HOW FILAMENT REDEFINED THE REPAIR CATEGORY
WRITTEN BY Laura Regensdorf
PHOTOGRAPHY BY Grant Legan
What defines the hair of the moment? It’s not a matter of cut or color but health. This is the true covetable luxury: a headful of lustrous, resilient strands that shows the world you’re doing something right. If the state of one’s hair has always reflected a blend of nature and nurture—the blessings of genetics and sound products, holding out against the repetitive stress of hot tools and hair ties—there is a new science-backed assist at your disposal. Call it a fortifying mask, call it “repair care,” call it Filament.
The brand’s introductory formula, TS.02/Tt, is a game-changer in every sense. Billed as a Tensile Strength Hair Treatment Mask, it draws its power from a proprietary ingredient called Tensilyx™️, which blends patented long-chain molecules with essential fatty acids, antioxidants, and polyphenols. Filament’s goal is to help protect and rebuild every fiber, with noticeably improved hair quality. Here is a breakdown of what to know and how to use it.
WHAT IS TENSILE STRENGTH?
“The strength of your hair is the bellwether for how healthy it is,” says the Filament founder Nathan Puksta, a beauty-industry veteran who brought his deep know-how to the brand. Working with a team of chemists, he set out to create a formula that specifically worked to fortify individual strands. Their key metric was tensile strength—defined as “the force that’s needed to break a strand of hair,” he says; it’s also “what architects and engineers use to measure metals when they’re building bridges to [ensure] earthquake-proofing.” This is not a matter left to subjective interpretation. The machine for testing tensile strength involves attaching a hair fiber at each end, followed by rounds of jostling. “It measures the number of vibrations before the strand of hair breaks,” says Puksta, explaining that we all have a different number, depending on our genetics, curl pattern, or level of damage. “[The assessment] is quantitative—there’s no mistaking it.”
Behind-the-scenes references at VIOLET GREY.
THE SCIENCE OF TENSILYX™️
After Puksta discovered a novel chemical structure, he assembled a team of scientists to develop it further. “We went into clinical trials for several years, and we ended up getting fantastic results,” he says. The breakthrough complex, called Tensilyx™️, addresses tensile strength directly with its first-to-market long-chain molecules alongside essential fatty acids and polyphenols. As the centerpiece of the line’s treatment mask TS.02/Tt, Tensilyx™️ acts to repair broken hydrogen and disulfide bonds in damaged hair. “We hear about hairstylists who think their clients are cheating on them because they’ve started using Filament,” Puksta says of the noticeable transformations in smoothness, shine, and overall integrity. “Resilience is a key word that we love to use.”
Filament founder Nathan Puksta at the Melrose Store.
HOW TO INTEGRATE TS.02/Tt INTO YOUR ROUTINE
Billed as a treatment best used two to three times a week, TS.02/Tt is designed to follow the shampoo step in the shower. “As you shampoo, the cuticles open and the porosity of the hair changes,” says Puksta, which means the hair is primed for a “conversation.” A five-minute application of the mask deposits Tensilyx™️ through the cortex before sealing up the cuticles. For most people, the formula—boosted with murumuru butter and babassu oil—is nourishing enough to take the place of conditioner; others can feel free to follow up with their preferred one. There are immediate effects after a single use, says Puksta, citing improved detangling and reduced frizz. “However, it is best over time, when you are building up the molecule into the hair.” Cumulative reinformcements help to counteract the ongoing assaults on hair health, including colorist visits, hot-tool damage, and ponytail wear and tear. Expect keen-eyed friends to take note, he says, quoting a typical enthusiastic response: “What are you doing to your hair?”
