This £12 Cream Is The Best For Effortlessly Air-Dried Hair

If you had told me earlier in the year that I would be exclusively air-drying my hair this summer, I wouldn't have believed you. Usually, my hair and air-drying don't mix. I have a lot of hair and often have to fight off the elements — rain or shine — to avoid an unsightly halo of uncontrollable frizz. This has its upsides, of course, like becoming a dab hand with a hairdryer. But when the mercury hit 40 degrees recently, reaching for the heated styling tools felt like a punishment rather than a choice.

If you're an R29 regular, you'll know that I booked in for an Italian bob not long ago. The chunky-ended style is enhanced by natural waves and the finish is slightly dishevelled, not perfectly sleek. Air-drying, said my stylist Neale Rodger, was my best bet. I panicked. Left to its own devices, my hair does what it wants. Had I made a mistake? But before I could probe him on the topic of extensions, Neale came through with a secret weapon: Hershesons Almost Everything Cream.

This hair product is not new. Dreamed up by Luke Hersheson (founder of top London salon Hershesons), Almost Everything Cream made its debut in 2019 and quickly amassed a gaggle of celebrity fans including Victoria Beckham and Rochelle Humes. According to the list of claims on the back of the bottle, the product primes hair, boosts shine, fights frizz, texturises, tames, defines curls, conditions and works as a hair mask. Phew. That really is almost everything.

I'm nosy, and via the hairdresser's mirror in front of me I spied most stylists using it on their clients — across multiple hair types from poker-straight to super curly. Two pumps raked through damp hair from root to tip somehow gave uniformity to my hair's tricky pattern (wavy in most places, limp in some and ringlet-y underneath) while adding bounce, shine, softness and, most importantly for me, minimising the frizzy bits. As soon as I stepped out of the salon into the humidity, I was certain my hair would assume a personality of its own. But when I got home I was impressed: my hair had kept its shape beautifully.

Perhaps, I thought, the results I saw were down to a qualified stylist's magic hands — and the help of a diffuser. But on Neale's recommendation, a couple of days later I picked up the cream and decided to let my hair air-dry. While you can scrunch, twist and twirl your strands into shape, I wanted to see how my hair would respond without the fuss. I was convinced I'd need to enlist a pair of tongs or straighteners to make this bob wearable but to my surprise I didn't need either. For full transparency, the cream is the only new thing I'd introduced into my haircare routine (I usually use JVN Hair shampoo and conditioner). It smoothed my usual flyaways and stopped my lengths from slowly expanding outwards — a serious air-drying gripe of mine.

The thing that struck me most was how soft my hair was afterwards. I expected the ends to feel a lot better, as all of my splits had been sliced away, but even my roots and mid-lengths felt like silk. The most useful thing about this cream is that it can revive second- or third-day hair really quickly and easily. There's no need to wet down waves or curls and restyle. One pump does that just as well. And the best thing? Hershesons promises that it works on curly, afro, fine, thick, coloured and damaged hair — even beards.

So what's in it? The ingredients, according to the Hershesons website, have been specially selected by the salon's stylists. They include behentrimonium chloride (an ingredient used to prevent static and often found in shampoo and conditioner), panthenol (otherwise known as vitamin B5, which gives brittle strands their elasticity back, preventing breakage) and hydrolysed wheat protein (which hydrates hair strands, strengthening them in the process). You'll also spot a couple of nourishing, shine-enhancing oils and moisturising glycerin.

My haircare stash is overflowing but this summer I've been bypassing all of the oils, serums and leave-in conditioners for this stuff. Don't get me wrong, those all have their merits. But when it comes to effortless, air-dried hairstyles — a healthy hair trend that's huge thanks to the unholy heatwaves we've experienced lately — I have to say that Almost Everything Cream comes out on top.

Happily, the product isn't exclusive to Hershesons London salons. Wherever you are in the UK, you can pick up a bottle online for a pretty affordable £12 (if I haven't cleaned them out, that is). Alternatively, here are a few more beauty editor-approved favourites...