From Tokyo’s top salons to beauty studios across the world, Basement Factory Design’s CARE PRO is transforming hair care through advanced ultrasonic technology. The brand’s blend of innovation, artistry, and Japanese precision is redefining what professional and home treatments can achieve.
Could you please introduce the professional beauty brand “CARE PRO”?
In 2017, our professional beauty brand “CARE PRO” launched its products in high-class hair salons in Ginza, Shibuya, Omotesando, and Harajuku, Tokyo. Since then, it has rapidly become sought after by hair designers worldwide, continuously offering new styling approaches powered by cutting-edge technology.
“Draped in elegance, reaching the pinnacle of beauty, and enabling more people to shine in their daily lives. This is the world envisioned by CARE PRO.”
This vision underpins CARE PRO: to allow customers to enjoy life elegantly, with the mission of helping people fully embrace hair design without compromise, instilling confidence, and delivering elegance every day.
Why did you choose hair care?
We had been engaged in marketing across various industries, but we noticed a lack of strategy and creativity in the beauty industry, especially in hair care. While there was technical skill, there was no strategic approach. That led us to think: what would happen if we added strategy and creativity?
Personally, I’ve always been detail-oriented and highly sensitive. I believed that combining my business skills with personal passion would lead to something better. Since one cannot do good work without passion, this became the reason we entered the industry and launched the innovative brand “CARE PRO.”
About the products
Our iron is a “non-heated” hair iron. Unlike regular irons used for styling, ours is entirely different. After shampooing, the user applies treatment, then uses our iron on wet hair. By applying new ultrasonic technology, the treatment’s active ingredients penetrate and absorb more effectively.
Traditionally, treatments required waiting around 10 minutes, manually massaging them in, then applying heat—an inefficient process. With our ultrasonic vibrations, the treatment penetrates quickly and effectively. In fact, large corporate research confirmed overwhelmingly positive results—180 out of 180 responses were “good.”
This is a unique device not found in the market, enabling salons to provide a truly special service. Previously, professionals relied heavily on manual techniques. Now, our iron makes it possible to offer highly profitable premium services while customers enjoy better results—longer-lasting effects and a memorable experience.
Professional and consumer prospects
Currently, about 45,000 salons across Japan use the professional-grade “CARE PRO Professional.” We also offer the consumer-grade cordless “CARE PRO DEEP,” based on the same technology. While salon products remain our core business opportunity, the consumer market also has significant potential for sales and profit.
I use it myself, and I believe one can clearly see the effect by looking at hair color. Our strategy is to first expand our professional presence, then apply that know-how to consumer products. “CARE PRO DEEP” is currently our only home-use product, but we emphasize that it’s the same as the one used in salons. This helps us reach more consumers. Looking forward, we plan to expand beyond hair to the face, skin, and body, increasing our product lineup and customer base before scaling up our marketing.
Why CARE PRO is chosen
Japan has around 200,000 beauty salons, of which only about 50,000 offer hair treatments. Among them, 45,000 use our products. While skepticism existed at launch seven years ago, customers were satisfied with the results, winning us strong support.
When presenting abroad, we explain that salons are “doing the same thing but with lower effectiveness.” With the same time and cost, our technology delivers superior results. Rather than creating a new service, our device enhances all existing hair treatments—a key strength.
The consumer-grade “CARE PRO DEEP” uses patented ultrasonic technology to micronize treatment particles and infrared to promote penetration. It is cordless, waterproof, and stylish.
On technology development
Treatment sessions in salons often involve waiting times, and we sought to reduce that. The solution was ultrasonic technology.
Inside the device is a chip programmed to deliver a unique ultrasonic output. Like massage, applying the same pressure to the same spot doesn’t work. Results come from variations in strength and movement. Our chip and program recreate this dynamic process.
Elegance and brand identity
We focus on three key elements:
Our goal is to embody all three in every product.
New products
We are currently developing penetration technology for facial care. For example, face masks usually require several minutes. We aim to shorten that time. We plan to release the product this year or next.
International expansion
Our professional products are already widespread in Japan, and have been introduced in salons in Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, China, as well as Europe and the U.S. For overseas expansion, we aim to replicate our Japanese success model: partnering with major distributors who have strong ties with local salons.
For consumer products like “CARE PRO DEEP,” we will partner with companies skilled in retail and marketing in each country.
Our initial focus is Asia, given its proximity and strong trust in Japanese beauty. France will be our first European test market, before expanding further into Europe and the U.S.
Relationship to Ikigai
We have always worked in fields where no one else has challenged themselves. Ultrasonic penetration technology existed before, but no one applied it seriously. We did—and it received tremendous response. Seeing people’s joy is my reward, my ikigai. My mission is to remove inconvenience.
E-commerce expansion in the West
We already see sales abroad, even without marketing, as products are purchased through personal imports. We’re analyzing how customers discover them. It seems our uniqueness—being a Japanese brand, usable on wet hair, and not for curling—is drawing attention on social media.
We now plan to strengthen marketing specifically for overseas markets.
Outlook for the next five years
While we are already well established in Japanese salons, consumer awareness is still limited. Over the next five years, we aim to build consumer recognition, while also expanding into Europe and the U.S. with large-scale sales and marketing.
For more details, please visit our official website: https://www.bfp.co.jp/about/company/
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