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The Independent
18-07-2025
- Health
- The Independent
I'm a beauty writer and this £10.99 leave-in mask might beat K18's £70 best-seller
K18 has beauty fanatics going wild for its high-end hair products, from the £48 dry shampoos ( to the £65 finishing oils ( The brand's leave-in molecular repair hair mask (£70, is hugely popular, with claims that it's superior to Olaplex No. 3, one of the most popular choices for long-lasting damage reversal. K18's leave-in promises to reduce split ends, breakage and colour dulling in as little as four minutes. These claims hinge on the brand's trademarked K18peptide, which aims to produce both instant and ongoing results. As we all know, products that truly get the job done – whether a fine line-minimising anti-ageing cream or the do-it-all tool behind your bouncy blow-dry – can feel worth their astronomical prices (ahem, Dyson). Then again, if there were an affordable alternative that actually worked, I've no doubt we'd be flocking to buy it. That's why I was so happy to find a genuine alternative. Aussie styling brand Hairification launched in the UK in May this year and, in the months since, its H24 complex leave-in repair hair mask (£10.99, has caused a frenzy, with the budget formula selling out earlier this month. The two hair masks look incredibly similar, and have similar ingredients, but a huge £59 price difference. It seems like there's no way Hairification could stand up to the luxury product, so I decided to compare the two head-to-head. How I tested Testing over multiple washes over two weeks, I followed the Hairification and K18 instructions for application and passed one to three pumps through freshly shampooed hair, brushing the product through my strands before blow-drying as usual. Feeling the texture of my hair both wet and dry, I tested both formulas by these criteria: Detangling: Given that both formulas take the place of a traditional in-shower conditioner, I looked to see how easy it was to rake my usual hair brush through my hair without tugging. Volume: As someone with heavy hair, nourishing conditioners can weigh down my hair, so I compared the effect the two leave-ins had on the height (any flatness or extra bounce) around my roots and mid-lengths. Smoothing: I don't colour my hair and never have, but I do suffer mid-strand breakage from heat damage, so I was keen to establish which mask worked better to minimise any fluffiness. Shine: Everyone lusts after glossy hair, so I compared the shine between the two products. Split ends: One of the key components of both repair creams is their ability to restore fragile hair. Though I couldn't speak for their performance from a dye brightening perspective, I did closely analyse the state of my split ends before and after my series of K18 and Hairification treatments. Why you can trust IndyBest reviews Lucy Smith is IndyBest's beauty writer, covering everything from Olaplex dupes to the Babyliss Dyson alternative. She's spoken to hair stylists and trichologists about the best itchy scalp treatments and is constantly on top of the latest formulas and buzzy ingredients (think: rosemary scalp oils and carb-infused leave-in conditioners). Below, she puts K18 and Hairification's repair masks through their paces. Read her review below.
The Independent
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
I used Beyoncé's Cécred products on my curly, heat-damaged hair — here are my honest thoughts
When Beyoncé teased a new beauty brand, it was pure pandemonium online. When that was later revealed to be a haircare collection, the reception was overjoyed yet mixed. While some were banking on a wig and extensions brand (Beyoncé reportedly has countless wigs on rotation worth tens to hundreds of thousands), others were excited for a glimpse at the singer's hair secrets — and natural hair. The fact that Beyoncé grew up as a salon kid means that a lot of Cécred's core insight comes from her mother, Tina Knowles. Tina had shown how healthy and long Beyoncé's natural hair was online a few years before we even caught a whisper of Cécred, and the brand rollout showed insightful demos from both, plus an arsenal of notable hair and scalp pros like trichologist Dr Kari Williams. After six years in the making, the result is a masterfully elevated line that outperforms in both aesthetics and formulation with a powerhouse ingredients list honoring the best of science and nature globally. If you're looking for damage repair, moisture, and a power reset for the scalp, these are the strongest pillars I feel Cécred performs the best in. How I tested As a beauty editor, haircare has always been my main focus — especially scalp health, hair growth and loss, damage repair, and black-owned brands for curly-afro types. While my own hair is curly, fine (plus heat and color damaged), and finicky about what products it likes, I know it well, as well as other hair types and how formulations might respond to them. Some of the range I purchased myself and have been using for a year, and while a couple of products didn't earn five stars during my first impressions, giving them more time and learning how to make the most of them changed my mind over time. The remainder of the products were received for review and tested over a month. My expectations for Cécred's varied by product, so I've broken it down for you below: Cécred's clarifying shampoo and scalp scrub: I wanted the product to deeply cleanse and correct my unbalanced scalp, give a satisfying sensory scrub experience that's not too fine or too coarse, and to leave my hair feeling clean yet not squeaky. Cécred's moisturizing deep conditioner: I was looking for something to deeply hydrate rather than strengthen, allow for easy instant detangling after a deep cleanse, and add softness and shine to dry results after just one use. Cécred's reconstructing treatment mask: I wanted it to make hair feel and look stronger, noticeably increase strand elasticity and reduce breakage over time with fewer split ends, and to also allow for easy detangling in the shower. Cécred's fermented rice and rose protein ritual: I was expecting it to function like rival two-step protein/bond-building treatments from the likes of Aphogee, by making hair stronger, more supple, and hydrated after just one use. Cécred's moisture sealing lotion: I was looking for it to add softness, shine, and some hold to my curls, whether worn loose or in hairstyles that require some slicking down. Cécred's nourishing hair oil: To impress me, it needed to lock in moisture as hair dries, and add shine to dried hair day by day. Why you can trust IndyBest U.S. reviews IndyBest U.S. is the ultimate destination for product reviews from The Independent, all of which are a result of real-world testing. Ava Welsing-Kitcher is a beauty editor based in Los Angeles. She has a decade's worth of experience, accruing a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the products that do (and importantly don't) work. She has a particular interest in haircare products, with a focus on scalp health, hair growth and loss, damage repair, and black-owned brands for curly-afro types, making her the perfect candidate for this review of Beyoncé's brand Cécred.
