When I first saw the ads for “anti-aging” shampoo, all I could think was: Why does my hair need protection from aging?  After all, doesn’t hair grow, get cut and grow back.  Even long-term damage is temporary if you have a pair of scissors.  Amirite?

But a friend is obsessed with Alterna shampoo, like I’m obsessed with the Clarisonic, so I decided to give it a try.  Luckily, I could bypass spending $64 for shampoo and conditioner (does it come with elves to wash it for me?) by purchasing Alterna’s Caviar Anti-Aging To-Go Kit ($30).

After using the shampoo and conditioner, I noticed that my hair seemed shinier and perhaps a bit fuller.  It also felt softer.  But unless this product can guarantee Disney Princess-level hair (and the cartoon, hair-braiding birds to go with them), there is simply no way on Earth that I would spend that amount of money on a product that, literally, gets washed down the drain.

However, there was an upside to my Alterna experience.

Also contained in the kit is Alterna’s Overnight Hair Rescue Treatment ($38).  And this product, ladies, is the goods.  So skip the shampoo, bypass the overly sticky hairspray, and go straight for the Rescue Treatment.

If your hair is damaged by color, chemicals or heat, this product can save it.  My hair was looking rather lackluster after summer highlights, chlorine from the pool and all of that August sunshine, but two applications of this treatment and my hair is smoother, shinier and softer than it was before the abuse began.  And now that my hair is back to normal, I still smooth a little on my ends to protect them from the daily brutality of hot rollers.

Also, most overnight treatments recommend that you wear a shower cap or lay a towel on the pillow to protect your sheets.  I can never sleep that way.  So I love that the Alterna treatment absorbs within minutes and doesn’t leave a damaging residue on my high-thread-count pillowcases or, more importantly, my acne-prone skin.

Bottom line, whether your hair is in need of a serious intervention or your ends just need a little tender, loving care, this is a great product.  I still don’t buy into the anti-aging shampoo nonsense (especially at $64 a throw), but this treatment serum is fan-tas-tic.  And since a little bit goes a long way, a full bottle should last for a long, long time.