Celebrity hairstylist Jamal Hamadi has designed a line of hair products that has become a favorite of his celebrity clientele, which includes Linda Evangelista, Kirsten Dunst and Naomi Watts. With a heavy use of shea butter and its natural sunscreen to protect hair and scalp, he advocates gorgeous hair that looks as though it just happens to be that way.

He chooses extremely pure ingredients and his enthusiastic clients mix them creatively and use them for the whole body as well as the hair. The Shea Butter moisture-based formulas use 100% organic essential oils and plant extracts with scents inspired by aromatherapy. Essences of ginger, lavender, vanilla, lemongrass, ylang ylang and bergamot make the products wonderful to smell even before using them.

Hamadi says his beauty products are tested on actresses, never on animals. His actresses and models manage to get beach hair without risking the rays and to bring back color treated hair until it looks as though the richness, bounce, volume and sheen are just nature s good fortune.

Evangelista uses Hamadi s Shea Leave In from head to toe and mixes Shea Hair Cream and Shea Hair Mask after hair color for deep conditioning. Watts loves the Honey Soymilk Hair Wash, and Maya Rudolph mixes Shea Pomade and Shea Leave In.

Soymilk Hair Washes

The Honey Soymilk Hair Wash for fine hair adds an almost unbelievable amount of volume, hydrating the strands without weighing them down in any way.

Hamadi has two Soymilk Hair Washes, Ginger and Honey, both daily shampoos for all hair types. We found these products wonderful after we got over the shock of the texture. Instead of normal, rather gooey shampoos, this is truly a milk with a thinner texture, but it leaves the hair very clean and very strong. The Honey Soymilk Hair Wash for fine hair adds an almost unbelievable amount of volume, hydrating the strands without weighing them down in any way. Both of the products left the hair unusually clean and free of buildup.

He also makes a Lemon Mint Hair Wash Shampoo and Color Protector for blonde hair that protects against chlorine discoloration and seals in existing color. The fresh scent makes brunettes think about turning blonde.

The Shea Leave In daily conditioner/styling cream contains essential oils of lemongrass, verbena, ylang ylang and lavender. It is extremely versatile: when used as a light conditioner it moisturizes and adds sheen without making hair droopy; used as a styling cream, it leaves the hair soft and natural looking and enhances wave and curl. It can also be used to straighten hair without stickiness, and a naturally occurring sunscreen in the shea butter helps protect hair and scalp from harmful sun exposure.

Many of the same properties exist in the Shea Cream All Around Styling Solution, which combines essential oils of lemongrass, verbena, lemon and palmarosa. Like the Leave In, it can support waves and curls or straighten hair and contains rice protein to enrich and strengthen the shaft. The fresh scent and brightening effect are both very appealing, and it just asks for natural drying and finger styling.

Shea Hair Mask Treatment

My personal favorite of Hamadi s products is the Shea Hair Mask Treatment, which helps with color maintenance, repair and replenishment of the hair. Although the hair feels very soft afterwards, it is also bouncy and hydrated; essential oils of vanilla and ylang yalng give it a wonderfully sensual scent and avocado and aloe vera rejuvenate the hair. I now use this once a week, regardless of how I style my hair.

For short hair, there s a Shea Pomade Classic Grooming Aid that can be used to achieve tousled styles, sleek ones or spiky looks.

Products are priced very reasonably, from $18-39. The Mask sells for $24, the hair washes for $27 and the Shea Hair Cream for $23. Hamadi products are available at Henri Bendel and at an increasing number of salons and spas; they can also be ordered at www.hamadibeauty.com.