The idea of a smart styler — one that responds to our every hair desire — is a lovely thought, but not the most realistic one. How can one product help you create one style, then magically allow you to do a completely different one without having to wash your 'do and start all over? That's the question luxury hair brand Kérastase looked to answer when developing the newest addition to its Couture Styling line — L'Incroyable Blowdry, a "reshapable heat lotion."
And what, exactly, is a reshapable heat lotion? We'll let the brand's consulting hairstylist, the incomparable Odile Gilbert, explain. "You use one product on your hair, and if you want to change it [to curly, wavy, or straight] you're stuck — you have to wash your hair [to change the style]." With this lotion, she says, you only need one product for every style — and you don't need to rinse or add more products to switch things up. "The product stays in the hair like a memory. You can go from A to Z and it can last two or three days," she notes. Not to mention, claims the brand, that it doesn't create a sticky feel or cause your hair to get greasy post-application.
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As to how L'Incroyable works to do that, the brand says it all comes down to the technology. According to a Kérastase rep, the secret sauce in this bad boy is something called SRS — Stimuli Responsive Styling. Made up of micro wax particles, the lotion coats the strands and creates bonds between hair fibers. This creates an initial style that is "supple, moves, is touchable, and will bounce back to its original shape."
Gilbert says you only need a small amount of heat to activate the wax — the lowest setting on your curling iron or flat iron will get the job done. Apply one or two pumps (three or four if your hair is extra-long or thick) and run through wet hair, root to tip. Style as usual, then go as many days or styles as you like. Gilbert notes that this is great for both the restless styler and the infrequent shampooer — it can help you go longer between shampoos because you don't have to try and battle frizz, flat locks, cowlicks, or that crazy "What the hell did I do last night that made my hair stick up like Marge Simpson?" hair. "Because you don't add [more] product in the hair, you [don't have to wash as much]," she says.
The claims are lofty: a true do-it-all product that saves you time, gives you total control of your style, and protects your hair. We thought it sounded too good to be true, but then we witnessed Gilbert backstage at the fall 2016 shows starting with models with product-loaded hair, vigorously washing their hair, and then applying L'Incroyable (and a gel or hairspray if the style called for a bit more of a rigorous structure) to whip up some of the most stunning styles seen at Fashion Week. So, yeah, we're pretty stoked to get our hands on a bottle.
Kérastase L'Incroyable Blowdry, $40, available at Kérastase.