Philip Kingsley Elasticizer
4.3
89 reviews
82% would repurchase
Package Quality: 3.8
Price: $$$
Package Quality: 3.8
Price: $$$
INGREDIENTS
Aqua (Water), Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Glycerin, Propylene Glycol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Ethylhexyl Dimethyl PABA, Olea Europaea (Olive) Husk Oil, Cetylpyridinium Chloride, Amodimethicone, Diazolidinyl Urea, Hydrolyzed Elastin, Methylparaben, Cetrimonium Chloride, Trideceth-12, Propylparaben, Sodium Benzoate.Start your review
Age: 30-35
Skin: Dry, Fair, Not Sure
Hair: Brunette, Other, Other
Eyes: Blue
I was really looking forward to trying this product as I suffer quite badly from hair breakage and was looking for something that would help reduce all the baby hair frizziness around my face and neck. This really didn't do an ounce of good for me at all. I bought the Elasticizer along with the re-moisture shampoo and conditioner and was similarly disappointed in them as well. Will be going back to K-Pak!
Age: 44-55
Skin: Sensitive, Fair-Medium, Not Sure
Hair: Blond, Other, Other
Eyes: Blue
I feel stupid shelling out for this. It made my hair feel very dry - which is opposite to how it feels with a bog standard conditioner. Cost £28 with cap. I prefer the mega cheap coconut oil mask from Superdrug which I have reviewed, that is a tenth of the price of this one, and ten times more effective. Not sure how this became so well thought of.
Age: 25-29
Skin: Combination, Fair, Cool
Hair: Brown, Wavy, Medium
Eyes: Black
One word - Godsend.
Seriously, this product has saved my life. Let me start with the dire state of my hair. First, I'm asian, so that means my hair itself is coarse. I also have natural curls/waves (which are NOT neat) and I live in Singapore, where the humidity is like 98% ALL the time. This means my hair is literally a walking frizz ball.
Last year, I went to perm my hair and I had thought that the lady did an exceptionally good job of not making it damaged from the perming. So I had false confidence on the condition of my hair and went on a spree of dyeing my hair to touch up the roots every 1.5 months after the perm. Bad idea. Coupled with using the diffuser every night to set the curls, it was Road To Disaster. True enough, just about 2 months ago (after maybe like 4 dyeing sessions), my hair started becoming extremely (and I mean extremely) dry. Regardless of my usual save-the-day conditioners, it wouldn't improve. I got a fright one day when I ran my fingers through my hair and found nothing but damaged ends, kinks and all those horrible things (somehow only on certain sections, I suspect most damaged by the hairdryer).
Solution? Snip. I thought cutting off some length would do it. However, to my horror, it did not get better. I did not realise how far up my hair the damage had gone. I had chopped off at least 3 inches and STILL my hair was in a horrible state. I could not see the shape of the new hair cut simply because the hair was so damaged and dry that it was literally hard and stick straight. There was zero movement to my hair and I was just so upset.
By now I was desperate, but being a miser, I refused to spend $200 a month on a hair treatment. I asked friends for recommendations and the Philip Kingsley Elasticizer came up. It finally arrived last night, and needless to say, I immediately put it to the test.
It's AMAZING. I left it on for 40 minutes instead of the recommended 10-20, and then proceeded as directed with the shampooing after. I left my hair to air dry without adding on my usual styling oil. This morning - soft, shiny hair I swear I have not seen for MONTHS. It's earned a permanent place in my shower and I will continue to use it regularly (I hear it only gets better with each use). The next round, I'm going to add on a heated cap.
If it's good enough for Audrey Hepburn...
Age: 30-35
Skin: Normal, Fair-Medium, Cool
Hair: Brunette, Straight, Fine
Eyes: Blue
I'm a big fan of this for giving my dry damaged hair a good treat! It leaves my hair so much softer and improves the condition so it is my number one mask. If there was one negative it's the process of putting it on - for a lazy girl like me having to wet my hair, then put it on, then shampoo off etc, means I don't use it just as much as I would like
Age: 30-35
Skin: Acne-prone, Fair-Medium, Neutral
Hair: Brunette, Curly, Fine
Eyes: Hazel
After reading all the rave reviews I thought my dry frizzy damaged color treated blond highlighted fine hair could use this. I was underwhelmed, my hair was left a little bit softer but nothing my other conditioners at less then half the price cannot do. Even applying castor oil and avocado oils before washing my hair has helped and delivered better results than this product (and only cost $8 each) I think this product is completely overpriced and Overrated.
Age: 56 & Over
Skin: Very Dry, Fair-Medium, Neutral
Hair: Brown, Wavy, Medium
Eyes: Brown
I didn't realize that I'd not reviewed this previously.
Before I get to my hair, and why I love this so much, let me add an excerpt from the Philip Kingsley website:
"The story behind Elasticizer is truly remarkable involving one of the world’s greatest beauty icons, Audrey Hepburn. She initially sought Philip’s advice in his London Clinic in 1974, concerned that her hair was in bad condition due to over processing and constant styling on set. Upon her request, Philip went to work in his Green St. Laboratory and formulated Elasticizer – the world’s first pre-shampoo conditioning treatment."
Now, getting back to my hair...
I have wavy, dry, somewhat coarse, color treated hair. The natural color has always faded easily, so even though I'm technically a medium dark brunette at the roots, by time it reaches any length at all it has a lot of red and golden tones. And, the whole natural highlights thing was a-okay until I started to get really grey at the top and around my face.
The contrast between warm and cool isn't all that flattering, and so I've been coloring my hair for close to 20 years, either by a professional or at home—which brings me to this product.
It has absolutely saved my hair on a number of occasions.
Yes, it is a "nice" conditioner when used on wet hair, and left on for a few minutes before shampooing. But, it is an AWESOME, nothing even compares conditioner, when used on almost dry , just damp hair, (not dripping wet) with heat added for a half hour or so.
(And, if you don't have a heated treatment cap, just do yourself a favor and get one! They're affordable and make maintaining hair at home so much easier!)
I think it would be great to leave on overnight, and the company does recommend this in a video they produced, but I've had problems in the past with allergic reactions (itching, swollen lymph nodes) when I try leaving any conditioner in my hair and sleeping in it. It just doesn't work for me, although I've never tried it with this exact product.
It isn't that easy to obtain Elasticizer in the US. Although it currently is available on Amazon. I've ordered directly from the manufacturer in the past... I don't particularly like the large tub size with the pump, just because the product is so thick that the pump does not work that well, and I end up scooping up with my fingers anyway.
Used as it is intended to be used, it is just incredible. I've used high end products that I love (almost anything Oribe) mid range ones that are favorites too, such as One n' Only, and some drugstore hair products But none of them compare with the results I get with this pre-shampoo conditioner. It totally rocks.
Remember to use it no closer than 48 hours before or after color or other chemical processing. If used at the same time, it could possibly interfere with hair taking/keeping color. I try to make the effort to use both before and after, especially when higher volume bleach is involved.
Age: 36-43
Skin: Combination, Olive, Not Sure
Hair: Brown, Other, Other
Eyes: Brown
Good product but the Elasticizer Extreme blows this out of the water. I have bought and used both of them, and compared to the Extreme version I think the original Elasticizer is a decent pre-shampoo treatment but its results are not as impressive or noticeable as Extreme's. My hair looked and felt okay (actually better than okay) after using this but there was no "wow factor". It didn't seem worth the extra effort and expense. Unlike the Elasticizer Extreme- that's a product that I will buy again and again!
For reference my hair is thick, dry, wavy-texture, color-treated, and I heat-style it regularly. So it needs a little extra TLC from time to time. I will stick to buying the Elasticizer Extreme.
Age: 30-35
Skin: Dry, Fair, Not Sure
Hair: Blond, Other, Other
Eyes: Brown
I love this product! My mushy slimy bleached hair actually looks and feels like human hair just after one use. I just had my hair bleached twice at a salon last week and to say it was damaged is an understatement. FYI I had medium brown hair that was bleached, colored and toned to a pretty level 10 cool blonde. Nice color but now my hair is fried. I purchased this philip kingsley elasticizer hoping for a miracle and got one. Will def repurchase and felt this product blows kerastse mask out of the water in terms of delivering results. The other saving grace products (in case there is someone else in the same boat and I can help) was a Aphogee two step protein treatment from Sally beauty, joico k pack reconstructor, pure argon oil, and infusium spray in treatment.
Age: 36-43
Skin: Combination, Other, Not Sure
Hair: Blond, Other, Other
Eyes: Green
Disappointment. I have fine hair and with this product makes it waaaay too soft. Will not buy again
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ddha
on 6/4/2016 4:06:00 PM
More reviews by ddha
Age: 30-35
Skin: Dry, Fair, Neutral
Hair: Blond, Wavy, Fine
Eyes: Blue
The Philip Kingsley Elasticizer didn't do anything for my hair. I noticed no difference.
There are other options that work slightly better for me - the Elasticizer Extreme and Kerastase also has a similar product.
My hair - fine, but I have a ton of hair. Long, wavy, and can be frizzy. It's a dark blonde that's been lifted up to a very pale blonde, so it's dry and damaged and tangles easily. Additionally, the water in LA is not the best (even with a filter), which exacerbate dryness.
Price - 150mL is $51.00 USD. There are also bigger and smaller jars available. It's a pain to get in the US. I order directly from Philip Kingsley's site. Shipping is very slow and expensive, unless they are running a special. As a positive, they do throw in some samples/extras and there's usually a 10% off code floating around.
Overall, I'm not disappointed that this didn't work because I went through a big jar really quickly, making this pretty expensive per use.
2 of 2 people found this helpful.