I Tried Beyoncé's New Hair-Care Line Cécred and It's 100% Worth the Hype
Out of all the celeb brands I've tried, it's the most impressive.
Cécred
For Black women, hair care is more than a routine. It's a sacred — excuse me, Cécred — ritual. Our hair is far from simple, and caring for it requires not only time and patience but also intentional and efficacious products. With this in mind, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter set out four years ago to create her new hair-care brand, Cécred.
"The journey of creating Cécred has taken years, and I’m so proud to finally reveal what we’ve been working on,” says Knowles-Carter in a press release. “My entire life and career, I’ve worn my hair in so many different ways: natural, flat-ironed, braids, colored, weaves, wigs. I want everyone to have the freedom to express their hair in ways that make them feel good, so I began by creating the essentials for hair and scalp health."
The line features eight products: A Clarifying Shampoo & Scalp Scrub ($38), Hydrating Shampoo ($30), Moisturizing Deep Conditioner ($38), Reconstructing Treatment Mask ($42), Fermented Rice & Rose Protein Ritual ($52), Ritual Shaking Vessel ($20), Moisture Sealing Lotion ($38), and Nourishing Hair Oil ($44).
As a beauty editor, I've tried heaps of celebrity beauty brands through the years. It's easy to tell when a celebrity is involved in their brand and cares about making it the best it can be versus slapping their name on a bottle. After spending a morning with Beyoncé's longtime stylist, Neal Farinah, and Mrs. Tina Knowles herself, a longtime hairstylist who fueled her daughter's love of hair care working in her salon, it became clear to me that Cécred is the real deal. Although the products are launching in an oversaturated market, they bring something new to the space. After going through "relentless" clinical, salon, and lab testing, the products are innovative and effective — able to stand on their own independent of their superstar creator.
During my time spent with Farinah and Mrs. Knowles at the Neal Farinah Salon in Brooklyn, I learned that although Beyoncé is no stranger to protective styles, she takes great care in ensuring her strands stay strong and healthy. In fact, growing up in her mother's salon environment, she's been concocting her own masks and potions for nearly four decades. To formulate products for her brand, she teamed up with top-level scientists to get the results she wanted without playing kitchen chemist. Of course, the brand centers textured hair, but it's formulated so anyone can use it. With this launch, Knowles-Carter wants to dispel the myth that Black hair doesn't grow or that we can't chemically treat our hair without heaps of damage.
Cered
"As a Black founder, it was important to me to concentrate on where I saw the greatest need for healthy haircare and to place scientific innovation and product performance above all else," says Knowles-Carter. "We started by prioritizing the needs of textured hair like mine, along with other types and textures that need more moisture and strength. My vision is to be an inclusive force of excellence in the hair-care industry while celebrating hair rituals across global cultures and helping dispel hair myths and misconceptions on all sides."
Cécred is centered on the brand's patent-pending Bioactive Keratin Ferment. It's made from wool-derived keratin, honey, and lactobacillus ferment, and designed to replace the proteins in hair that get depleted from heat and chemical treatments. The ferment has a super-low molecular weight so that it can deeply penetrate the hair cortex and work its magic, restoring shine, strength, and softness.
To no one's surprise, the products are just as stunning as they are functional. The bottles are textured and statuesque, lending any bathroom a luxe, objet d'art feel. Plus, each one is laced with the brand's signature scent — Temple Oud, which has notes of oud, Australian sandalwood, warm musk, night-blooming jasmine, Haitian vetiver, and violet leaves.
Ahead, find an overview of the products, including all the key details and my honest thoughts.
Clarifying Shampoo & Scalp Scrub
Cecred
A refreshed scalp and cleansed strands are the foundation of any hair-care routine. Without this, any nutrients you apply will sit on top, creating buildup rather than sinking in deep and nourishing. This shampoo features fermented willow bark extract (a natural source of salicylic acid) to exfoliate chemically, along with microcrystalline cellulose (fine wood-derived crystals) to exfoliate physically. I love this combination because it gets your hair and scalp super clean without being stripped. Plus, the crystalline beads are super gentle as I rub them across my scalp, and they dissolve pretty quickly, so I'm not left trying to rinse hard beads from between my coils. The formula also has tea tree oil, which lends a soothing tingle that feels (and smells!) divine.
Hydrating Shampoo
Cecred
As far as I'm concerned, my hair is not clean unless I lather-rinse-repeat. So I love that after getting a deep clean with the scrub, I can go in with this hydrating shampoo. The formula boasts hyaluronic acid, an African oil blend, and phyto-collagen to nourish, hydrate, and moisturize while cleansing. Plus, it's got a ton of slip.
Moisturizing Deep Conditioner
Cécred
Now, we get into the treatments. The line offers three options, starting with the moisturizing deep conditioner. It blends shea and murumuru butters, an African oil blend, and the keratin complex to nourish dull and dehydrated strands back to health. It's thick and silky, giving my hair everything I want out of a deep conditioner, and it's worth noting that the line doesn't have a regular conditioner, just this intensive formula. As someone who has literally never used a quick in-shower conditioner (because coils require moisture), I'm here for this. But, a hydrating conditioner is in the works and soon to come.
Reconstructing Treatment Mask
Cecred
This reconstructing mask is where the Bioactive Keratin Ferment really gets to shine. It combines this reparative blend with hydrolyzed rice and wheat protein, sea buckthorn oil, vitamin E, and squalene to replenish proteins and seal the cuticle for a smooth finish. There's lots of chatter around protein treatments and how often you can safely use them. This is a mask you can use monthly, but it's worth noting that Mrs. Tina says she uses it weekly to keep her hair strong.
Fermented Rice & Rose Protein Ritual
Cecred
This is hands down the most exciting product in the line. It's a powder that gets mixed with water for a fresh and potent treatment. Mrs. Tina shares that she's gone through the process of making fermented rice water herself, and though she loved how it healed her hair, she didn't love that it took days to make. So, Cécred scientists took fermented rice protein and hydrolyzed it into a powder. When blended with water, the proteins come to life and give you that fermented goodness in 30 seconds. (Grab the below vessel for easy mixing). The mixture is poured on the hair, left to sink in (either on its own or with heat for increased penetration), and then followed up with the Silk Rinse to replenish moisture. It's a treatment designed for super-damaged hair, and it's something you do every three months max. And because this box includes four treatments, you get a year's supply.
Ritual Shaking Vessel
Cecred
To make the mixing and application process for the Fermented Rice & Rose Protein Ritual a bit easier, you can grab this vessel. Add the powder, fill it with water, and shake. Then, change the screw head to the nozzle for targeted application.
Moisture Sealing Lotion
Cecred
This lotion is key for your wash-and-gos and other natural stying. It's made from a blend of emollients that smooth the hair, seals in moisture, and provides a light hold for coil-and-curl definition.
Nourishing Hair Oil
Cécred
This oil is incredibly luxurious and lightweight. It comprises 13 oils and plant extracts — including sea buckthorn, baobab, moringa, black seed, castor, sunflower seed, watermelon seed, olive, sweet almond, flaxseed, golden jojoba, argan, and coconut — to seal in moisture and add shine. I love that it adds shine without weighing down my strands, so I can keep my hair light and flowy.
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