The American Hair Brands To Know

Why we rate it: After moving to NYC, founder Nancy Twine set up her brand Briogeo, discovering a lack of effective  natural hair care on the market.  Standing out from the oversaturated ‘green’ market, this brand is truly performance driven – you can expect impressive results that are ‘texture-specific’, making them perfectly  tailored to your hair type. Their ‘6-free hair care’ sees all products free from silicones, sulfates, parabens, DE’s and artificial dyes – with 93-100% naturally derived ingredients and recycled packaging, it’s great hair care with a conscience.

You should buy: The Blow Dry Perfection Heat Protectant Crème, £21.50. Winner of Allure’s Reader’s Choice Award, it’s a miracle product for chemically treated or damaged hair and provides thermal protection up to 420 °F making it a necessary first step before any heat styling. Lightweight and silicone free, a blend of rosehip, coconut and argan oils hydrate, smooth and protect. It’s safe to use on keratin treated and relaxed hair.

Why we rate it: Based on the belief that luxury haircare shouldn’t cost the earth – celebrity hairstylist Kirstin Ess built an affordable brand on her 22 years of experience as a top colourist and stylist. Her range encompasses all hair types and the formulas are housed in chic, Instagrammable packaging. They’re incredibly effective, thanks to her clever Zip-Up technology – a strengthening and rebuilding complex that seals and smooths split ends and damaged cuticles, whilst protecting the hair from further damage. Her products are grouped by colour, so you can easily find what you’re looking for. All pink bottles are for use in the shower, grey for  when hair is damp or wet and black bottles are for styling.

You should buy: The One Signature Shampoo, £14.50. Part of the pink range, this sulfatefree shampoo is appropriate for everyone and leaves your hair feeling truly clean, without stripping it of its natural oils – something shampoos with sulfates tend to do. Use as you would your normal shampoo, running through the cycle twice if your hair is particularly oily or has a lot of product build up.

Why we rate it: They’re not new, in fact they’ve been available to buy here for a while, but Rita Hazan’s products are strangely still somewhat under the radar. Having carved her name in the world of colour, the self-proclaimed ‘Hair Colour Authority’ is renowned for her 5th Avenue salon, which sees the likes of Beyonce, Katy Perry and Jennifer Lopez through its doors. Her line has been specifically designed for coloured hair and all the complications that come with it: colour fade, colour change and damage – to name a few.

You should buy: The True Colour Ultimate Shine Gloss, £21, available in four tones and one clear formula, this reviving gloss is one of Rita’s salon secrets to maintaining coloured hair. An in-shower treatment; pump a handful into your hand, massage in and leave in for up to 3 minutes – the foam deposits pigments to refresh and revive dull colour as well as enhance shine. Choose from Breaking Brass, Blonde, Brown, Red and Clear.

Why we rate it: After waiting with great anticipation, last week Virtue finally made its way to the UK. Pioneered six years ago, it’s the first haircare line to use patented human keratin (Alpha Keratin 60ku), a pure, human protein, which has remained a core component throughout their line ever since. Backed by some impressive figures including a 67% reduction in frizz, 22% increase in thickness and the ability to rebuild split hairs, you won’t find this innovative ingredient anywhere else on the market.

You should buy: The award winning Restorative Treatment Mask, from £26; a deeply nourishing and regenerative treatmentsuitable for all hair types in need of some support. Apply after you shampoo, distributing the mask throughout and leave on for 3 minutes. The formula is so intensive it doesn’t need long to work. Use regularly to decrease frizz, breakage and boost elasticity.