I am in an abusive relationship. With my hair.
Though I love it – I do! I really do! – I can’t seem to help myself from bleaching it, scorching it, and not brushing it for days (#curlyhairproblems). These locks have been through the ringer and, like virtually every woman I know, I am constantly on the lookout for products that will give me the most beautiful damaged hair imaginable.
In my opinion, you can’t do much better than these three brands:
Nanokeratin System
In the Nanokeratin system, each product is colour coded and given an individual name to describe its purpose (ie recondition, refine, rejuvenate, re-enhance, recharge, restore, revive, rehydrate, reseal, reinvent, and re-smooth). The green-coded products are designed for coloured hair, super nourishing, and use biomimetic ingredients that are based on advanced micro size molecular science that imbue even the smallest hair fibres to activate the inner hair cortex (creating a non-soluble shield against environmental elements). For the full system, you want the Restore Shampoo, Recondition Conditioner, and – the hero product – the Replenish Colour Preserving Mask which deep conditions without stripping or fading your hair colour.
Alterna
My latest and greatest shower staples. Alterna’s products are free of Parabens, Sulfates, Phthalates, Synthetic Colour, Sodium Chloride, Gluten, DEA/TEA, Phthalates and Triclosan, yet do exactly what they say they claim (an honest beauty product – golly gosh!). The Bamboo Smooth Anti-frizz Shampoo and Conditioner are a powerhouse of anti-frizz magic that also tame split-ends. The products’ concentration of Organic Bamboo Extract and Organic Kendi Oil is intensely hydrating but light enough that my hair still dries with its natural curl…looking un-naturally luscious. As Winter tends to zap the life out of my hair, I have also been spraying a bit of Alterna’s Bamboo Smooth Kendi Dry Oil Micromist in the lengths of my hair each morning which – as well as creating a weightless, silky sheen – smells like Summer holidays. Everyone wins.
Leonor Greyl
As far as fresh-from-salon hair goes, no shampoo has seemed to mimic the effect better than Leonor Greyl’s Bain Vitalisant B Shampoo. Being rich in vitamins, botanical extracts and plant proteins, this shampoo works to restore and strengthen hair damaged by successive bleaching, highlighting or colouring. Having initially tested this out on a model’s very neglected platinum hair, the results continue to prove instantaneous and beautiful. When followed with their Serum de Soie Sublimateur? Even the blondest of bleach blondes will reap the benefits. When used on damp hair the serum will detangle, while used on dry hair it will smooth and condition. Either way, it is a holy grail product for damaged hair.
