Belegenza

Belegenza (bel-a-jen’-za)

1. The generation of beauty (the genesis of beauty), derived from Italian/Latin bel…beauty, and gen…genesis.
2. Becoming a legend within its own time, causing legends of its users, transforming ordinary into legendary.
3. To Be Legendary.

Founder Cheryl

Founded by Alan G. Eschenburg, Belegenza was developed as a salon-oriented brand created of natural ingredients to serve the needs of Alan’s private salon customers and his stringent natural health standards, after a health crisis that ended his platform artist career and almost his hairstyling career altogether.

Belegenza is a proven product line: developed from foods, tested by high-end salons worldwide using FDA approved ingredients. Belegenza is sold through salons, specialty boutiques, and natural health care providers globally. Constantly attending to the needs of the salon clients, celebrities, and celebrity stylists, Belegenza satisfies the demand for high-end performance and luxury bridging the way between salon excellence and organic perfection. Since Belegenza’s genesis, has released 17 products since, with many more being developed by the research and development team that continuously exceed expectations.

Belegenza was formed in 2004, starting as a production entity to develop products from the research and proprietary information that came from over 40 years of combined salon experience to provide curative value for various beauty-product related skin and scalp conditions. On a mission, Alan envisioned products that were not only curative and worked better than the finest brands in the world, but that also exceeded expectations of stylists, celebrities, and the beauty industry.

Though an expert in haircuts, styling, coloring, and as a salon owner, Alan set out to attract a team of experts who could take his ideas to fruition. Miraculously, Alan met a gentleman on a plane. As their conversation developed, they soon found that what they had a common passion for creating products that were natural, safe and excellent. As Alan learned about him, Alan was star-struck with this legend of chemistry. Alan had already had a lifetime of using this man’s name brand products (shampoos & gels and many more) since he first started doing hair at 5 years old! When Alan mentioned that the products had to be excellent naturally, and be free of silicone, silence filled the air. Well, known brands relied on silicones for performance, and organics were safe but didn’t perform as well. He replied to Alan, “Impossibility to reality is my specialty. Let me show you how.”

Though 4 weeks passed since the miracle in the plane, another miracle was brewing in the family salon with the future (unbeknownst at the time) co-creator, co-owner, and COO of Belegenza, Cheryl Honc. Alan and sister, Yvonne Eschenburg, had opened their salon in 1999. Cheryl, on breaks from school and college, would work as a receptionist, to find that she, too was fascinated by the beauty industry. Cheryl became Alan’s apprentice, and though he had been licensed for already 17 years, it was hard to tell who was teaching who. Their creativity and ideas swirled all the time. By the time the gentleman called 4 weeks later, Cheryl and Alan had already begun the future of Belegenza, and simultaneously, he had worked out the first “impossibility to reality” concept recipe. With seemingly meant to be an activity, the excitement and discovery continued.

As Alan and Cheryl learned, chemistry is a lot like cooking. In fact, the recipes were so complicated that regular visits to restaurant supply companies, building supply stores became not only necessary but funny, too. What to some is a gas grill for burgers, became the only way to heat up large amounts of ingredients in tubs and vats! What to some is a paddle for a boat, became a mixing tool. What to some is an electric blanket for the bed, became a temperature regulator for a barrel used as a mixing bowl. The salon, their home, the backyard, and garage became a large scale beauty kitchens as the 3 developed today’s patent-pending ingredients and products from their ideas, love of the challenge, commitment, and loads of food, herbs, plants, vitamins and such.

The word got out that some excellent products were being developed, and though many miracles had occurred, there was a couple of challenges that arose after they had developed 11 products. With great response from customers, the demand for products to use at home grew, which lead to ‘How to make enough, quickly?!’ The phase of simply mixing food-grade ingredients in their version of kitchen chemistry – created from industrial blenders, stock pots, tubs, vats, pails, buckets, and funnels, electric blankets, boat paddles moved to finding industrial labs who could follow their recipes and do the “cooking and filling in bottles” on a larger scale. As the products became more sophisticated, there were food-grade ingredients that just wouldn’t “mix” easily into the formulations, which is where most companies stop or cheapen products. Not with Alan and Cheryl. To Alan, and actually, everyone’s delight and surprise, Cheryl’s background in pharmaceutical, as a compounding technical assistant,   made the puzzle complete. As the products developed from foods and such, it had to be worked out from a chemistry knowledge base. (In other words, a cake is made of eggs, flour, oil, etc. Knowing how much of each ingredient is worked out from a chemistry knowledge base.) When it came to extracting the finest qualities from a particular food or plant material, Cheryl had been coming from her pharmaceutical knowledge base. (Many medicines and cures are derivatives of plants or animal matter approved by the FDA.)

Essentially, when a recipe wouldn’t work with the whole foods, Cheryl would introduce the effective extract of the foods, which in many cases made the product even better than expected, as well as preserved the precious process and integrity of the original product. In a few years, the product line has grown from the very first product, SpotLite Shine S500 Serum, the backbone of the line, into over 17 products with more in the developmental pipeline.

As a family-owned and operated business, Alan and Cheryl continue to develop all parts of the business and stay true to the principles that have proven successful. Though food-grade ingredients can be expensive, compromising is not an option. Only the perfect ingredients and processes are used to ensure great products, as well as business practices that exceed customer expectations.

Even though Belegenza is very serious about the perfection of the formulas, they are not all serious when it comes to having fun, and making a difference in others’ lives. Yes, you can still call and talk to Alan and Cheryl, visit them on Facebook, chime in on the “Get Glamorous in Minutes” blog with Cheryl, inquire on Alan’s “Ask Alan” blog, and catch them backstage at events, and it’s not hard to spot them with their bright blonde hair at a Disney Park from time to time!

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