Kerastase Elixir Ultime

My latest hair obsession is making it glossy. Not the easiest task when you have wavy/curly hair (and lots of it), and so far not the most rewarding, either. While I'm still testing various hair glossing products that you'll get to hear about eventually, my newest find was the result of having to detox my scalp and mane from something gloopy. I had to wash my hair with Head & Shoulders frequently and decided to avoid regular conditioners for a short time to get rid of product buildup (the worst problem of glossing products). I use their 2-in-1 formula of H&S, but obviously that's not enough. The solution was applying Kerastase Elixir Ultime to damp hair and let it be.

Kerastase Elixir Ultime is a multi-purpose oil for hair that can be used before shampooing (especially if your hair and scalp are on the oily side) or as a leave-in treatment, a styling aid (before blow drying) and for touch-ups throughout the day. I mostly use it after washing, but also for detangling and to make sure my ends are in good shape. The wonderful thing about Kerastase Elixir Ultime is that it's as effective as much as it is lightweight. The challenge with hair like mine is keeping it as soft as humanly possible while not letting a product overdose kill its bounce and shine. This elixir (a thin oil, really) doesn't compromise any of the elements that make long hair look luxurious and is as low maintenance as anyone could hope. In my case I just put about 4-5 pumps into my palms, run them through my  hair, wrap it up in a towel for the time it takes to get ready and do the other beauty/getting dressed stuff. Then I hang the towel to dry and I'm good to go.

Kerastase Elixir Ultime smells great (an abstract floriental). I haven't flat ironed my hair in the time since I started using it, so I can't comment on its performance for this purpose. All I can say that it works for me very well, and also cuts on the time I have to spend detangling while washing my hair the next time-- it realy keeps the hair smoother and more manageable than I ever expected.

Bottom Line: Love.

Kerastase Elixir Ultime ($54, 4.2 oz) on kerastase-usa.com, but I now buy it cheaper on Amazon ($43, same amount).

Image via vintageadbrowser.