Go Natural: Introducing Aura Botanica by Kérastase

Aura Botanica: Your Questions Answered

Aura Botanica is a new professional luxury natural origin haircare range.

Kérastase has developed a range of four products for dull, devitalized hair composed of up to 98%* of natural origin ingredients on average:

1. Micellar Shampoo formulated with 96% natural origin* ingredients and 99%** biodegradable
2. Soin Fondamental formulated with 97% natural origin* ingredients and 99%** biodegradable
3. Concentre Essentiel formulated with 99% natural origin* ingredients and 99%** biodegradable
4. Essence d’Eclat formulated with 99% natural origin* ingredients and 96%** biodegradable

The formulas are sulphate-free***, silicone-free and paraben-free, with a highly biodegradable fragrance and 2 solidarity-sourced botanical oils: Samoan coconut oil and Moroccan argan oil. With this launch, Kérastase tackled with success the challenge to offer a new hair signature, the “nude touch”, and the promise of healthy-looking glow that is complementary to its hair care DNA.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiK1CSRCyFE

Dull, devitalized hair is hair that lacks in radiance and need to be nourished. It concerns the following hair types: normal to lightly sensitized hair that can be coloured; slightly frizzy, dry to the touch; and neither too fine nor too thick.

The Aura Botanica range provides 48h durable conditioning, 72h anti-frizz and 3x shinier hair* thanks to proven highly efficient natural origin actives allied in powerful breakthrough sensorial formulae for a nude touch, lively hair and healthy glow. (*instrumental tests performed using Bain + Soin + Concentré)

Using Aura Botanica reveals the hair’s healthy glow by leaving hair that feels uncoated and weightless yet is deeply nourished with frizz control.

As a brand, Kérastase is convinced that natural and sustainable ingredients can meet performance and luxury. The brand has developed a whole range of products made of up to 98%* natural origin ingredients that deliver high performance with great visible results on hair and a highly sensorial user experience. Aura Botanica represents the brand’s belief that products with high level of natural origin ingredients can efficiently care for your hair, while also respecting and supporting the environment. In its formulas, natural origin ingredients are combined with a few synthetic ingredients, which are always of very high quality, to guarantee the quality and sensorial properties of our products.

Kérastase has made the conscious choice not to have formulas 100% of natural origin in order not to compromise performance. Despite this, the range achieves record high levels of natural origin ingredients (up to 98%* on average) and the Concentré Essentiel and Essence d’Eclat are the highest at 99% of natural origin* each.

The small percentage of the formula that is not of natural-origin ensures the high quality of the formula in terms of cosmetic usage and sensoriality. In the future, if formulae with 100% natural origin ingredients perform to the desired standards, the brand will most certainly integrate them into the platform.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYh2Yz6BLrE&list=PLzPqniy127tBQw--ddVjSXX4cIPCRQCly&index=3

The point of Aura Botanica is not to have ingredients that are exclusive or necessarily rare. What is unique about Aura Botanica is that the Kérastase laboratories started each formulation from scratch by respecting the strict requirements to develop formulas made of at least 96% of natural origin* ingredients, that are also highly biodegradable**, without silicones, sulphates*** or parabens, and with no compromise on sensorial experience and performance.

The Aura Botanica range required more than 18 months of extensive formulation work that started from scratch; more than 50 formulas were developed, in order to obtain the best candidates meeting each of the following very demanding requirements:

• High levels of natural origin and biodegradability: formulas made of 98% of natural origin* ingredients, 98% biodegradable** in average and without sulphates***, silicones and parabens
• Luxurious sensoriality and pleasurable use: unique caring textures with an aromatic fragrance to indulge the senses and beautify hair naturally without weighing it down. For example, creating a sulphate-free***, silicone-free, high natural origin shampoo that delivers a light, airy, plentiful lather to gently yet efficiently cleanse the fibre.
• Uncompromising high performance: exceptional proven results such as 48h long-lasting nutrition, 72h anti-frizz/volume control/anti-humidity, healthy glowing hair that is up to 4 times shinier (instrumental tests after application of the Bain + Soin + Concentré) and stronger (instrumental test after application of Essence d’Éclat only).

The botanical oils used in Aura Botanica, Samoan coconut oil and Moroccan argan oil, were chosen for 3 major reasons:

1. Their complementarity in fatty acids: Samoan coconut oil is particularly rich in lauric acid (saturated fatty acid). Moroccan argan oil has been used for centuries by the Berbers living in the Atlas Mountains for its richness in nutritive lipids like omega-6 (poly-unsaturated fatty acids) and omega-9 (mono-unsaturated fatty acids).
2. Their proven performance on hair: Studies in advanced research labs prove that Samoan coconut oil, thanks to its richness in lauric acid, is able to anchor itself and deeply in hair fiber. Its action on the fiber – inside and out – provides hair with protection, hydration, nutrition, suppleness, detangling. In addition to coconut oil, Argan oil brings nourishing properties to dry and devitalized hair and its efficacy has been demonstrated on softness and shine.
3. Their natural, organic and fairly traded/responsibly sourced origin: Coconut oil is a virgin natural and certified organic oil that is cold pressed from fruit harvested in Samoa, a group of 9 islands in the South Pacific. The hand-gathered coconuts are sourced from a local NGO, Women in Business Development (WIBDI). Through this project, nearly 100 Samoans receive regular income, which enables them to stay on the island and invest in health and training programs. Argan oil is natural and organic, extracted by pressing the nuts after cracking them by hand. These nuts are harvested carefully in the argan forest, a vast territory of 8000 km², listed by UNESCO as a biosphere reserve. Targanine, a cooperative of 334 women in southwest Morocco, teaches women how to harvest the argan fruit while respecting the forest, participates in reforestation and organizes literacy programs.

What is unique about Aura Botanica is that natural origin ingredients are the driving force for each formula. For example, rather than replacing sulphates in the shampoo with a chemical surfactant, Micellar Shampoo employs three natural-origin surfactants to cleanse away impurities from the fibre.

Furthermore, they are not just any coconut and argan oils, both are responsibly sourced as part of L’Oréal’s Solidarity Sourcing programs that ensures not only a fairly traded price for the oils but also commits to a quantity over time helping local communities foster sustainable livelihoods.

Ensuring a fair and sustainable price for the ingredients we use means that the costing of the formulas is quite high to manufacture. Furthermore, the experience that we have with Aura Botanica sets it as veritable luxury products. Lastly, there is a true unicity to what Aura Botanica proposes, that sets it apart as being a range able to have formulas with very high levels of ingredients from natural origin (98% natural origin on average) and biodegradability, which have assured quantifiable and proven performance, with ethical sourcing and all with a premium fine fragrance, indulgent textures and a veritable luxurious product experience. For professionals or consumers, Aura Botanica is our definition of natural luxury.

Kérastase is committed to becoming a responsible luxury brand. In the past years, we have made strong headway, as we have engaged to improve the environmental profile of both our formulas and packaging for all new product developments.

Kérastase is committed to responding to consumer’s needs and desires. We recognize that there are women to whom naturality is important, but this is not a reflection on all of our consumers. Aura Botanica will continue to be our bastion of Natural Beauty. Kérastase will continue to integrate the values of sustainability into all its products but knows that there are limits as to what nature can do, and for hairdressers or consumers in search of pure performance we will still deliver effective formulas that are as conscious and sustainable as possible.

For over five decades years, Kérastase has been inspired by nature and has included the fine, botanical ingredients in the formulation of its groundbreaking products. The 1970s saw the invention of Kéraplasma, the brand’s original plant-based hair balm. In 1980, Kérastase introduced the world’s first hair mask, Masque Kérastase à l’Huile de Germes de Maïs, enriched with maize germ oil. One year later, its first protective hair oil, Soin d’Huile Végétale, was created. In 2010, the golden Elixir Ultime signaled a new era of opulence in hair oils. Since 2013, iconic Nutritive formulas have been infused with the intense, nourishing power of iris rhizomes. Today, Aura Botanica reinforces the brand’s commitment with a complete range of products with high degrees of natural origin.

None of Aura Botanica’s products contain any artificial colorants.

The Micellar Shampoo and Soin Fondamental get their color from caramel, a natural origin botanical ingredient. The Concentré Essentiel and Essence d’Eclat do not contain any colorants.

Micellar Shampoo is formulated with natural and renewable origin surfactants (Coco Betaine, Coco Glucoside, Sodium lauroyl Sarcosinate) and not with any silicones or cationic polymers that are usually present in shampoos to give hair an instant silky feeling. These natural origin surfactants allow the formula to provide effective yet gentle cleansing which translates into the squeaky clean feeling. When paired with the Soin Fondamental (modulated or not with the Concentré Essentiel) balanced care is achieved to reveal healthy-glowing hair.

Soin Fondamental is formulated to be smart and deliver what the hair needs, no more, no less. To push cosmeticity further, the result can be modulated with the Concentré Essentiel if needed for more challenging hair types.

There are different agents that can make the hair feel weighed down, often it boils down to the way the products are formulated.

Aura Botanica is able to deliver its signature nude touch and healthy glow without weighing hair down because it has been formulated to have the ideal balance of natural oils to nourish hair while preserving weightlessness.

The Concentré Essentiel is a multi-usage product which application can be personalized according to ones need. It can be applied:

• As a pretreatment before the Micellar Shampoo on the length and tips of the hair to provide weightless care
• As a pretreatment on the scalp before the Micellar Shampoo to provide care to dry scalps
• As a nutrition booster mixed with the Soin Fondamental (advised ratio of 2 pumps of Concentré Essentiel for 10g of Soin Fondamental by the International Testing Room) - As a massage oil for the body to nourish and beautify the skin (please note that this product cannot be applied to the face)