Redken vs Kerastase (The Definitive Guide)

By Calum Torrington • Dec 9, 2022

Isn’t it just so great when a single brand has everything you need? More specifically, when you find the perfect haircare team—what bliss.

As we all know, it can be a looong journey when it comes to finding a brand and formula that works for your hair and its needs. So, today we’re talking about trios that have and do it all: shampoos, conditioners, and hair masks.

Enter: Redken’s All Soft Heavy Cream Hair Mask, All Soft Shampoo, All Soft Conditioner and Kerastase’s Resistance Hair Masque, Resistance Shampoo, and Resistance Conditioner.

While both brands have garnered considerable hype over the years, let’s find out which one is good enough to be your go-to.

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Redken vs Kerastase

Designed to combat the woes of dryness, Redken’s All Soft shampoo and conditioner are made with argan oil and soy protein which aims to moisturize hair from root to tip.

The result? Softer, shinier, more manageable tresses. For the sake of taking your haircare regimen a step further, the All Soft mask is a deep conditioning, anti-frizz hair treatment that restores strength to your strands.

Made with argan oil, gold camelina, avocado oil, olive oil, and silk amino acid, this mask packs a seriously nourishing punch. Just leave it on for five minutes after shampooing, et voila.

But don’t take it just from us—the ratings and reviews about this trio speak volumes. On Ulta.com, the shampoo has 4.2 stars with 972 reviews; the conditioner has 4.5 stars with 770 reviews; and the mask has 4.8 stars with 203 reviews.

Kerastase’s shampoo and conditioner were created with proteins and amino acids to gently cleanse and revitalize weak, brittle hair.

Formulated with resurrection plant sap, ceramides, and the brand’s pro-keratin complex, this pair will help to rebuild, strengthen, and hydrate damaged hair.

Moreover, Kerastase’s mask was created to penetrate the core of your strands to repair their elasticity.

It achieves this through the impressive list of superstar ingredients such as gluco-peptide, wheat protein derivative, and native plant cells.

Further, Sephora.com reveals that the shampoo has a 4.0-star rating with 156 reviews; the conditioner has a 4.2-star rating with 140 reviews; and the mask has a 3.9-star rating with 37 reviews.

On Ulta, Redken’s shampoo and conditioner are $24 for a 10.1oz bottle (with other sizes available, FYI) and $27 for an 8.5oz bottle of the mask. Sephora lists Kerastase’s shampoo at $35 for an 8.5oz bottle and the conditioner as $40 for a 6.8oz bottle, while the mask is $64 for a 6.8oz jar.

Thus far, it appears that Redken not only has better ratings, but is also cheaper than Kerastase. However, maybe diving a little deeper into brand ethics will help you to make a sounder decision.

According to Redken’s site, L’Oréal, the parent company of Redken, no longer tests any of its products on animals.

However, Cruelty-Free Kitty and Ethical Elephant both have reported that Redken isn’t cruelty free as recently as June 2022. (And it’s unclear if there have been any new developments in their cruelty-free efforts since then.)

Sustainability-wise, it seems that Redken began using sustainable packaging in early 2021, with at least 93% recycled plastic. Moreover, we couldn’t find any information about charitable efforts from Redken.

Packaging is at the forefront of Kerastase’s sustainability pledge, which is now made from 20%-95% recycled materials.

They also offer refillable shampoo bottles and pouches for repeated reuse. They aim to replace more than 60% of their product packaging with recycled packaging by 2025 and have 100% of their plastic come from a recycled source by 2030.

Though they claim to be cruelty-free, Cruelty-Free Kitty reports that they may test on animals via suppliers or third parties. And while they aren’t 100% vegan, they do offer some vegan options.

While Redken’s ethics and sustainability efforts are a tad disappointing, we can understand the appeal of saving money and opting for a more quality product. So, go forth and treat your tresses to the victor.