5 reasons your hair needs active ingredients for see-your-reflection-in-it shine
It’s time to curate your haircare routine as carefully as your skin care one
You could probably name every active ingredient in your skin care routine in alphabetical order, couldn’t you? That’s how it works when you commit to something - you tend to gain a surplus of knowledge on the subject. But we’re here to pose a question: why aren’t you giving that same energy to your hair?
Ingredients are everything when it comes to haircare too, and reaching for the right ones is key. After all, no ingredients are going to work harder for you than actives. The good news is that you don’t necessarily have to commit a whole new slew of ingredients to memory to hit your hair goals. Some of the very same actives making up your favourite formulas for skin can help you on your journey to your glossiest, silkiest hair yet.
Here are the reasons why your hair needs an active ingredient-packed routine (as well as the specific actives and formulas you’ll need to get it there)…
Reason #1
Active ingredients seal in gloss
The active your hair needs: Glycolic acid
How to get it: L’Oréal Paris Elvive Glycolic Gloss
You’re looking to up your hair’s shine levels, right? No, we’re not mind-readers, we just get it – everyone who takes the art of haircare seriously is always looking to get a glossier finish. And if gloss is the goal, there’s truly no ingredient that rivals the great glycolic acid. Yes, the same glycolic acid that powers your exfoliating, texture-refining skin care products. In haircare its role is a little different: glycolic acid actually works to laminate the hair cuticles and seal strands with a lasting glaze. Put it to work by adding the L’Oréal Paris Elvive Glycolic Gloss range to your repertoire. Start with the Shampoo ($9.49 at Chemist Warehouse) and Conditioner ($9.49 at Chemist Warehouse), then apply the 5 Minute Lamination Rinse-Off ($14.99 at Chemist Warehouse) and leave it on for 5 minutes, before rinsing thoroughly. Lastly, simply seal in the shine with the Leave-In Serum ($14.99 at Chemist Warehouse) and admire the gloss-enhancing abilities of glycolic acid. As for how to spend the five minutes the lamination treatment takes to work its magic, we advise deep breaths (for taking in the divine grapefruit, jasmine, and cedarwood fragrance) and a bit of mental mood boarding re: your next glossy hair look.
Reason #2
Active ingredients enhance hair health
The active your hair needs: Citric acid
How to get it: L’Oréal Paris Elvive Bond Repair
Looking for an active ingredient to help your hair in the damage department? Citric acid is the one for the job. We don’t doubt you’ve used citric acid in your skin care routine before, but have you even heard of its hair benefits? They’re impressive, we must admit, as citric acid is actually known to help rebuild hair bonds and stimulate hair follicles, setting your hair up to grow longer and stronger (while also aiding with damage repair). See? Impressive. If you’re in need of benefits like these (and honestly, who isn’t?), try adding the L’Oréal Paris Elvive Bond Repair range to your shower shelf. It’s made up of a Pre-Shampoo ($14.99 at Chemist Warehouse), Shampoo ($9.49 at Chemist Warehouse), Conditioner ($9.49 at Chemist Warehouse), and Repair Serum ($14.99 at Chemist Warehouse), all of which work together to hit weak, damaged hair with the bond-repairing help they crave.
Reason #3
Active ingredients amp up shine factor
The active your hair needs: Glycolic acid
How to get it: L’Oréal Paris Elvive Glycolic Gloss
Nothing screams ‘healthy hair’ quite like radiant shine. Gloss is always the goal, and so you’ll want something on your side that helps your hair get there. Okay, back to glycolic acid and L’Oréal Paris’ Glycolic Gloss. Gloss is in the name for good reason - it literally acts as a 4-step glossing treatment. So how does shine actually work, and why is your hair lacking it? With healthy hair, the surface is actually smooth, allowing it to easily reflect light, whereas when the hair becomes damaged, that surface becomes rougher and more lacklustre, limiting the light’s ability to reflect in the form of shine. That’s where glycolic acid (and more specifically, the Glycolic Gloss range) can help. The line-up (of the Shampoo, Conditioner, 5 Minute Lamination Rinse-Off and Leave-In Serum) is devoted to sealing hair with lasting shine, leaving it luminous, smooth and ‘glassier’ than ever. As for what exactly you can expect in the results realm, we’re talking twice the shine** and 88 per cent more smoothness***.
Reason #4
Active ingredients offer superior hydration
The active your hair needs: Hyaluronic acid
How to get it: L’Oréal Paris Elvive Hyaluron Plump
Hyaluronic acid is the gold-standard in hydrating skin care, and it’s equally as determined to nix dehydration in hair as well. Naturally found in the body, hyaluronic acid has the amazing ability to retain 1000x its weight in water - as your body’s stash depletes naturally, it’s important to build it back up through your products. Enter hyaluronic acid haircare, which is designed to ‘plump’ up your hair, leaving it looking fuller, more hydrated, and visibly nourished. So if you’re noticing signs of dehydration (think: coarseness, stiffness, dullness), work a little HA into your routine with the L’Oréal Paris Elvive Hyaluron Plump range, made up of the Shampoo ($7.99 at Chemist Warehouse), Conditioner ($7.99 at Chemist Warehouse), Moisture Mask ($6.49 at Chemist Warehouse) Replumping Serum ($10.99 at Chemist Warehouse), and Wonder Water ($9.99 at Chemist Warehouse). Formulated to bless hair with a welcome ‘plumping’ effect, the range is all about filling it with extra bounce, nourishment, and of course, hydration. Hyaluronic acid doing the (beauty) lord’s work yet again.
Reason #5
Active ingredients can deliver salon-level results
The active your hair needs: Glycolic acid
How to get it: L’Oréal Paris Elvive Glycolic Gloss
We all love the look of salon-style results. What we don’t love is the time/money we have to spend to get ‘em. But just like how the latest slew of skin care formulas now feature the same ingredients the pros were applying all along, certain haircare ranges will also allow you to achieve salon-level results from your own bathroom. It all comes down to the ingredients (glycolic acid, you’re up again!). If it’s a salon-level glossing transformation you’re in need of, L’Oréal Paris Elvive Glycolic Gloss is a glossing treatment that’ll deliver the same shiny glazed effect, just without the hefty time/investment. Like to put it into perspective, instead of spending hundreds of dollars for one sitting, you can grab the whole 4-step routine for under $99 (with multiple uses in each bottle). The results even last for 10 shampoos*, making the price even more incredible. Commit to the Glycolic Gloss ritual and you’ll be blessed with glossy glass hair simply begging for a few ‘Cameron Diaz in Charlie’s Angels ‘hair flips. That’s when the grapefruit, jasmine and cedarwood scent will come back out to play, so yes, it even offers the sensory experience that comes with a salon session. We rest our case…
*Instrumental test after application of shampoo+ conditioner+ lamination treatment
**Instrumental Test after application of the shampoo and conditioner.
*** Instrumental test after the shampoo and conditioner and rinse off treatment.
Main image credits: Getty Images/BEAUTYcrew
Want more 'High Gloss' features like this? Read the rest of our digital issue.
Delaney began her career in the Australian beauty media industry in 2015, landing amidst the glossy world of women’s lifestyle magazines (or more literally, in their beauty cupboards). Since then, she has gone on to write across a multitude of beloved Australian media brands, including OK!, NW, InStyle, and Harper’s BAZAAR. She’s covered every side of beauty content, from directing beauty editorial shoots to rounding up the best glossy serums for golden hour skin. Having spent nearly a decade immersed in the beauty realm, Delaney’s knowledge of beauty is as extensive as her collection of tinted lip oils (read: extremely extensive). Delaney is currently the Digital Managing Editor of BEAUTYcrew, and her beauty wisdom also appears across beautyheaven, ELLE and Marie Claire. She enjoys channelling her personal hobby (testing beauty products) into her professional work (talking about testing beauty products), and considers perfecting the art of a cat eye in a moving car her life’s greatest accomplishment.
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