A new shampoo and conditioner land on my desk just about every other day, so it takes something new and different to really get my juices flowing. When the new Drunk Elephant hair collection arrived, I got this feeling, and not just because the name Chris McMillan—Jen Aniston’s hair maestro—was front and center on each product.
Turns out, Drunk Elephant founder Tiffany Masterson has been close friends with the celeb stylist since they were young—he’s actually been her stylist all these years, too! “It’s funny to know that Chris and I have known each other since we were kids,” Masterson says. “I just watched him become this iconic hairstylist, and it was one of the things that made me think I could do a line. We were at a friend’s birthday party, we arrived at the same time. He said when we were walking up the sidewalk, ‘We should do a hair line.’ And so I was like, yes, great. That was five years ago. I knew I could formulate interesting and innovative hair products, and I knew Chris could then test them out on different hair all day, every day and give me the feedback I needed to get things right. Everything lined up the right way at the right time, and well, hair we are.”
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The four products—Cocomino Glossing Shampoo ($25), Cocomino Marula Cream Conditioner ($25), Wild Marula Tangle Spray ($25) and T.L.C. Happi Scalp Scrub ($36)—which took nearly two years to develop, share the same ingredient credo as the beloved skin-care line. This means no “Suspicious 6,” as the brand calls them: essential oils, alcohols, silicones, chemical sunscreens, fragrances/dyes and sodium laureth sulfate (SLS) that may compromise the skin’s health and/or integrity.
“I wanted to apply my unique skin-care philosophy to the scalp—because the scalp is skin, too,” says Masterson. “My customers have loved this approach for their face and have been asking for something they could use for their hair (and to be honest, I was wishing for the same thing in my own personal routine). I went back to how I started the face line: I launched six products instead of one or two. And I wanted to launch the hair line that way too. Chris and I thought, ‘Let’s give them what they need—conditioner, shampoo, tangle spray and scalp scrub.’ Just really what we feel the line needs—not following trends.”
I’m a big fan of C Firma and Lala Retro (and just about everything else Masterson makes), so you can imagine how excited I was to get my hands on the newness. First up, shampoo and conditioner: Aside from the giant smile on my face that formed as the yummy marzipan smell filled my shower, my first impression of the sulfate-free shampoo was delight at the lightweight texture. It’s less “gelatinous” than pretty much every other gel shampoo I’ve tried—so much so that it almost slipped off my hand before I could plop it on my head. I felt similarly about the conditioner, which is fluffier and less dense than standard cream rinse-out conditioners, but equally as nourishing. The combo of the two left my hair feeling clean, but not weighed down.
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The scalp scrub relies on a mix of alpha and beta hydroxy acids and biodegradable plant cellulose beads to exfoliate—the beads are a gentler option than salt or sugar, but still effective at removing buildup. Masterson says to apply the scrub to dry hair in sections, then massage it in and let it sit for up to 10 minutes before jumping in shower. Rounding out the quartet is the detangling spray, which I love—I think moms everywhere will be stocking up on this for their kids. It smells good and makes combs glide right through hair without any breakage, and zero silicones!
Although McMillan’s Instagram post revealed the collection would launch on March 1, sadly we confirmed this date is incorrect (sorry, Chris!) and the new products will hit Sephora stores and Sephora.com on April 3. It’s a little bit longer of a wait, but definitely worth it.
