KERASTASE on EBAY:  Sometimes it might be better to just pay full price.....or buy regular L'Oreal for 90% less the cost.....

I decided to get on Ebay and look for Kerastase products to save myself a little money.  I went into a little buying frenzy because the prices were so good.  I made sure to read the entire listings, particularly to make sure the product was NEW and guaranteed authentic (because AS USUAL anything remotely desirable has a counterfeit version).   I even asked questions about the items first to further ease my worries in receiving fake products. Unfortunately, I didn't think about asking about them being OLD products.

Then all of my goodies started arriving on the porch (isn't Ebay fun?) and I was ripping the boxes open like it was Christmas morning.  Everything looked normal, nothing looked "abnormal" with the first few shipments.  But when I went to use the products, I noticed something drastically different - nothing SMELLED like it was supposed to.  As you probably already know, Kerastase products smell absolutely delightful.  This is half the joy of using them.  On top of the pleasant aromas, they are some of the best haircare products on the market if you are looking to transform damaged or color treated hair.  I'm a hair product junkie and I was really surprised that these products actually DO make a difference, particularly for my color treated hair.

Now, back to what arrived in the mail.  I'm STILL not sure if the products were just really old....or really fake.  Considering a shampoo bottle is one of the easiest things in the world to duplicate exactly, I'm not sure what to think.  If anyone out there has any pointers on what to look for to tell whether or not a Kerastase product is authentic or not by looking at the packaging, I would love it if you would contact me.

The sad thing is that I bought over $300 worth of Kerastase products on Ebay and was disappointed with about half of it.  I was happy with a few items and they seemed to be normal, reasonably fresh products (one seller "Hairgume" in France had new, fresh, authentic items). But many of the others seemed to be fairly old. Either they were visibly old....or looked new but smelled old (you know that unpleasant smell that old beauty items get).  I was REALLY regretting spending that much on a bunch of products that are probably too old to really benefit my hair or too smelly for me to actually enjoy using.  I ended up trying them all (the ones that didn't smell yucky) and did have fairly good luck with how they worked, even if I didn't get the pleasant smell that I have been accustomed to.

My hair stylist always uses a light misting of Kerastase hairspray on my hair after she styles it and I usually say "mmmmm" out loud because the spray smells so good.  The hairspray I got off of Ebay did not only not make me go "mmmm" it actually made me go "yuck".  How hairspray can get so smelly is beyond me.  It smelled almost like gasoline or something.  Some terrible chemical smell.   The products that I received from this one (new "0 feedback" seller who now has HORRIBLE feedback) seller had all the expiration dates scratched off (like the paint on the can was scraped off) and also the bar codes.  The products were obviously VERY old and the seller was trying to cover that up.

So, anyway, I did the usual...started Googling and here is some information that I found and wanted to share:

From Vogue Australia Forum:  "be careful of ebay some sellers are selling fake kerastase!"

From Amazon.com Seller:  "NOTE: OUR KERASTASE IS MADE IN EUROPE BY KERASTASE, NOT CHINA!!" (China is where most counterfeits are made)  "L'Oreal has ingeneously made Oleo Fusion almost impossible to counterfeit. Here's how it works. Firstly, there is a tiny amount of activator powder stored in the inside rim of the cap. To correctly open a vial of Oleo Fusion, unscrew the cap about .5 inches then shake the vial well. Proceed to open another .5 inches then shake well again. Unscrew the cap completely, then replace and shake well. Then, and only then, is the product ready to use. I wish L'Oreal would do something similar to the Aqua Oleum and Vita Ciment. This would put a SERIOUS dent in the fake Kerastase market."

FROM KERASTASE:  Kérastase is only available through our website and Kérastase Consultant Salons. When you see Kérastase for sale anywhere else, this is known as diversion.  Diverted products can be counterfeit, diluted formulas, or old, expired formulas that may not be safe to use. Contaminated or counterfeit products could cause irritation or even infection.

FROM THE WASHINGTON POST:  "French cosmetics firm L'Oreal has taken legal action against eBay in five European countries. According to the reports, L'Oreal alleges that eBay allows the sale of counterfeit cosmetics and perfumes through its website."   (As I'm sure you know, Kerastase is made by L'Oreal)

I then went to Tradekey . com (the site out of China that deals almost exclusively in counterfeit goods) to see what I could find.  While there were many people looking to buy Kerastase, there were only a few people selling it and one was in the US and one was in the UK.  Usually there are numerous sellers (sometimes hundreds) from China selling the counterfeit version of almost any designer or highly desireable item such as Kerastase.  So, I'm not sure if the counterfeit market is very large for these products or I would have found a number of sellers from China offering Kerastase for sale.

So, this leads me to believe that the products I received were more than likely just very old. While there may be some counterfeit versions on Ebay, I think the good prices may be due to the products being expired.  But you can find some sellers who own or work at a registered Kerastase salon and they could be getting the products at a discount and selling them for reduced prices on Ebay and they might actually be fresh.  Just be sure to confirm this with the seller before making a purchase. Ebay is a great place to save a ton, you just have to be careful and ask plenty of questions to avoid being disappointed.

I would suggest asking questions about ANY Kerastase item you plan to purchase before hitting the "bid now" or "buy it now" button!  (Or you may end up VERY disappointed as I was)

Things to ask:

1.  How long has the seller had the items?

2.  Where did they purchase the items?

3.  Are the product codes clearly visible?

4.  If the item originally came in a box, is the box included?  If not, why?  (Many times the seller does not include the box because expiration codes are sometimes located there. Other times it is just because the box is damaged in some way.)

5.  Are the seals in tact? (on products that come with the white seal)

6.  If the seller is selling professional size items or items available only at a salon (such as treatments), how did they aquire them? 

7.  Does the seller guarantee authenticity?

8.  Does the seller guarantee product freshness?

In addition, I would also ask the seller if they ship their items in a BOX.  I received 5 products (shampoo, conditioner, mask, hairspray and mousse) from one seller and they shipped them all in a padded envelope with no extra packing material.  The envelope was ripped from the weight and the items were banged up.  I was lucky they didn't fall out of the hole in the envelope.  I paid double the actual cost of shipping and the seller was still this cheap.  I would CLARIFY that your items will be packaged well so that they are not damaged or so they do not fall out of a ripped envelope.  (Insurance will NOT cover this.  The Post Office considers this a packaging error and even if you buy insurance, the cost will NOT be covered.)

As I said previously, the items may appear to be normal when they first arrive.  But I would hold off on leaving feedback until you have actually USED the products to confirm that they work..and SMELL...as good as they look.

L'OREAL

L'OREAL:  I would also like to point out that I have recently tried regular store bought L'Oreal products and was extremely pleased with how my hair looked and felt afterward with some of the products.   Since L'Oreal makes Kerastase, I figured the products would have to be fairly good.   I particularly liked the Color Vive Smooth Intense products (orange) that are for dry, frizzy hair that is fine.    I have coarse hair that gets oily, but these products condition my hair well without weighing it down because they are for fine hair.  Its a great combination - great conditioning for color treated hair that smooths without weighing it down and loads of shine.  And you can get both shampoo and conditioner for under $10!!!!!  (they are about $4.99 each for  13 ounces!!!)  I am now alternating regular L'Oreal with the Kerastase to save a little money.  Also, my hair does better if I skip the Kerastase on occasion because it does start getting a little heavy from all the conditioning.  I like the L'Oreal Vive Pro Color Vive for Highlighted Hair (green label) fairly well but for my hair I prefer the Smooth Intense products.  The Color Vive for highlighted hair made my hair a little too flyaway but left it feeling clean & conditioned & shiny.  But I did NOT care for the Vive Pro Style & Body Infusing products for Normal Hair that Needs Body (pink bottles with BLUE label) because they made my hair extremely flat and difficult to dry (took twice as long to dry my hair).  I tried the products twice (shampoo & conditioner) and had a bad hair day both times.  But it could just be my particular hair type (colored, straight & coarse).

OJON

If you are using Kerastase for the conditioning benefits, I would like to suggest trying Ojon products also if you have not done so already.  They condition remarkably well also.  My favorite is the Ultra Hydrating Shampoo & Conditioner.   I can't use the thickening line...it makes my hair very flat.  But other people rave about it.  I also like the Tawaka conditioner.  It makes my hair noticeably shinier!

"NECTAR OF THE GODS"

I probably shouldn't be sharing this secret (as I don't want the entire supply to disappear from Ebay) but there is an Italian hair product called "Nectar of the Gods" that is a conditioning spray that is probably the best conditioner I've ever used.  Its like magic for my hair.  It is a liquid spray and it lasts a long time but it doesn't take much.  It does contain alcohol (which might seem a little scary) but somehow this product conditions my hair extremely well but you shouldn't use it more than 2 or 3 times a week.  Once a week is usually enough for most people unless your hair is severely damaged. 

SEVERELY DAMAGED HAIR

I highly recommend the FORCINTENSE conditioning treatment by Kerastase (5 tubes) if you have damaged hair.  This is the best conditioning product they make for my particular hair type.  For some reason, my hair feels clean for days after I used this also. 

If anyone has any additional information on Kerastase products on Ebay that they would like to share, please contact me.  Also, if you have any counterfeit containers that I could see, I would love photos.  Also, if someone has information on the coding on these products to determine expiration dates when they aren't provided, please let me know.

Again, you can find quality Kerastase products on Ebay, you just have to be careful, know your seller and ask lots of questions.

DID YOU FIND ANY OF THIS INFORMATION TO BE HELPFUL?

If you found any of this information helpful, please take a moment to vote "yes" below.  I like to know how many Ebayers (who aren't selling expired or fake Kerastase..those people always vote no...) find this information helpful. Thanks so much!

Christi