Earlier this year, Beyoncé launched her highly anticipated hair-care line, Cécred. We at the Cut love to tell you what’s worth buying and what you don’t need to waste your money on. So we had seven team members — with wildly different hair patterns, from fine to curly — spend six weeks testing the line.
There’s been a lot of controversy on whether or not Beyoncé actually uses it on her hair. Her hairstylist, Neal Farinah, often posts photos saying he uses the products. Still, today she posted a video showing us her natural long hair and her routine including the Fermented Rice-and-Rose-Protein Ritual, the Moisturizing Deep Conditioner Mask, and the Moisture-Sealing Lotion. “The stigma and misconception is that people who wear wigs don’t have long and healthy hair. That’s some bullshit,” she said in a voiceover. She says her hair has never been so long and moisturized since using the products, and some of us definitely agree.
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How many Cécred products are there?
Cécred’s foundation collection is eight products: Clarifying Shampoo and Scalp Scrub ($38); Moisturizing Deep Conditioner Mask ($38); Hydrating Shampoo ($30); Reconstructing Treatment Mask ($42); Fermented Rice-and-Rose-Protein Ritual ($52); Moisture-Sealing Lotion ($38); and a Nourishing Hair Oil ($44). According to the website, there’s a hydrating conditioner coming soon.
What are the ingredients in Cécred products?
Ingredients include shea butter, honey (of course), squalane, rose, a patent-pending tech bioactive keratin ferment unique to the brand, and more. The blend of rich ingredients deeply nourishes the hair and brings hair back to life.
What did the team think of each Cécred product?
Everyone really really liked the Clarifying Shampoo and Scalp Scrub and the Moisturizing Deep Conditioner. Mostly everyone liked the Hydrating Shampoo and the Reconstructing Treatment Mask. Some products like the Fermented Rice-and-Rose-Protein Ritual as well as the Moisture-Sealing Lotion and the Nourishing Hair Oil were hit or miss, depending on the hair texture. Keep reading to see.
What do stylists think of Cécred?
NYC-based hairstylist Akia Thompson said the consistency of most of the products was something she’d never experienced. “The lather leaves the hair so smooth, it feels like butter,” she said after using the Hydrating Shampoo and Deep Conditioner Mask. The one product she hesitated about was the two-step Fermented Rice-and-Rose-Protein Ritual. “The hair becomes a bit stiff and lacks movement following the application of the protein powder,” she says, but once the second step, the silk rinse, is used, it restores softness and movement in the hair. Her favorite product as an expert who used everything on the market would probably be the Clarifying Shampoo and Scalp Scrub: “You almost never find a clarifying shampoo that doesn’t strip your hair,” she said.
Asia Milia Ware
Hair concerns: dryness, breakage, split ends, especially on leave out, product buildup
I tried Cécred on my hair (which is permed so dry and often prone to a lot of breakage) as well as on my weave. While my hair is not currently bleached, it’s had its fair share of processing, and it’s often braided under weaves, thus lacking moisture.
My hair reacted very well to the following products: the Clarifying Shampoo and Scalp Scrub, the Reconstructing Treatment Mask, and the Nourishing Hair Oil, which I’ve been using every single day. I work out daily so my scalp is no stranger to buildup, but the clarifying shampoo cleansed my scalp without leaving my hair feeling dry. (It’s rare to find a clarifying shampoo that removes build-up from the scalp while hydrating the hair and not over-stripping it.)
The first time I tried the mask at Cécred’s press day I was blown away and trying it on my own was no different. I have very damaged hair and this visibly reverses the damage and makes my hair feel soft and leaves my normally dull hair with a luscious shine. Lastly, the oil doesn’t just sit on top of my hair, instead it absorbs into my hair leaving it with a natural shine and feeling soft. I’ve been using this following my workouts and it brings my hair back to life. My hairstylist, Thompson, noticed how seamlessly my hair blended with my weave because of the shine from the products, especially when finishing off with the oil.
Would you spend your money on it? I already did! I ran out of a few of the products and I already re-ordered the reconstructing treatment mask and the moisturizing deep conditioner. I’d also re-buy the clarifying shampoo and scalp scrub and the oil.
Emily Leibert
Hair concerns: color brightness, curl volume/shape, product buildup
about eight times throughout the trial period. My hair is naturally curly (or wavy, depending on the day), and I often fight frizz and unshapely curls. It’s at its best when the va-va-voom is dialed up — when I’ve got some volume lifting my roots, and the curls are well-defined and tightly coiled.
Spoiler alert: My hair took especially well to the Clarifying Shampoo and Scalp Scrub, as well as the Fermented Rice-and-Rose-Protein Ritual (which has become a semi-weekly ritual and beauty meditation that I looked forward to as functional and spiritually refreshing.) My hair hasn’t been this silky or smooth in a long time. It felt nourished and properly cared for, unlike its normal state: dry, sometimes brittle, and holding on for dear life. While my curls were far better defined, I’m not sure they coiled more tightly than I’d hoped.
I was also looking to see how the products impacted my blonde coloring, which seemed to have a neutral effect. I wound up using my regular purple conditioner alongside washes to make sure the blonde didn’t get brassy, but I don’t think the products made the situation worse by any means.
Would you spend your money on it? I will continue using and buying the products, though I’m not sure I’d invest in the entire suite. I didn’t end up using the hair oil because I have pretty oily roots already. Still, I imagine I’ll end up repurchasing the Clarifying Shampoo & Scalp Scrub, Hydrating Shampoo, Moisturizing Deep Conditioner, and Fermented Rice & Rose Protein Ritual.
Hanna Flanagan
Hair concerns: damage, flat/limp hair, breakage
I tested the Clarifying Shampoo & Scalp Scrub, Moisturizing Deep Conditioner, and Reconstructing Treatment Mask on thick, color-treated hair with heat damage and breakage. I’m shocked to report that the shampoo and conditioner combo has been an absolute game-changer for me. I’m constantly testing new hair-wash products for work, but the results rarely wow me. Either they don’t make a noticeable difference or make my hair feel tangled and dry; it’s hard for me to find shampoos and conditioners that drastically improve my hair health and texture. That is until I tested Cécred. After just one use, my hair was soft, silky, and so easy to style. My blow-dry brush effortlessly glided through my mane without encountering tangles or dry patches — my hair looked (and felt!) so damn smooth, I couldn’t stop running my fingers through it.
I slick my hair back into a bun or braid several times a week using hair masks, oils, pomades, and waxes, which creates a lot of product buildup. The Cécred clarifying shampoo gives me the most satisfying deep clean and gently exfoliates my scalp, leaving me with that squeaky-clean feeling after every wash (no matter how much product I had in my hair before jumping in the shower). And as mentioned above, the conditioner has worked wonders on the texture of my hair, which makes it so much easier to blow-dry and style.
I was surprised I could go three to four days without washing my hair because a conditioner as hydrating as the Cécred one would normally make my hair look greasy after less than a day. Even on days two and three, my hair never felt oily or weighed down. I was also surprised by the liquid-y, lotion-like consistency of the hair mask — most hydrating hair masks are thick and gloopy, but this one was lightweight and comfortable to wear for hours at a time.
My favorite products were the Clarifying Shampoo & Scalp Scrub and Moisturizing Deep Conditioner. The Reconstructing Treatment Mask is solid. It helped hydrate my locks but it’s not as special as the other two products I tried; it’s on par with other moisturizing hair masks in my collection.
Would you spend your money on it? Yes! I’m almost out of the shampoo and conditioner and will repurchase both of them.
Chinea Rodriguez
Hair concerns: dryness, heat damage, split ends/breakage
I used every product at least once and the Clarifying Shampoo and Scalp Scrub, Moisturizing Deep Conditioner Mask, and the Nourishing Hair Oil at least once a week for six weeks. I have curly type 4 hair that is heat-damaged and very dry, so my curls are not uniform.There is usually a period between washes where the ends of my hair start to feel and look like straw. That hasn’t happened at all within the last few weeks. Also, it takes a lot less work to get a curl. My freshly washed hair usually looks pretty stringy but I got a curl without adding any product.
I tend to use lightweight conditioners with a lot of slip that wash out very easily so I was hesitant to try a heavier mask. The moisturizing mask turned out to be one of my favorite products, it was a thick cream but washed out easily.
My favorite product was the Clarifying Shampoo and Scalp Scrub. Clarifying shampoos are usually very drying (and I already have very dry hair). But this clarifying shampoo doesn’t dry out my hair and smells like rosemary and mint. Plus: It rinses out every last bit of gel, mousse, and oil in my hair and leaves it feeling moisturized (and not too squeaky clean).
Would you spend your money on it? Yes, absolutely. I use a lot of product and I’ve barely made a dent in these.
Cortne Bonilla
Hair concerns: dryness, dermatitis
I used the products several times over three weeks. I have 4B natural hair that I usually get silk pressed. Unfortunately, because of my allergies, my scalp felt a bit itchy with the hair oil. However, the scrub and shampoo worked wonders on my hair, and the deep conditioner made it easier to blow dry — usually, it takes me three hours, and with it, it only took two. (I take my wins where I can.) Plus: I usually have to add moisture back in (I have a lot of hair and it seems to eat any product up, to the point of having to use more of it for a reaction.) The good news is that I didn’t have to use too much of the shampoo before my hair felt and looked clean, which was surprising.
Would you spend your money on it? The Clarifying Shampoo and Scalp Scrub will be repurchased. For someone with dermatitis, a scrub is essential. The Nourishing Hair Oil? Not so much.
Joanna Nikas
Hair concerns: flatness
I used the Hydrating Shampoo for six weeks and paired it with the Moisturizing Deep Conditioner Mask. Every week or so I would also use the Clarifying Shampoo and Scalp Scrub, for when my hair needed more cleaning. The first time I used it I was amazed by the volume I got almost instantly, I looked like I got a ’90s blowout, but had just let it air dry. In the next six weeks of using it, I noticed that my hair had fewer split ends and felt hydrated. The greatest improvement was in flatness. I have some lift and bounce in my hair now, which is hard to get without using a product.
Would you spend your money on it? I would buy the Clarifying Shampoo and Scalp Scrub and the Moisturizing Deep Conditioner Mask.
Danya Issawi
Hair concerns: dryness, frizziness, tangling, maintaining volume
I used Cécred for about four weeks. I loved the smell of the products but didn’t like the bottle designs (some of the lids were just a tiny bit cumbersome to screw on or off, especially if my hands were wet or had remnants of other products on them.)
The product that made the greatest impression on me was the Moisture-Sealing Lotion as post-hair-wash care. I used it on damp hair after showering and my hair loved the extra moisture at first. But I started applying too much and found my hair weighed down (and a bit greasy the next day) by the product. So I adjusted my use to smaller portions and focused on using the product toward the ends of my hair, rather than root-to-tip. My hair was much easier to brush through after I figured out how to use it. I felt like I had less frizz throughout the day and my hair overall felt more manageable.
Would you spend your money on it? I would buy the Moisture-Sealing Lotion and the Clarifying Shampoo and Scalp Scrub.
Asia Milia Ware , 2024-04-22 23:50:46
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