Every woman is familiar with the damage that years of dyeing, styling, curling and blow-drying can wreak on even the silkiest of hair. Even daily routines such as washing and brushing can fracture the cortex of the hair, stopping it from looking healthy, smooth and shiny.

But a new treatment on the market has been dubbed “Botox for the hair”, with claims that it can help turn back the clock on tired and damaged hair. In the same way that dermal fillers and other cosmetic procedures, when administered by a professional with cosmetic courses training, lip filler courses training or Botox training can smooth away wrinkles on the face, scientists have been working on a formula that is intended to plug the holes and smooth away the tears in damaged hair.

The new procedure will cost as little as £15 per session and has been reported to leave hair feeling instantly thicker, stronger and shinier, lasting up to ten washes. So how does it work? Special molecules inside the serum have been designed to seek out areas of damaged keratin, the protein that makes up hair fibres, and attach to them, sealing any gaps or breakages.

The hair is not a living organ, we don’t feel pain when it is cut, but one end of it is embedded in the scalp and has at one time been alive. The natural process is for the hair to gradually dehydrate, fall apart and crumble over time, similarly to the leaves on a tree, but there are still ways of delaying and softening this process.