When I told you all about the much talked about MorrocanOil hair treatment oil, I spoilt it for many of you by telling you its not available in Malaysia at this time. I did promise you I’d find you an equivalent, and I found 2. The Kerastase Elixir Ultime Oleo Complete Beautifying Hair Oil is one of them. You’ll have to wait a bit until I get to the other 😀
This Kerastase hair elixir is a blend of 4 oils – Maize, Argan, Camelia and Pracaxi to beautify your hair, transform it into silky goodness and weightless. How very intriguing! 😀 For me, its close to liquid gold for my hair 😀
The oils come in a plastic bottle with a plastic pump without a cap. You can’t quite tell from the picture but the bottle is in fact plastic. In person, it actually looks a bit cheap – eep! Now I’d be the first to bemoan the fact its plastic, but for once, I’m not going to! You see, when you are wrestling a bottle with oily hands, you do not want to be handling a glass bottle. A fact I was glad of, the day this bottle slipped and fell to the floor 😛
The pump can be locked which again is a good thing so you don’t end up accidentally hitting it and having an oily dresser. It would have been nice had they made the pump look nicer though. This hair treatment can be used before or after shampooing. Used before, its good for those with thick coarse dry hair, to prepare and coat your hair before cleansing. I tried this, and its certainly intriguing! My hair did feel nicer after washing and I needed less conditioner. Used after (when I use it most) it helps the hair feel soft and manageable.
I found it absorbs quite quickly into the hair and does not leave it feeling oily nor heavy. Even with daily use, I did not the build up I got with MoroccanOil. They do say this is for all hair types so maybe non-oily is a good thing! I blow dry my hair most nights, so this elixir does help my hair, if I remember to apply it. It also seems to speed up the blow drying times, for some reason and always leaves my hair feeling soft, smooth and oh so swishable!
There is one thing I don’t quite like – the scent. Yes, this oil is fragranced and to my nose, it smells of coconut, and its quite strong. I don’t like the smell of coconut 🙁 Granted, it smells of lightly toasted coconut not the heavy oily scent and it fades, but its there.
I’ve also tried using it on dry hair when I had problems with very stiff dry fizzy hair in the mornings. It does help tame the hair and adds a nice shine, but I couldn’t bear having that coconut scent around me all day so I only use it as a pre-blow dry treatment. I don’t smell it when I’m sleeping LOL!
Pros: Leaves hair feeling soft and manageable, Can be used before or after washing, Can be left in hair without feeling oily, Pump dispenser
Cons: A little pricey but not overly so for the brand, Plastic on the pump looks cheap, I didn’t like the fragrance
On my short hair, I use 1 pump, spread between my hairs and then into my damp hair, and then blow dry. Despite the gold bottle, the oil is actually clear or with a hint of gold tone to it depending on the lighting.
For a treat, I used this on my hair every night for a week and the results were amazing! After that I cut back to about twice a week and I do find that the effects last on my hair for up to 3 days. You’d be surprised to note that it doesn’t go as quickly as you expect, unless you have very long hair 🙂
I’m not saying this is equivalent to or even a dupe for the MorrocanOil hair treatment oil. That one has Argan Oil as its main ingredient and a bunch of silicones. By contrast, Kerastase Elixir Ultime is a blend of 4 different oils and I’m not sure if there are silicones as I’ve lost the box. The texture is different. This Kerastase Elixir is more “oily” while the MoroccanOil oil is more “silicone-y” if you know what I mean.
Barring the strong coconut scent, I prefer how the Kerastase Elixir Ultime makes my hair feel and look, whenever I do use it. Best of all, its easier to dispense (pump vs pouring from glass bottle) and is available locally 🙂 I lost my box so no ingredient list. Sorry!
Would this be something you’d like to try or perhaps you are already using it? Its available at most Kerastase salons nationwide and I don’t think it very pricey at all 😀
Paris B
The Kerastase Elixir Ultime retails for RM138/125ml at Kerastase approved hair salons nationwide. Call 03-7727 1231 for your nearest salon.
Alene says
February 17, 2011 at 4:54 pmI want!!! but i have waist length hair, boy is it gonna go fast =(
anyway i wont mind the coconutty scent as my hair already smells like after eight, it’ll be like i spread Bounty + After Eight on my head. lol.
ParisB says
February 17, 2011 at 5:03 pmAh yep! Probably make you hungry for a snack after you’re done with your hair 😉 I’d just use it on the ends though. That’s where is usually driest right?
melchewvin says
February 17, 2011 at 5:09 pmI want it too!!!!!!!!!!!!! but my hair is dry and frizzy but my scalp is oily!!!!!! will this work for me?
ParisB says
February 17, 2011 at 5:11 pmIt actually helped my dry frizzy hair. I stopped looking like a lion for a long time 🙂 And you don’t take it near your scalp either 😉 That said, I’m not an expert on these things so it might be best if you check with the salon. If they sell Kerastase products, they’ll know how to advise you which is best 😉
melchewvin says
February 18, 2011 at 5:47 pmthanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
rinnah says
February 17, 2011 at 5:13 pmThis is going on my lemming list! 😛
ParisB says
February 18, 2011 at 2:21 pmHope it’ll work for you if you get it 🙂
Stephanie/Yukaeshi says
February 17, 2011 at 6:34 pmI have a bottle of this too- and I find it works best for me when I use it a pre-shampoo treatment haha! It does work a treat 🙂 I have very thick, chest-length hair and I need to use 4-5 pumps to cover all my hair, but it’s still going strong despite being almost 3 months already. Only 1/3 the bottle is gone 😛
I’m not really a fan of the scent, though D:
ParisB says
February 18, 2011 at 2:27 pmI wish they’d made it scentless, or maybe less like coconut (to my nose) It doesn’t finish up that quickly does it? 🙂
Stephanie/Yukaeshi says
February 18, 2011 at 10:45 pmSame, I wish they’d made it scentless or lighter on the scent haha 😛 And no, it doesn’t finish very quickly thankfully!
Nikki says
February 18, 2011 at 12:39 amOoohh I’m a Kerastase haircare girl! and I haven’t tried this! I would definitely use this on my very dry ends!
ParisB says
February 18, 2011 at 2:28 pmQuick! Go and check your Kerastase counters! 😉 I think you’ll like it.
AnT says
February 18, 2011 at 11:25 amEekss, I don’t like coconut smell 🙁
By the way, I picked up a bottle of the Kao’s Essential Nuance Airy Anti-Frizz Serum from Guardian Singapore and it works wonder for me. Have you tried this? 😀
ParisB says
February 18, 2011 at 2:32 pmI don’t either, but I “tahan” for the sake of my hair 🙂 Lucky its not the very strong scent of oily coconut but more like light toasted coconut. I haven’t tried the serum you mentioned. Will check it out next time I’m in Singapore 🙂
yuki says
February 18, 2011 at 1:55 pmThe price is reasonable for a Kerastase product but coconut smelling, a huge no no for me… I don’t like the smell… I found this really good hair essence by Missa… Can’t remember how much it costs but it wasn’t more than RM50. It’s called Procure Damage Clinic Hair Essence… When u pump it out of the bottle, the essence has an oily consistency but after applying onto the hair, it’s not oily at all! Fragrance very light… apply after washing hair and once again when it’s dry… My split ends are GONE! Hair isn’t brittle anymore…
ParisB says
February 18, 2011 at 2:33 pmThanks for the rec! 🙂
cat says
February 18, 2011 at 6:11 pmThanks for review! I wanted to get this but dont want to spend RM100+ and find out it doesn’t work. but this review helps. Thanks!
ParisB says
February 20, 2011 at 6:17 pmYou’re welcome! I hope it works for you as well as it does for me 🙂
Nighat K says
February 19, 2011 at 6:45 amI have really thick wavy hair halfway down my back, and I do really like this product! Had it for ages, but still have.. *thinks*.. nearly all of the bottle! lol I use a pump or two when my hair is wet after washing, conditioning, and it leaves my hair pretty soft. I haven’t tried it as a pre wash treatment but will do now! Also.. I LOVE the smell! Can’t get enough of it! It does help my hair, but I find putting some pure coconut oil on my hair is more effective, it really thickens my hair (not that it needs it) and always leaves it in much better condition, so I would personally rate coconut oil higher.
Anyway, off I pop to consume iron tablets (doctor’s orders) and fish oil, apparently that’s really good for skin, hair and nails!
Nadia says
February 22, 2011 at 9:54 amI don’t mind coconuts and sounds like something I’ll need! *Add to shopping list*
Kim says
February 24, 2011 at 1:54 pmI was wondering which you like better, this or the Moroccan Oil?
ParisB says
February 24, 2011 at 4:13 pmI prefer this one – its lighter, easier to use and available locally. Plus it does not weigh down my hair even with daily use unlike MoroccanOil. 🙂
jenny says
March 8, 2011 at 5:28 amThis oil contains Argano oil as well as:
Pracaxi oil
Corn oil
Camellia Oil
There is also OROFLUIDO oil whick contains Argano oil as well, as flaxseed oil and cyperus oil.
Both of these products co have quite high & of Dimethiconol (silicones) in them yes.
If you guys want something silicone free and free from artificial additives then i recommend this oil frum Nuxe http://eleven.se/nuxe-huile-prodigieuse-11654.html
Wynnce says
June 22, 2011 at 10:33 amHow was this compared to Kerastase Oleo Relax Serum? I’ve never try this before.
ParisB says
June 22, 2011 at 10:36 amI’ve never tried the Oleo Relax Serum so I cannot compare.
Swati says
May 19, 2012 at 4:52 pmI prefer the oily than the silicon-y!!! thanks for saring about morroccan oil being silicon-y…I wanted to try it out but I definitely don’t want to get silicones on my hair!!!