stephanie handles social media. The website now has 75,000 monthly unique visitors and over 200,000 unique page views.
Their first “Rock it Like a Redhead” event, targeted specifically at redheads, was held in New York City on March 16, 2013. The beauty and fashion event aimed to unite and empower the redhead community.
The brand remains family-focused as it expands. Adrienne oversees operations at the warehouse in Wilmington where subscription boxes ship out. Stephanie handles marketing initiatives from Charlotte. Their supportive parents frequently visit Wilmington to help pack and ship orders.
Through their products, community, and empowerment, How to be a Redhead has become the leading beauty brand for redheaded women. Adrienne and Stephanie Vendetti’s business promotes confidence and embraces the beauty of red hair.
