When I’ve told people about Messier 71 Hair Gel, they always seem to ask me, ‘How did you come up with the idea?’ Honestly, I don’t really know: one day, I woke up and thought, ‘let’s put diamonds in hair gel and make it sparkle.’ The idea was as much a surprise to me as it was to everyone else.

Messier 71 has stayed true to its surprising nature. It’s shown something unexpected behind every twist and turn. Being a gel, one would expect Messier 71 to flatten hair and lock it in place. But instead, it provides volume and stability, while still allowing the hair to move. Being sparkly, it conjures to mind images of early 2000s pop stars. Instead, Messier 71’s sparkle adds a heavy dose of class that is just as welcome at nightclubs and concerts as it is at weddings or even interviews.

Most surprising for a product that shares a category with a slew of cosmetic glitters is how environmentally friendly Messier 71 is. Because no plastics are used in the hair gel itself, no plastic washes out of your hair and into the ocean. At the end of the day, the ingredients that give Messier 71 its sparkle are effectively sand. Really, really fancy, luxurious sand, but from nature’s perspective, sand nonetheless.