🇺🇸K18

K18 is a US-based biotech haircare brand founded in San Francisco in 2020 by Suveen Sahib. Its entire range is built around a single breakthrough ingredient: K18PEPTIDE™, a patented synthetic peptide developed through a decade of bioscience research into the keratin genome. Unlike conditioning agents that coat the hair shaft from the outside, the K18PEPTIDE™ penetrates to the innermost layers of the hair fibre to reconnect broken polypeptide chains and disulfide bonds — the structural damage caused by bleach, colour, chemical services, and heat. The brand's philosophy is uncompromisingly minimal: fewer ingredients, fewer steps, no fillers. All products are vegan, cruelty-free, certified plastic-neutral, and free from parabens, silicones, phthalates, sodium chloride, artificial colours, and formaldehyde. K18 went viral quickly — over 20 billion TikTok views — and has won more than 30 industry awards. It was acquired by Unilever in 2024. In the UK, it is available via k18hair.co.uk, Boots, Space NK, LookFantastic, and Cult Beauty. Widely used by curlies with colour-treated or heat-damaged hair, though not a curl-specialist brand.