I’ve Tested Hundreds Of Hair Oils — This Is The One I Always Recommend

From clever hair growth tinctures to bond-repair treatments, the industry is bursting with innovative hair products that promise to stitch split ends back together, keep frizz on lockdown, and make hair appear impossibly glossy. But in my honest opinion, you can’t beat a simple hair oil.

Easily slotted into any haircare routine (whatever your hair type or texture), hair oils can be used on towel-dried hair to promote shine and boost moisture and manageability, or on dry hair to help with styling. There are plenty to choose from. Beauty brands love nourishing argan oil in particular, but castor oil, avocado oil, and coconut oil are just a handful that we can’t get enough of for promoting growth, softness and gloss. As a beauty director, I’m lucky to try hundreds of hair products which all pledge transformative properties. While there are so many brilliant buys out there, I always come back to hair oil, and there’s one product I will always suggest to friends, family or pretty much anyone who asks for my top hair recommendation: Kérastase Elixir Ultime.

What is Kérastase Elixir Ultime Hair Oil and what are the benefits?

Leave-in hair oil is nothing new. In fact, this particular hair oil has been a favorite for years. You might have spotted the iconic gold bottle on your hairdresser’s workstation or noticed boxes of the stuff stacked in your go-to salon’s window. Experts swear by it, and there’s a reason why it pops up everywhere: It really is as good as everyone says it is.

The star ingredients in the product are argania spinosa kernel oil (or argan oil), amodimethicone (a safe, hair-friendly silicone which leaves lengths ultra-soft, shiny, and frizz-free, and doubles up as heat protection), not to mention a megamix of other plant-based oils such as corn oil and marula oil, known for strengthening brittle hair strands.

What makes Kérastase Elixir Ultime Hair Oil special?

The texture feels more like a silky serum than an oil, which can be thick and sticky, separating hair or making it look greasy. As a result, it works across the board for all hair types, including fine hair. Experts say that argan oil, in particular, is one of the best oils for natural hair, improving elasticity and making strands soft. It’s especially great for curly hair, which tends to require more moisture. (There are some great YouTube reviews, too.)

My hair is thick, naturally wavy, and has been bleached and dyed multiple times over the past couple of years. Plus, I’m due a haircut, and I straighten my hair most days. It’s safe to say I need as much moisture as possible to minimize the appearance of split ends and my perpetually frizzy roots. I’m impatient, too, and anything that cuts styling time in half gets my vote. Elixir Ultime does all of that in just one tiny pump.

What to know about Kérastase Elixir Ultime Hair Oil

• A lightweight yet deeply moisturizing hair oil suitable for all hair textures.

Details

• Formulated with a blend of nourishing plant-based oils and strand-friendly silicones for shine and heat protection.

• One pump goes a long way; it reduces frizz, adds shine, and comes in a refillable bottle.

How do you use Kérastase Elixir Ultime Hair Oil?

A pea-sized amount (raked through towel-dried hair and concentrated mainly on the ends) is all it takes to make my hair look like it has been professionally washed and styled, even if I’ve just given it a rough-dry and a very speedy once-over with my trusty ghd Chronos Hair Straightener. I can usually tell a product is excellent when I don’t use it. Testing shiny new launches means I often have to shelve Elixir Ultime for a couple of weeks at a time — and I notice a big difference in the quality of my hair.

While I don’t have any gripes, I have to acknowledge the price tag. At $62 for 75ml, this luxury oil is almost double the price of many hair oils the drugstore has to offer. That said, a little goes a very long way and the 100ml bottle is almost twice the size of some drugstore versions. Applied through damp lengths two to three times a week, mine lasts a good eight months, making it an investment beauty buy. The woody, musky smell also has me sold.

If you’re looking for cheaper alternatives with similar effects, Biolage All-In-One Multi-Benefit Styling Oil boasts Kérastase’s top ingredient: amodimethicone. Don’t let the complicated name put you off. While we’ve been made to fear silicones for clogging the scalp or “coating” hair, they are entirely safe to use, and it’s hard to deny how well they make hair gleam. As silicone transfers heat slowly, it also acts as a great heat protectant, shielding hair from blowdryers, straighteners, and curling wands. Silicones can easily be washed out with the right shampoo. This oil contains argan kernel oil, too, which moisturizes both hair and scalp and protects strands from environmental aggressors such as cold weather and pollution.

Also try Matrix Food For Soft Multi-Use Hair Oil Serum and Nexxus Repair & Nourish Ultra Lightweight Hair Oil. Both are R29 favorites with similar glossy hair ingredients.

Where can you get Kérastase Elixir Ultime Hair Oil?

Ultimately, though, not much truly beats my trusty Kérastase, which is available at Sephora and Amazon.

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Source

Originally published at www.refinery29.com.

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