Kerastase Hair Repair

After years of proper salon coloring, I made the mistake of trying DIY on a friend's recommendation. She used Whole Foods boxed dyes habitually and had shiny, healthy-looking hair. Despite my better judgment, I began to believe paying professionals was a waste.

Perhaps store-bought formulas work well for a quick color refresh, but (shockingly) not dramatic, light to dark modification. Two full years later, I'm still working to restore my mane to its pre-January 2011 length and strength.

Care and maintenance are money-suckers, but an "accessory" you wear daily deserves top-tier attention. To right the self-inflicted wrong, I enlisted damage control deity Kerastase.

It's challenging to focus on just a few items on the site teeming with luxury tools, but Fibre Architecte is a solid place to start. The serum reconstructs by filling in eroded fibers. Between the sealing of split ends and smoothing finish, that covetable, just-cut feel lasts for days.

Intended as a twosome, Ciment Thermique maintains the healthy foundation Fibre Architecte lays. Activated by heat, the leave-in milk protects locks from the styling stress of dryers and irons while fortifying from within.

That winter lucidity lapse still haunts me, but with any luck — and the corrective capacity of Kerastase — I'll again have the hair of 2010.

If you want to test the powers of the luxury brand before buying, visit The Wow Bar, on 50th and France, where you’ll be prepped for a bouncy blowout with Kerastase, Rahua and Jason Deavalon products.