All about: Kérastase’s amazing new Initialiste

The Kérastase brand has been synonymous with extraordinarily good hair as long as I can remember - twenty-five years ago they created the first hair mask - and for creating seriously transformative products that you never knew you needed but soon could not live without.

Initialiste is their latest and greatest, the first Kérastase serum based on native plant stem cells that “acts from the birth of the hair, enabling it to grow stronger, brighter and more beautiful than ever”. It sounded pretty damn good to me, so when I was given a bottle to use almost a month ago I got straight to it, applying it religiously to my roots every wash and waiting for the magic to unfold.

Its work is inspired by skincare, in particular the work around stem cells and the key role they play in repair and regeneration. After 24 years of research, L’Oréal Advanced Research uncovered the essential role of skin and hair stem cells in hair regeneration, and the existence of two reservoirs of stem cells in the outer sheath of the hair follicle. Researchers identified the crucial role played by the microenvironment of stem cells in ensuring fibre quality, and a healthy environment supports the capacity of the hair follicle to grow and produce beautiful hair. Makes sense!

At the heart of Initialiste then is the Regenerative Complex, which protects the stem cell environment, improving the hair quality at its source. The clever formula includes the like of native plant cells taken from Malus Domestica, a species of apple, antioxidant polyphenols to protect the stem cells’ environment from oxidative stress and a Glucolipid that acts on the external hair sheath, where the two stem cells’ reservoirs are. The lipid component consolidates the structure of the follicle’s external sheath, whilst the “Gluco” component is an energy reserve that enhances the cell metabolism and enables rapid hair growth.

But enough with the science already - does it work? With regular use, absolutely. It made my hair feel stronger before I knew it and thicker and healthier-feeling by a month’s end. It also smells amazing, and as it’s a serum has zero greasy after feel.

Initialiste has an RRP of $70.00 for 60ml, which lasted me just a couple of washes over a month. It’s an investment sure, but no more so than a skincare product and if you really want to improve the state of your locks it comes high recommended.