8 minute read
The masque is the product Kérastase is genuinely famous for, and it is also the product people most often buy wrong. There are more than fifteen of them, the names are French, the jars look nearly identical on a shelf, and the difference between two of them can be the difference between hair that transforms and hair that goes limp for a fortnight.
The good news: the logic is straightforward once you know that Kérastase organises by concern, not by hair type. Work out your concern and the choice usually comes down to one or two jars.
Which Kérastase masque is best for dry hair?
Nutritive, and the choice is about how dry.
Nutritive Masquintense 200ml is for fine to medium hair that is dry. It nourishes without weighing hair down, which is the failure mode fine hair usually runs into with rich masques.
Nutritive Masquintense Riche 200ml is the same idea for thick, coarse or very dry hair. It is substantially richer, and on fine hair it will flatten everything.
Getting this pair the right way round matters more than almost any other choice in the range. If your hair went lifeless after a Kérastase masque, you almost certainly used Riche when you needed the standard version.
Which Kérastase masque is best for damaged hair?
Résistance, and there are three grades of damage.
Résistance Masque Force Architecte 200ml is for moderately weakened hair — some breakage, some split ends, but structurally still holding together. This is the everyday repair masque.
Résistance Masque Thérapiste 200ml is the heavy-duty option for severely damaged, over-processed hair — the stage where hair feels gummy when wet and snaps when dry. If you have bleached repeatedly, this is your jar.
Résistance Masque Extentioniste 200ml is built for hair you are trying to grow long, focusing on the ends and the scalp-to-length journey. If your hair never seems to get past a certain length because the ends break off, this is the one.
Première Anti-Breakage Repairing Filler Mask 200ml is the newer bonding-style option, aimed squarely at breakage from chemical processing.
Which Kérastase masque is best for coloured hair?
Chroma Absolu Masque Chroma Filler 200ml.
Built to hold colour vibrancy and restore shine to hair that has been coloured. If your colour looks dull and flat within a few weeks of leaving the salon, this addresses the shine side of the problem as much as the fade.
For a gloss-focused finish, Gloss Absolu Masque Crème Hydra-Glaze 500ml is the shine specialist.
Which Kérastase masque is best for blonde hair?
Blond Absolu, and there are two doing different jobs.
Blond Absolu Masque Ultra-Violet 250ml is the toning masque — it neutralises yellow and brass. Use it when your blonde has gone warm, not as your standing weekly treatment.
Blond Absolu Masque Cicaextreme 200ml is the repair masque for bleached hair. No toning — pure reconstruction for hair that has been through lightening.
Most blondes want both and alternate: Cicaextreme most weeks for condition, Ultra-Violet when brass creeps in. Using Ultra-Violet every wash is how blonde ends up dull and slightly grey.
Which Kérastase masque is best for curly hair?
Curl Manifesto Masque Beurre Haute Nutrition 200ml.
Curls need considerably more moisture than straight hair — the coil structure means natural oils never make it down the length. This is a rich, buttery masque built for definition and nourishment at the same time.
Curly hair is also more prone to frizz. Our guide on why hair gets frizzy and how to control it covers the technique that matters alongside the product.
Which Kérastase masque is best for fine or thinning hair?
Two options depending on the exact issue.
Genesis Masque Reconstituant 200ml is for hair that feels weakened and prone to falling — the range aimed at hair fall caused by breakage rather than the follicle.
Densifique Masque Densité 200ml targets density and body, for hair that has lost thickness over time.
For thinning with a scalp component, Symbiose Intense Revitalising Mask 200ml works on scalp condition alongside the lengths.
Which Kérastase masque is best for frizz and unruly hair?
The smoothing and anti-frizz masque, for hair that expands in humidity and takes forever to blow-dry straight. It disciplines without flattening, which is the trick most anti-frizz products get wrong.
Which Kérastase masque is best for ageing hair?
The luxury regenerating masque, aimed at hair that has lost shine, softness and vitality with age. It also treats the scalp, which is where a lot of age-related hair change actually starts.
Which Kérastase masque is best for a dry or sensitive scalp?
Spécifique Masque Réhydratant 200ml.
Spécifique is the scalp range, and this masque rehydrates a dry, tight or uncomfortable scalp while conditioning the lengths.
If you have been sun-exposed or swimming, Soleil Masque Après-Soleil 200ml is the after-sun repair masque for chlorine, salt and UV damage.
How often should I use a Kérastase masque?
Once or twice a week for most people, applied to damp — not soaking — hair from mid-length to ends, left for five minutes, then rinsed thoroughly.
Three things people get wrong:
- Applying to the roots. Your roots are the newest, healthiest hair and do not need it. This is the main cause of masques making hair go greasy.
- Applying to wet hair. Water already occupying the fibre means less of the masque gets in. Squeeze the hair out first.
- Using a repair masque forever. Protein-heavy repair masques used indefinitely make hair stiff. Once your hair is in good condition, switch to a moisture masque.
Which Kérastase masque should I buy — the short version
- Dry, fine to medium hair → Nutritive Masquintense
- Dry, thick or coarse hair → Nutritive Masquintense Riche
- Moderate damage and split ends → Résistance Force Architecte
- Severe damage, over-processed → Résistance Thérapiste
- Growing hair long → Résistance Extentioniste
- Breakage from colouring → Première Anti-Breakage Filler
- Coloured hair → Chroma Absolu Chroma Filler
- Brassy blonde → Blond Absolu Ultra-Violet
- Bleached blonde needing repair → Blond Absolu Cicaextreme
- Curly hair → Curl Manifesto Beurre Haute Nutrition
- Weak, falling hair → Genesis Reconstituant
- Loss of density → Densifique Masque Densité
- Frizz and smoothing → Discipline Maskeratine
- Ageing hair, loss of vitality → Chronologiste
- Dry or sensitive scalp → Spécifique Masque Réhydratant
- Sun, sea or chlorine damage → Soleil Masque Après-Soleil
If you are not sure which Kérastase family you belong in at all, our guide to which Kérastase range is right for you works through the shampoos and conditioners as well. And if you are torn between two masques, we are always happy to give you a straight answer — just ask.