Kerastase Review

     About a year ago I got a spa gift certificate for Mother's Day. The girl who did my conditioning treatment asked me what I was looking for and I said, "I want Kate Middleton's hair". She snorted and said, "Don't we all?! Keep dreaming!" I resisted the urge to get up and walk over to another stylist's chair and the more I thought about it the more I fumed. First of all, I thought it was pretty unprofessional. Secondly, why CAN'T I have Kate Middleton's hair? I have long brown hair, she has long brown hair. What's so crazy about thinking I could get my hair to look as shiny as hers?
   
     Ask any girl over the age of five about her hair and she'll talk your leg off, so I'll spare you all of that. I'm no stylist so I can't describe my texture in specific terms. All I know is, it's straight if you blow it dry but sort of wavy and frizzy if it air dries. It used to be super thick but as I've gotten older it's not as thick but I wouldn't really call it thin or fine. It really resists curl, but with some work, it's possible.

     I've been off sulfates and using Organix brand shampoos for a couple years now. I love the smell, the texture they gave my hair and the price is great, especially if you can find the '50% more free' bottles or on sale for BOGO or--the holy grail--both! I have tried almost all the different formulas and the Moroccan Argan was my favorite.  I was also rinsing with a 50/50 mix of water and apple cider vinegar after conditioner. Organix has a matching serum I'd use on my length and ends while it was still wet. I'd follow all that with a Redken heat protectant allover before turning upside down to blowdry with a brush.

The picture below is the former regimen.

Before Kerastase

This is after my new one!

After Kerastase

Here they are side by side.

     I was expecting a difference, but not like that! There's a bit of a glare on the before photo but it's still accurate. My hair was straight, soft and healthy looking before but NOW it's like shampoo commercial hair! My best friend is a hair stylist and since I've moved I only get to see her every few weeks. As soon as she saw me after the switch, the first words out of her mouth were "Wow! Your hair is the shiniest I've ever seen it and no flyaways!" That's a pretty awesome compliment from somebody who's known me for about 30 years and does hair for a living!

     Here's how I got here. I started googling Kate Middleton's hair. I would do specific searches like "what hair products does kate middleton use". There are tons of blog posts and articles speculating what she uses but there was one from the Daily Mail online that looked legit so I started searching using the items I found in the article and did some research on them specifically. I also found out that you can find these products cheaper than at a certified salon but they could be outdated or even counterfeit. I had no idea there was such a thing as cosmetic counterfeit! I bought the shampoo at the grocery store for about $5 less than online or at a salon. I also came across a shopping miracle. I was in Target, just killing time, and walked past an end cap and spotted two bottles on the shelf with markdown tags for $10!! After reading up, I realize these may be outdated but I'm using them and I'm happy with them. So my gamble paid off this time.  

Kerastase Bain Satin 2,
daily shampoo for dry hair

     I did a ton of research. A TON. And figured out that the Kerastase Nutritive Masqueintense that costs $60 is an almost ingredient for ingredient twin to L'Oreal Nature's Therapy Mega Moisture Nurturing Creme sold at Sally Beauty Supply for $8 for the same sized tub. When I say twin, I mean there might be one or two ingredients out of order. It's close enough that I'd bet a die-hard Kerastase user couldn't tell the difference. I try to use this as a hair mask about once a week. 

L'Oreal Nature's Therapy Moisturizing Creme Mega Moisture,
hair mask

     At Christmas, I treated myself to the conditioner, serum and the heat protectant listed in the article. The protectant also came from the grocery store shelf rather than a licensed salon but again, I'm pretty happy with it. I also recently bought a new hairdryer. It's got ions, tourmaline and lots of other fancy sounding stuff. It was $30 at Ulta. 

Kerastase Lait Vital,
daily conditioner

Kerastase Cristalliste Lumiere Liquide,
lightweight serum for straight or fine hair

Revlon 1875W Hair Dryer with retractable cord Fold & Go
This dryer came with a diffuser (not pictured) and a concentrator

Coppola Keratin Complex Infusion Therapy,
heat protectant

     The last piece of the puzzle is the brush. I believe this is the most valuable part of the whole routine. I had heard about Mason Pearson brushes and how they're known to be the Rolls Royce of hairbrushes. Is this post starting to remind anyone else of this?

 

Anyway, I'd heard the Sonia Kashuk brush from Target is supposed to be the best dupe of the famous MP. I've never owned the original but I was super impressed by the Sonia Kashuk brush. I just wished it was bigger. I was in Sally Beauty Supply one day and found one! It's by Beautique and I absolutely love it. I travel a lot due to my child visitation schedule, so I keep the Target brush at my mom's and use the Beautique every day. It's a great detangler and after you get used to it, it feels great on your scalp. It also doesn't pull out my hair unless I have a tangle--which is also rare with these products. When I used a vent brush it was always FULL of hair and I could hear them pop or snap when I used it. I thought that was just how brushes were. These two brushes proved me wrong.

Beautique Premium Boar Nylon Cushion Brush

Sonia Kashuk hairbrush

One last thing. I haven't yet sprung for the MP brush but I splurged on their rake style comb because I'd read that there was practically zero drag/resistance with it. It's true. the teeth are hand polished and I rarely ever find a hair in there and I only use it when my hair is wet.

  

Mason Pearson Rake style Comb

     So here's the basic rundown.   

     Every-Other-Daily:

     Shampoo: Kerastase Bain Satin 2 $39 (rinse)
     Conditioner: Kerastase Lait Vital $42 (leave in 2-3 minutes and rinse)
     Comb through conditioner with Mason Pearson Rake Style Comb $30
     Serum: Kerastase Cristalliste Lumiere Liquide $42 (I use 1 pump for my ends)
     Heat Portectant: Coppola Keratin Complex Infusion $32 (I use about 10 pumps for all my hair)
     Comb products through hair with MP Rake
     "Rough dry" hair with 1875W Retractable Cord Fold & Go Hair Dryer $30
     Use concentrator on dryer and brush straight with Beautique Premium Boar Nylon Cushion Brush $10
     
     Once-a-Week:
     Before shampooing, comb through dry hair and let sit for 20 minutes L'oreal Nature's Therapy Mega 
     Moisture Nurturing Cream $8. 


Here are a couple photos the day after washing. I used a bit of homemade dry shampoo on my part, crown and along my hairline around my face.  I rolled my hair with Caruso Professional Ion Steam Hairsetter $40, and sprayed with a light mist of L'Oreal Elnett Hairspray Extra Strong Hold Unscented $14. I've owned a Caruso setter since the early nineties, and just had to replace it last year. I'd never use anything else to set my hair. It uses steam heat for moisture rather than dry heat and the curls really last!

Kerastase, day 2 hair with curls

another view of curls

L'Oreal Elnett Hairspray
Extra Strong Hold, Unscented

Caruso Professional Ion Steam Hairsetter

Here's day 3 hair as soon as I woke up (read: no makeup). I brushed with the Beautique brush and it still looks pretty good, but usually on day 3 I either wash again or I pull my hair into a ponytail or topknot or side bun or something fun but pulled back so you can't see the greasy roots.

I'm a stomach sleeper, hence the puffy face and eye bags.

And there you have it. Kate Middleton hair, for us non-royals. Take that, Snarky Spa Stylist Lady!

The Products

The Tools

*UPDATE: Since I've been using this routine and these tools I have noticed a significant drop in how many hairs I lose when I wash and style my hair. I can't help but think it's mostly the tools. I just washed my hair and cleaned my brushes and I actually saved the hairs I found in the tub, on my hands and arms and in the brush after I was done. I counted 8 go down the drain as I rinsed out my conditioner, and what I collected added up to 39 hairs! Most of those were less than 4" long, so I'm assuming that's breakage and not loss. I have also noticed a ton of new growth around my hairline and crown. Lots of 3" and 4" long baby hairs. Every time I'd wash my hair before I'd have a large quarter sized knot of hairs in the tub, not to mention what was in my brush. Look what it is now!

31 hairs found in tub.

This was wound up about as big as a nickel. I usually brush my hair before bed and when I wake up. This morning I didn't. So, this doesn't include the ones that fell out the last 2 days and ended up all over the house, my clothes and car... This is all I've shed due to washing and styling. Pretty awesome!

P.S. I've been taking 10,000 mcg of biotin daily for over a year. I think it helps strengthen my hair but it didn't save it from being yanked out by my old brush and comb. It has, however, significantly improved the strength of my nails and stopped them from peeling.