The past year has given us ample opportunity to give our hair the tender loving care it was so desperately craving. We had more time to try at-home treatments [1] and fewer reasons to style our hair, giving it a break from hot tools, bleaching, tight braids, styling products, and even excessive brushing and washing (I don't know about you, but I considered it a feat if I washed my hair twice a week). This month, however, as we return to our beloved hair colourists [2] and start seeing friends again, you might once again be putting your hair through the wringer.
If that's the case, and you want to keep your hair looking and feeling as healthy as it did during lockdown, you're going to need the right care and styling products in your beauty arsenal. And that's where we come in. Every month, we round up the most exciting hair launches coming to the United Kingdom, from classic brands to indie newcomers [3] and all the creams, sprays, and conditioners in between. In May, there's a lot to look forward to, including the launch of Kérastase's new curl range, created with the input of everyday curly- and coily-haired consumers, and Davines's luxurious shampoo bar, to help you both cut down on single-use plastics and ensure good hair days ahead.
So dust off your hot tools, dig out your hairbrush, and keep reading to discover all of the new hair products launching this month.
Kérastase Curl Manifesto Refresh Absolu Second Day Curl Refreshing Spray
This month, Kérastase releases its Curl Manifesto collection, which is a range of care and styling products formulated for all types of curls and coils. The seven-piece range includes a hydrating shampoo, a conditioner, an extrarich mask, a leave-in moisturising cream, a multiuse hair and scalp oil, a curl-enhancing gel cream, and our personal favourite, the Kérastase Curl Manifesto Refresh Absolu Second Day Curl Refreshing Spray [4] (£29), which helps redefine, moisturise, and protect curls anytime you feel you need a little zhuzh. While each product is very different, they all share the same three ingredients in common: biomimetic ceramides (which help reinforce the inner cortex of curly and coily strands), manuka honey (for hydration and shine), and glycerin (which helps hydrate strands from the root down).
To create the range, Kérastase worked with 60 curly- and coil-haired women in the US, who provided insights on the existing products and concerns within their current routines. During the development process, they also tried 50 formulas on more than 600 women, and then got the stamp of approval from the brand's global inclusivity and education advisor, hairstylist Vernon François. "Collaborating with Kérastase as Global Inclusivity and Education Advisor is seeing the industry changing," François said via press release. "Making a tangible difference at the core of hairdressing is my career-long ambition becoming reality. The visible impact of Curl Manifesto is the tip of the iceberg — from the models who feature in the campaign, to the photos that have been selected, to the language that is used. One step at a time, through multiple initiatives, we are equipping hairstylists — and other vital influencers — to enable individuals to embrace the beauty and versatility of their hair's true texture. The education is multi-layered. There is a lot of work to be done, it is by no means an easy path, but it is the right one, and I cannot wait for the world to benefit from what we have in store."
Davines Essential Haircare Shampoo Bars
The Davines Essential Haircare Shampoo Bars [5] (£14 each), which launch at the end of May on Cult Beauty and Liberty London, were created with both the health of your hair and the health of the planet in mind. Available in four of the brand's existing formulations — the Dede Shampoo Bar for frequent cleansing, the Love Shampoo for frizzy hair, the Momo Shampoo for dry, dehydrated hair, and the Volu Shampoo for fine, limp hair — each bar is packaged in 100 percent recyclable paper, whilst the CO2 generated from manufacturing the bars is offset via the EthioTrees reforestation project. As for the formula, the bars are all sulphate and preservative free, and contain a blend of light surfactants and conditioning agents that leave hair feeling clean but not stripped.
Aveda Blonde Revival Purple Toning Shampoo and Conditioner
Finally got your blond refreshed after months of not being able to go to the salon? Then it's worth investing in the new Aveda Blonde Revival Purple Toning Shampoo [6] (£22.50) and Conditioner [7] (£26.50) to keep it looking fresh for as long as possible. The violet-tinged vegan formulas help to neutralise the brassy, orange tones that can appear on bleached-blond hair (and on grey hair, too), helping the overall tone look brighter and shinier in just one use. The shampoo and conditioner might work fast, but they are incredibly gentle, being free of silicones and sulphates but full of lightweight, moisturising oils.
L'Oréal Professionnel Blow-Dry Fluidifier
If you're someone who regularly blow-dries and curls their hair at home, it might be worth checking out the L'Oréal Professionnel Blow-Dry Fluidifier [8] (£16), launching on Lookfantastic this month. The blow-dry cream, which is meant to be applied to damp hair before you break out your blow dryer, protects strands from temperatures up to 230°C. But it doesn't stop there. Thanks to some high-tech ingredients that get activated through heat, the cream actually helps your hair hold its shape when you decide to restyle it with a curling iron, a flat iron, or hot rollers.
Amika The Kure Multi-Task Repair Treatment
The Amika The Kure Multi-Task Repair Treatment [9] (£23) is a rinse-out treatment that promises to not only hydrate your hair, but also strengthen strands and repair the hydrogen bonds that get damaged through bleaching, heat styling, and everyday wear and tear. The liquid formula (which can also be used as a leave-in treatment) contains the brand's proprietary "bond cure technology" as well as glycerin, castor oil, and plant butters. It works a treat on fine and curly hair, leaving strands soft, shiny, and not weighed down or greasy in the least.
Redken Volume Injection Shampoo and Conditioner
The Redken High Rise Volume Shampoo and Conditioner get a makeover in May. The Redken Volume Injection Shampoo [10] (£14.50) and Conditioner [11] (£16) feature the same root-lifting and body-building formula as the original — courtesy of the brand's proprietary ingredient Filloxane — just with a new name and new pretty pink packaging.
Vita Coco Scalp Coconut & Guava Hair Scrub
This month, Vita Coco — the UK's popular coconut-water brand — expands further into the beauty space with hair-care products (it also sells an organic coconut oil that can be used on the hair and body). Unsurprisingly, all of the cleansers, conditioners, and treatments in the collection contain coconut — up to 31 percent in each formula — which is sourced from small family farms. With no product costing more than £13, Vita Coco Haircare is broken up into three ranges: Vita Coco Nourish, which includes a shampoo, a conditioner, and a mask aimed at hydrating the hair; Vita Coco Repair, which is made up of a shampoo, a conditioner, and a serum to help repair damage and smooth frizz; and Vita Coco Scalp, a three-piece collection that also includes a shampoo and a conditioner as well as the Vita Coco Scalp Coconut & Guava Hair Scrub [12] (£13), which both physically and chemically exfoliates the scalp using a combination of walnut and coconut shell powder and pineapple extract.
No Knot Co Flexi Detangler Brush
The No Knot Co Flexi Detangler Brush [13] (£13.50) is the brand's newest addition to its fan-favourite line of flexible detangling brushes. Made with wavy, curly, and coily hair textures in mind, the Flexi Detangler's soft bristles gently break up knots without any pulling, tugging, ripping, or shredding — all of which can cause damage to your hair.
Flower Beauty Hair Tools
This month, Drew Barrymore [14] launches a collection of colourful electrical hair tools that you can nab at either Boots or Superdrug, and that range between £40 and £80. In addition to a couple classic tools like a blow dryer, travel blow dryer, and flatiron, there's also a round volumising brush, a funky looking rotating iron, and the Flower Beauty Ceramic Straightening Brush [15] (£50), shown here, which will help you achieve salon-worthy blowouts in the comfort of your own bedroom.
Undone by George Northwood The Volume Spray
Hairstylist George Northwood debuted his product range at Boots in February, and this month, he introduces a new styler to the range. Sprayed onto dry hair before blow-drying, the Undone by George Northwood The Volume Spray [16] (£15) adds lifts to the roots and body from the mid-lengths to ends thanks to hydrolysed wheat protein which makes hair look fuller and smoother without feeling stiff or crunchy.