An Honest Review of Beyoncé’s Cécred Protein Ritual

It’s no secret that everything Beyoncé touches turns to gold. She’s the most decorated musical artist in Grammys history. She’s making country music cooler than it’s every been before, and her new album, Act II: Cowboy Carter, has even dropped yet. She’s made a triumphant return to fragrance with her latest scent, Cé Noir. Now, the superstar is also channeling her magic into her own hair care line, Cécred.

After teasing the launch for months, Beyoncé finally gave the world Cécred earlier this month, starting with the release of an eight-piece collection of cleansers, conditioners, leave-ins, and treatments. The most interesting and intense product of the first launch is the luxury hair treatment, called The Fermented Rice & Rose Protein Ritual. The two-step treatment, recommended for use every four to six weeks, is supposed to reduce hair breakage by three times, resulting in better length retention (according to clinical testing in a third-party lab using hair tresses). It’s big promise for any hair product, but if there’s anyone we can expect to have high standards, it’s Queen Bey.

So how does Beyoncé’s new “luxe ritual made easy” stack up to expectations? We gave it a try on four different hair types, and here are our honest thoughts.

India Roby, 3A/3B Curls

When I first tried out the Fermented Rice & Rose Protein Treatment I thought the package was really interesting — the bottle is huge. I followed the instructions as written. After rinsing it the first step, I didn’t notice an immediate change in my hair texture, which made me worry that I might have accidentally used too much water. Then, I went in with the Silk Rinse. Once I rinsed it out, I noticed the hydration restored in my hair. After showering, I left my hair to air dry while I worked from home, and over the next hour, I noticed my hair felt much softer. Did the treatment feel like it reduced hair breakage like the product claims? I’m not sure yet. But I will say that my curls feel lighter and bouncier — it gets the job done. I can see myself doing this every few weeks.

Sophia June, 2C Curls/Bleached

I have curly, bleached hair, so hair masks and strengthening treatments are an essential part of my beauty routine. While Cécred is sure to be as big of a hit as anything Beyoncé touches, I found the Protein Ritual to be a bit time consuming. Between shaking up the powder in the bottle with the same ferocity I’d shake drinks as a bartender and the multi-step treatment — including leaving each step on for at least five minutes, after shampooing and before conditioning — my hot water ran out. That being said, I followed the treatment with only purple conditioner (famously not a very hydrating product) and still left the shower with my hair feeling silky and smooth and it dried into bouncy curls. Clearly, Beyoncé (as usual) is onto something. Given that my apartment’s hot water heater is not up to the standards of a pop star, I’m not sure this treatment is something I’d keep in my normal routine, but getting a taste of luxury was a treat.

Marsha Larose, 4C Curls

Preparing the Rice and Rose Protein Powder — pouring it into the bottle, shaking it up, making sure it's dissolved — did take a while. I actually liked the Silk Rinse more — I would buy that as its own product because it really helped with detangling and slipped through my hair so easily, which is what you want with coarser hair. A lot of protein treatments leave it up to you to deep condition on your own afterwards, so I liked that this included the product to put the moisture back in your hair. I also have a lot of hair, so I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to use just the one packet and I even had some leftover. After washing my hair, I do a leave-in conditioner and then a twist out, and usually, I leave a bunch of hair in my comb — but I noticed my hair didn't break as easily right after using the treatment. Overall, I think this is something you would see better results with over time as opposed to after one treatment, but it is a lot of work. Now that I have a feel for Cécred, I want to try out the Reconstructing Treatment Mask because a single step seems better for me as a low-maintenance person.

Sam Neibart, 2A Waves/Color-Treated

I’ve bleached my hair for years, and I’ve had a lot of heat styling- and stress-related hair breakage. My hair is also dyed red, and I might have permanent “bangs” that are really just the broken hair around my face. So the idea of a treatment that might help my hair grow past the point where it usually snaps off is very appealing to me.

As a beauty editor, I’m not opposed to investing a fair amount of time and effort into a beauty treatment. The full Protein Ritual was an involved process — especially because I let myself get distracted between steps and left them on for closer to 15 minutes each. But for a treatment that you only have to do every month or six weeks, it’s doable. I see how it requires a bit of faith because the protein treatment (that’s actually doing the repair work) doesn’t feel like much — if anything, it makes your hair feel stiff. But the Silk Rinse is what makes your hair feel soft, so it’s difficult to tell if the treatment is delivering on its bigger promises after one or two treatments. But when I dried my hair afterward, my ends looked intact and so healthy and shiny that I considered canceling my (weeks-overdue) haircut. I’m definitely down to queue up a podcast (or maybe the new Beyoncé album) and give it another go in four weeks.