by Annie Vischer.
Philip Kingsley’s Elasticizer (£28.00) is a hair product that has more than earned its place in the beauty hall of fame over the years, and it is currently celebrating its 40th anniversary. It’s a pre-shampoo treatment come hair mask that rebalances hair, adds shine and movement, and doesn’t weigh it down with product.
It has somewhat of a fairy tale like beginning. Once upon a time a certain starlet named Audrey Hepburn visited Philip Kingsley’s London clinic. In 1974 to be precise. After a seemingly endless run of Hollywood films that made the Hepburn name, Charade, Funny Face, Roman Holiday and Breakfast At Tiffany’s, to daydream over but a few, Audrey’s hair was suffering.
Her career was at its peak, but after continuous on-set styling sessions, not to mention that infamous Breakfast At Tiffany’s streak of bleach, her hair was not at its best. Audrey applied to Philip’s unrivalled talents in hair care to create her a cure-all. This he did. And the result was Elasticizer.
Audrey loved her magic potion. Its ingredients imbibed her hair with moisture, turned its texture from coarse and dry to silken, and infused it with glossy shine. And everyone lived happily ever after. The end.
Well, not quite. Audrey kept the Elasticizer fairytale going, ordering pots to be sent to her home in Switzerland so that she was never without a constant supply. And the best part of this story? We can sample this little bit of hair magic for ourselves.
Philip Kingsley Elasticizer (£28.00) is available from PhilipKingsley.co.uk in a bathroom-cupboard-friendly pot, and in a 40th Anniversary Edition (£38.00) that includes a cotton hair towel wrap to make the process that bit more luxurious. Simply wet hair, comb through Elasticizer in sections, leave for 10-20 minutes, then shampoo and condition as usual. The next day? Swish and flick your hair to your heart’s content, because it’ll be too darned shiny to hide away in a pony tail!