Kérastase

Kérastase is a French professional hair- and scalp-care brand founded in 1964 in Paris [5]. It forms part of L'Oréal's Professional Products Division and distributes through salons and selected retailers internationally [6]. The company positions itself around the idea of "care" for hair, and describes itself as the world's leading luxury professional haircare brand [1]. It remains active, with recent product launches and a 60-year anniversary marked in 2024.

The brand grew out of L'Oréal's research laboratories and is built on a diagnostic, salon-led model: a stylist assesses the hair and scalp before prescribing a routine of cleansing, treatment and finishing products. Its signature offer, the in-salon Fusio-Dose service, sits at the centre of that approach.

Kérastase was developed in 1964 by scientists at L'Oréal Advanced Research [5]. According to several accounts, the project was driven by the vision of François Dalle, then chairman of L'Oréal, who is credited as the brand's founder [8]. Wikipedia lists Dalle as founder while attributing the actual development to the company's research scientists [5].

The idea behind the brand was to treat hair scientifically at a time when hair routines were largely about hygiene rather than care. As the company frames it, Kérastase set out to bring skincare thinking to the hair and scalp. One stylist quoted in a NUVO Magazine feature described the original purpose as "advanced formulas that would actually treat the hair and hair fibre, and leave it in the healthiest condition possible."

Through its early decades the brand built out a line of treatment-focused products. It launched Bain Divalent in 1973, introduced its first hair mask in 1979, and added a serum for dry lengths in 1989.

In 2011 Kérastase introduced Fusio-Dose, a customisable in-salon treatment, which was reworked in 2022 with added concentrated actives. The Chronologiste and Elixir Ultime ranges followed in 2013, and from 2020 onward the brand expanded with the Genesis, Curl Manifesto and Symbiose lines. In 2024 it launched Première, which the parent company says is based on a scientific discovery that calcium in water amplifies damage to hair [6]. The same year, Kérastase marked 60 years in business.

Kérastase has been part of L'Oréal since its creation and operates within the group's Professional Products Division [6]. Sister brands inside the wider L'Oréal portfolio include Kiehl's, Lancôme, L'Oréal Professionnel, Helena Rubinstein and Carita, among others.

The brand's positioning centres on a single word: care. According to L'Oréal, Kérastase pioneered a series of haircare firsts, which it describes as "the 1st care shampoo, the 1st care for scalp, the 1st care mask and the 1st care serum" [6]. The company summarises its outlook as a "care-first philosophy that extends beyond products," organised around three pillars it labels care for hair, care for people and care for the planet. Its tagline is "You Dare, We Care."

Distribution is built on the professional salon channel. The company reports a presence in more than 60 countries and works with a large network of hairdressers and salons. Products reach consumers through salons, the brand's own e-commerce, and retailers including Sephora and Douglas [5].

Kérastase's product range spans shampoos, conditioners, masks, treatments, serums, styling products and hair oils across collections such as Nutritive, Résistance, Densifique, Genesis, Curl Manifesto and Chronologiste.

Its best-known offering is Fusio-Dose, a salon-exclusive service that combines customisable concentrates and boosters into a tailored treatment. The brand says the service offers up to 30 formulation combinations, applies in under five minutes, and uses molecules described as up to 100 times smaller than those in a conventional haircare product [2]. The company also promotes K-SCAN, a diagnostic system that uses three-light imaging and an algorithm the brand says was trained on more than 12,000 images to recommend personalised routines [1].

Across its formulas, Kérastase highlights ingredients including hyaluronic acid, centella asiatica, aminexil, argan oil and biotin, and says it draws on bio-based ingredients and biotechnology-sourced actives [4].

The company has set out a range of environmental commitments. It states that its retail shampoo bottles are made with 100% recycled plastic and are recyclable, and that a refillable shampoo system saves 82% of the plastic associated with single-use bottles [3]. Its manufacturing site in Burgos, Spain, has run on renewable energy since 2015 and operates as a closed water-loop facility, recycling the water used in production.

Kérastase reports that 63% of its ingredients were bio-based as of 2023 and has stated 2030 goals of 100% recycled plastic, 98% bio-based ingredients and fully eco-designed launches. On animal welfare, the company says it does not test its products or ingredients on animals and has pursued alternatives to animal testing for more than 30 years.

Kérastase has been associated with a series of brand ambassadors, including Emily Ratajkowski (2018), Sydney Sweeney (2024) and Demi Moore (2026) [5]. Its history and founding were profiled in a 2014 NUVO Magazine feature marking the brand's first fifty years.

Kérastase is an active, globally distributed brand within L'Oréal's Professional Products Division. Recent product launches, including the 2024 Première range, and continued ambassador signings through 2026 confirm ongoing activity.