Pai Shau

Pai-Shau means “Passion for Life”, and the brand was built on one idea: that the tea people have drunk for centuries to nourish themselves from the inside could do the same for hair. Every Pai-Shau formula carries the Signature Tea Complex — African Red Bush (Rooibos), White, Black, Pu-Erh and Japanese Matcha green teas, blended with nourishing vitamins and protective antioxidants — for root-to-tip nourishment, enhanced shine and weightless moisture. On the scalp the teas dissolve build-up, stimulate circulation and calm irritation; on the hair they let moisture and nutrients penetrate and smooth rough texture. The complex also works as a natural UV filter and environmental protectant, which is how the range protects colour.

The range is organised into four Rituals, and the names are printed on the bottles. The Hydrating Ritual is for dry, depleted hair — Replenishing Hair Cleanser and Cream Conditioner on rice amino acids, hydrolyzed oat protein and shea butter, plus the Supreme Revitalizing Mask and the Crème de Whipped foam mask. The Volume Ritual is for fine, flat hair, built on the Volumizing Botanical Complex of ginseng, white nettle and gleditschia. The Design Ritual is everything you style and finish with — mousse, dry shampoo, shaping balm, styling cream, Texture Dust and the two hairsprays. The Enhance Ritual is the two treatments that go on before you style: the Multitasking Treatment leave-in, with heat protection to 450F, and the oil-free Rejuvenating Concentrate Oil. Pai-Shau states the whole range is vegan, cruelty-free, sulfate-free, paraben-free, colour-safe and keratin-safe.

Two things are worth knowing before you order. First, the distributor has renamed several products, so the bottle you receive may not carry the name you searched for: Something To BeLeave-In is now the Multitasking Treatment, Biphasic Infusion is now the Rejuvenating Concentrate Oil, Opulent Volume Hair Cleanser is now the Volumizing Shampoo, Royal Abundance Mousse is now the Volumizing Mousse, Crème de Whipped is now the Foam Nourishing Mask, and Sublime Hold is being relabelled Flexible Hold. The formulas did not change with the names. Second, Pai-Shau has rebranded its packaging to white-and-green and white-and-pink, while Capilex — the Canadian distributor ProHair buys from — is still shipping the earlier gold and purple bottles. Both liveries are genuine and both are in circulation right now, so which one arrives depends on the batch, not the formula. ProHair.ca carries the full 18-product Canadian range.