Drugstore Recommendations for Dry Hair

PRE-WASH TREATMENTS

Coconut Oil

If your hair is really dry or at least your ends desperately need some extra care, oils are your best bet. Particularly coconut oil has proven to be excellent for hair because it's the only one that has the ability to penetrate into the cortex and also helps prevent protein loss. You simply apply it on dry hair before washing and leave it on as long you like, but the longer the better and leaving it overnight yields best results. Then you simply wash it off (you'll notice how much sleeker your hair is when rinsing off the shampoo) and continue with conditioner as well as the rest of the care. You can also heat the oil first in the microwave or use a hair dryer to warm it up as warm oil performs even better. People often ask me if putting a lot of oil on their hair will make it greasy - you'll wash it off. Unless you have a rubbish shampoo, all the oil simply washes off by shampooing twice. Coconut oil is sold in any bigger grocery store and drugstores (it's usually where the healthy food is), but beware of varying prices as I've seen some insane price tags and if you're paying over 10 €, it's too much.

Read more about coconut oil here on this genius blog, The Natural Haven Bloom, here and here. 

LE PETITE MARSEILLIAIS Huile Elixir Karité & Argan

I found this quite randomly in E.Leclerc and though we have this brand just about everywhere here, for some reason I could only find this oil there. I think it's even better than coconut oil and it's my ultimate "über dry hair fixer". They decided to fit the bottle with a spray applicator, which was a bad move, since the oil is too thick and there is no way it could spray it into a mist, but you just spray it in the hands and apply it like that. I'm always very generous when applying it and I use it all over the hair since my entire length is dry, but you can easily just apply it on the ends if that is your only problematic area. I tend to leave it on overnight or all day if I'm at home and put my hair in a tight bun, then wash my hair in the morning or evening and let me tell you this oil has fantastic results. It deeply hydrates and nourishes the hair like nothing I've tried. My hair feels like it's transformed. But it doesn't work on dry hair after washing if you plan to use it as a leave-in as it is very greasy and heavy. 

E. Leclerc, 5-6 €

Other recommendations:

Macadamia Oil

Argan Oil

Jojoba Oil

Olive Oil

SHAMPOOS

L'OREAL Elseve Extraordinaire Oil Nourishing Shampoo and Elvital Glatt-Intense Pflege-Shampoo 

I have tried many, many shampoos in my life, a large majority of them were from the drugstore and these two from L'Oreal win hands down. Performance-wise they are both about the same with the main difference being the scent. Extraordinary oil one has an oriental cinnamon-ish scent, while Glatt-Intense has a typical clean scent. The latter seems to have disappeared from our shelves, perhaps in order to be replaced by Extraordinary oil, but regardless, as I said they are so similar. The formula reminds me a lot of the much more expensive and utterly brilliant Oleo-Relax, so it's like a bit of conditioner was added to the shampoo, but it doesn't weight the hair down, just smooths it a bit. When I'm rinsing it off, there is none of that annoying squeaky clean, dry, my-hair-I'll-be-a-tangly-mess feeling and the hair can be combed a lot easier than at a lot of other shampoos. Best of all, these are on offer very often and you can get 400 ml at a bargain price of a few euros just about everywhere.

Other recommendations:

GARNIER FRUCTIS Oil Repair 3 Shampoo 

L’OREAL Everpure Moisture shampoo 

GARNIER Ultra Doux Apricot and Almond shampoo 

CONDITIONERS, MASKS AND TREATMENTS

JOHN FRIEDA Brilliant Brunette Moisturising Conditioner

Just as shampoos, I've tried my fair share of drugstore conditioners and though a large majority were disappointing (I just tried three new ones last month and all did not perform satisfactory), there are a few drugstore gems that I've been loyal to for years. They of course don't work as well as salon brands, especially when it comes to dry hair (I would suggest you still invest in one high-end one if your hair is really dry), but they still do their work admirably. Brilliant Brunette has been in my conditioners stash for so many years and when one runs out, a new one promptly takes its place. It feels quite light, yet it is moisturising enough for my dry hair and it leaves the hair feeling silky when I rinse it off, but there are two other things that it excels at and that is shine and scent. The scent is divine, it's like a mix of coconut and caramel in a more sophisticated way and this is the only conditioner/mask after which my hair smells nice for at least a day if not longer. I currently own a salon size 500 ml bottle, which comes with a very handy pump, while the regular sizes comes in a squeeze tube.

Price: 8.49 € for 250 ml in Müller and DM.

AUSSIE 3 Minute Miracle Reconstructor

Things were shaky the first few weeks when I got my first Aussie Reconstructor, but it turned out to be one of my ultimate favourites. It's one of the rare conditioners that I consider being almost as good as some more expensive ones because the effects last a day or two longer on my hair, in particular when it comes to how long my hair stays moisturised. It has a gel-cream hybrid texture that is easy to apply on the hair and it smells just like Hubba-Bubba fruit fantasy bubble gum tape. I leave it on for longer than 3 minutes, usually about 20 minutes, but you can just leave for as long as you want to. It finally became available in Slovenia (can I get a hallelujah for that?), though it is quite pricey compared to the USA. 

Price: 8 € in Müller.

L'ORÉAL Elvive Total Repair 5 Hair Mask

Elvital Total Repair 5 Intensiv Maske mit Reparatűr Serum 

Elvive Full Restore 5

This caught my eye when I saw it on Allure's list of best drugstore treatments, though it's has several different names and packaging, but I think mine is the right one. This is my first pot and though I liked it straight away, I'm more and more impressed by it with every use. Compared to most masks available on our market, this one performs really well on dry hair, it nourishes it and just does all the basic things I expect from a hair mask. The pudding-jelly cream consistency reminds me of Kérastase Nutritive Masquintense Epais-Thick, thought L'Oreal's version of course isn't as impressive as the Kérastase's, but it's certainly lovely for the price. I also tried the newest Extraordinary Oil version and it performs badly compared to this one, so I actually much prefer the combination of Extraordinary shampoo with Total Repair 5 mask. There is also another version of Total Repair in a violet packaging, but I haven't tried it yet. 

Müller, 6.39 €. I've seen only the violet version in DM.

Other recommendations:

DOVE Nourishing Oil Care 

HERBAL ESSENCES Bee Strong Conditioner 

HERBAL ESSENCES Hello Hydration mask 

L'OREAL Hair Expertise Ever Riche Mask Pot 

HEAT PROTECTION

L'OREAL Studio Line Hot & Smooth Hot Straight Cream

Studio Line Hot&Glatt Thermo-Glättungs-Balm

I will be completely honest at this category and say that none of the drugstore heat protectors blew me away, also a lot of them contain alcohol, which is completely unnecessary for dry hair. However, I have been using L'Oreal's Studio Line Hot & Smooth (previously Silk & Gloss) for at least ten years, first on my hair and now on others. There are a few versions of heat protectors in this line - I have two, the lotion version and the aerosol one. I wouldn't recommend the latter for dry hair because it contains alcohol and it does feel a bit drying on the hair, however, the lotion is another story. It's a very basic, light heat protection that doesn't weight down the hair and does its job of protecting from heat. My bottle is very old and it has been repackaged, so I put the newest aerosol version next to it, which comes in the new design.

About 5 € in Műller.

Possibly interesting alternatives that I haven't tried yet, but heard good things about:

L'OREAL Paris Elnett Sleek Heat Protect Spray  (and in German) 

L'OREAL Studio Line Silk & Gloss Hot Straight Spray 

AUSSIE Dual Personality Heat Protection

DOVE Style+Care Replenishment and Heat Protect Spray (available in Boots) 

UMBERTO GIANNINI Glam Hair Princess Purrfect Hot Styler Spray (available in Boots) 

LEAVE-INS

AVON Advanced Techniques Moroccan Argan Oil

I have exactly the same opinion about silicone oils as about heat protections - there aren't many that are actually good or comparable to salon brands ones. Yes, essentially they are all just good-old silicone serums with some oils. Big deal, right? However, most drugstore ones again have alcohol in it or even if they have nice ingredients, they don't work as well, mostly because they are too light (like for example the Garnier Fructis one). And since they are so light, dry hair just drinks them up in minutes and then it's like you didn't use anything, so you end up using so much oil for any effect. But Petra showed me one exception and it's brilliant. You can tell from the bottle, I've been loving this for the past months. The texture is comparable to salon brands "oils" in a sense that's it's thick, but it's not as thick as Orofluido or Macadamia Natural Oil's one, still it's much better than most drugstore oils. I don't tend to use it on damp hair, but rather after blow-drying to tame the frizz, give the hair a bit of nourishment and shine. It smells nice as well and the scent is like a mix of their "regular" green serum, which smells a bit like apples but in a hair salon way, plus some deep oriental note. I'm also a big fan of the pump, but I do mind that there is only 30 ml of it in the bottle because when you compare the prices per ml, Orofluido is not that more expensive if you know where to get the lowest price.

Avon, regular price 6.90€, but it's often on offer.

GOT2B Oil-licious Weightless Dry Oil Mist

Öl-La-La Styling Öl-Spray 

This is basically just a very light silicone-oil in an aerosol form, which is wonderful for dry hair that needs a bit of a boots and even for those who find most liquid silicone-oils too heavy for their hair. It gives tons of shine, helps fight frizz and doesn't weight down the hair, which makes it a great choice to use when you wear your hair curly and you fear your curls will drop if you apply a proper hair oil. It's more of a styling/shine product, since the argan oil content is minimal and it doesn't actually nourish the hair much, however, it's much better than your average shine spray because most of those have a high content of alcohol. This spray is actually just cheating healthy, shiny hair in a can. I can spray a ton of it on my hair and it doesn't weigh it down one bit, build up or make it oily, however, my hair is dry and thick. 

I've seen Fructis does the same thing, but they obviously had to put alcohol in it, what else.

6.99 € in Müller.

SEXY HEALTHY HAIR Soy Tri-Wheat Leave In Conditioner

I will sneakily add this leave-in as well because you can get it for as little as 12.70 € on Beauty Bay and one bottle lasts me well over a year. A good leave-in conditioner makes all the change when you have dry hair. It injects an additional boots of moisture, it helps the hair stay hydrated longer and this one also helps fight frizz. Using this, I can easily use a drugstore conditioner without having my hair dry by the end of second day after washing it. I don't even have to resort to using oil every day on my ends. It's hands down the best leave-in conditioner I've tried and if you're worried it's heavy, it's actually just a very light liquid.

Other recommendations:

GLISS 19 Total Repair Express Repair Spűllung

JOHN FRIEDA Frizz Ease Daily Miracle Leave-In Conditioner - recommended by Živa from Nothin' Fancy. Really.

Have a great day!

My Experience with Kamini Aunty

Well, you would all be wondering who the hell is "Kamini aunty"??? I came to know about her from Mehak's blog and on my recent trip to Delhi, I went to this lady who is supposed to be a miracle for hair. She can cure any hair problem apparently. She runs her hair clinic from her house in Safdarjung enclave. And, the clinic is just like a home parlour.

Oil and Ginger Tonic

I went to her with my mommy. "Kamini aunty" looked at my hair and declared that its thin and she didn't really say much about my hair. I got her to check my mom's hair too and she declared that my mom has very dry scalp. And, she instructed the girl on what to use for our hairs and off we went in for the treatment. It consists of 3 things basically:

• Oiling - She has variety of oils of probably different grades. The girl attending me gave me instructions about how to go about my routine. And, she applied really a LOTTT of oil to my hair (around half a cup). It is supposed to have lots of herbs.

• Ginger Tonic - After the oiling was done, this was applied to my scalp only. Its basically ginger powder infused in vinegar. This is for aiding the hair growth since ginger stimulates hair follicles.Well, I do think other herbs might also have been there. It has to be left on for 30 minutes.  

• Hair Pack - After the ginger tonic, a hair pack is applied on the scalp and the ends of the hair and then, the hair is covered with a shower cap. This is made from many pulses and other ingredients and it smells strongly of dhania and it smells really warm. It also has to be left on for 30 minutes.

And, then, I am left for 30 minutes for the treatment to soak into the scalp. Meanwhile, I watch the whole procedure being followed on my mom and this is the first time she is getting any kind of a hair treatment so I was obviously enjoying it a lot :D And, then, I was taken for a hair wash which includes a shampoo and conditioner free of chemicals. Finally, my hair is blow-dried and my hair really felt so soft.

Shampoo and Conditioner

So, what's the treatment?
We are prescribed a shampoo, conditioner, hair oil and the ginger tonic. The treatment has to be done everyday for the first week in the same order as I have described above. And, after the first week, it has to be done on alternate days till you see the desired results. The hair pack has to be applied weekly once. I was told that I would see the new growth in two months.

How much does it cost?
Yes, it is expensive. Not overtly but still it is. Frankly, I wasn't prepared for the bill presented to me but my mom had already anticipated it. The shampoo and conditioner cost about 400, the tonic is around 800, hair pack is 600 and the hair oil is around 2500. To be just, even my dad said that the quantity given was good enough.

How am I liking it?
I went to her on 18th April. I have used the products around 5 times till now. Yes, I wasn't regular as I should have been in the first week and neither was I in the second but I hope I shall be from now on. But, strictly speaking, I would say that the treatment has brought out shine in my hair. And, it has definitely become more manageable with less flyaways.

Also, I love the shampoo a lot. Its free of chemicals and it smells nice and it seems to be a concoction of reetha and shikakai with orange fragrance. Its watery enough but not entirely watery and lathers well enough but not exactly generously but cleanses my hair nicely. And, I like the conditioner too. It lathers a lot and doesn't weigh down my hair.

Of course, none of the products ingredients are written as they are supposed to be a secret. And, whether I'll have a head full of hair, only time will tell. But, being a cynic, I do have a small doubt. If I follow the very same routine with regular products in the same time frame, will it yield results??? Of course, taking into consideration that I choose a SLS free shampoo and silicone free conditioner. What do you say??

Conditioner making your hair straight? {Hair Care}

PS:This post is for curly and wavy haired gals!!!

[Source:your-hairstyles.com]

A little while back I had read some post or probably it was a product review of a conditioner saying that it made the blogger's hair straight. That got me thinking a little about the conditioner. Well, that can be a good thing if you are looking for hair straightening but let me clear it out for you that your conditioner is weighing your hair down.

What does a conditioner do?

A conditioner is supposed to undo the harsh effects of the shampoo over the hair. It helps to hydrate, condition and moisturize the hair and keep it soft and shiny. Read more about how conditioner helps avoid split ends.

Conditioner straightens the Hair?

No, a conditioner can never straighten the hair. If you are looking to straighten your hair naturally, you can try using henna or fuller's earth (multani mitti). Or, you can also go for rebonding or permanent hair straightening which actually damages the hair in a lot of cases.

Anyways, speaking about the conditioner, it can be either of two things:

• you are using excess of conditioner
• you are using the wrong type of conditioner

Excess of Conditioner?

Next time you are in the shower, try reducing the amount of conditioner you are using. Actually, it is true that we tend to over-use the products which can lead to product build-up too.

Are you using the right Conditioner?
Sometimes, we tend to pick up products based on whims instead of finding out if they are really suitable for our hair type. For example, you may pick up a protein based conditioner thinking your hair is dry but your hair needs nothing more than hydration. Such wrong choices can also lead to conditioner not functioning properly or as desired. That's why it is very essential to find out about your hair type and texture before you go to buy products.

And, also, if you are using the right products for your hair, be sure that they will define your curls and make them stand out. What do you say?

Sunsilk Keratinology Dual Treatment Shots {Product Review}

PS: This is a requested review and I tried to find the one who requested it on facebook but seems like she has deleted her profile. So, if you are reading this review, hope you find the review satisfactory.

[Source:stylecraze.com]

Price: Rs 300 for 1 pack which includes a 15ml Conditioner and 5 ml leave-in serum

Pros

- leaves the hair well-conditioned 

- defines the curls and waves well

Cons

- no ingredients mentioned

- packaging is very unfriendly

- expensive for the quantity

- not sure if it really works

My Experience

Keratinology range from sunsilk definitely has created waves. And, I was very attracted to the product so I bought it. Now, whether it still attracts me or not is the question. Let me start with saying it is expensive. A 15ml conditioner and a 5ml leave-in serum for 300 bucks is way too expensive for me. I hate the packaging too.

Moreover, the tubes are probably supposed to be a one time use. The tubes do not have screw-on caps but a cap which has to be broken off. So, if you can't use all at once (which you never will unless you have a knee-length hair), you have to store it at your hazard. I had to keep the tubes vertically positioned in the bathroom. 

Conditioner - Also, when your hands are wet, the contioner tube keeps slipping from your hands because the surface is slippery and also the size doesn't help. So, squeezing the conditioner is a challenge. The conditioner is white in color and smells good. Its just like any other conditioner as Dove or Pantene and I didn't really feel any difference. 

It has to be kept for 1 minute on the hair. Its a Keratin treatment and I don't know how much of the treatment really gets absorbed in a minute. Anyways, I used to keep it for 2-5 minutes. The tube lasted me for four washes.  

Serum - This is a follow-up treatment for shine and smoothness. Its a leave-in serum and does add shine to the hair. And, it gives a good definition to my curls and waves which I particularly like. But, it doesn't add any smoothness to my hair. I use 10 drops of serum after every wash and it is still left so I have preserved the tube. 

The product has not really done anything different to my hair which might have impressed me. Moreover the effects seem to wear off the next day. I don't know if its worth trying or not. If you feel like, you can give it a try. And, who knows, it might suit your hair. Its an average product for me but I do wish the packaging gets improved. 

Have you tried this? What do you think?

How to apply conditioner? {Hair Care}

Conditioner is something unavoidable when it comes to hair care. And, I hae scores of them in my closet so I am striving to finish them off. So, last week, when I was applying my conditioner, suddenly a thought occurred to me is there was a particular way of applying a conditioner just like there is a correct of way of shampooing. 

[Source: girlscrunch.com]

How do I condition my hair?

Ok, first of all, I do not ever carry my comb into the bathroom to distribute the conditioner evenly on the hair. Why? My hair is wet and I can never comb that much wet hair. I have never ever tried to do so as well. 

I take conditioner on my palm and rub both the palms to spread the conditioner evenly and then rub the palms on to my hairs from ears down. I do not go near the scalp. But, when I am rubbing the hair with my palms, to be sure, I don't really feel comfortable. When we rub the hair together, friction is produced and electricity is caused which creates more split ends and flyaways. 

Improved method of conditioning

So, yesterday, what I did was that I took a little of the conditioner on to my palm and spread it evenly between both the palms and simply ran my hand through the hair. No rubbing at all. I took a little bit more of the conditioner and ran it through the ends again. No Comb at all. And, I am hoping that this would be a better way to apply the conditioner in the future.

What do you say?

Should I apply conditioner or not? {Hair Care}

PS: This post is in perspective that leave-in serums are used after washing the hair. 

[Source: Google Images]

A week back, I was too tired of washing my hair and applying the conditioner and waiting in the shower so I made a simple process by simply washing my hair and sticking to the leave-in serum. And, I found my hair was really fluffy and well-behaved and was not weighed down for 3-4 days which wasn't there earlier. This prompted me to think if the conditioner is really needed for hair?

Fine Hair and Conditioning

Since I have done the article on hair textures, I have been inclined to think about hair care separately for both kinds of hair. Yes, conditioners are very necessary for hair but then a lot of other things also affect it - amount of conditioner needed and types of conditioners needed also depend quite a lot on your hair texture, right? So, why to make it a universal rule that you need a conditioner for your hair howsoever your hair and leave-in serum is also a conditioner. 

Conditioner keeps hair soft

But, there is another perspective that conditioner does keep the hair soft. So, leave-in serum's job becomes easy - to protect the loss of moisture. And, conditioner helps detangle the hair too by providing a little slip to the hair. And, many conditioners are able to tame frizzy hair. But, conditioners also have  big disadvantage - they can weigh the hair down. 

So, what do you think - Conditioner or no Conditioner? Pin It

Neutrogena Clean Conditioner {Product Review}

This was left out while I was reviewing the Neutrogena products I got from the hotel. I had loved the Deep Clean shampoo so I was pretty excited about the conditioner too. But I am not sure if it is available everywhere though I have seen some of its hair care ranges in some shops. 

Ingredients

My Experience

I would say this is an amazing conditioner. It looks thick but is extremely light-weight on the hair and doesn't weigh it down. It keeps the hair soft and hydrated and adds subtle shine too. And, the hair doesn't get weighed down even after two-three days (this happens with some conditioners). It doesn't also leave any residue on the hair. And, is a perfect shampoo-conditioner pack when combined with the Deep Clean Shampoo.

My Recommendation

Yes, definitely!!!

Also read other reviews from the same brand:

Neutrogena Deep Clean Facial Cleanser
Neutrogena French Milled Soap
Neutrogena Rainbath Refreshing Shower and Bath Gel
Neutrogena Body Lotion Light Sesame Formula
Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock
Neutrogena Deep Clean Shampoo

How long do you leave the conditioner? {Tip of the Day}

[Source: Bing Images]

Ok, so hair care routines are not very easy to follow and varies from person to person depending on their hair types and textures but I really would like to get an idea on certain topics which keep me confused and this is one of them? How do you know how long should you keep the conditioner on?

Well, here is what I do? Squeeze out all the water by gently pressing the hair after shampooing it. You can use a cotton cloth if you want so as to remove the excess water. Now, apply conditioner from the level of your ears and cover the length of the hair and concentrate on the ends. Keep the conditioner for 5-7 minutes instead of just applying and washing it out. After 5 minutes, you can wash out the conditioner. But, if I am using a hair mask too, I like to keep the hair mask for around 5-7 minutes and wash out the conditioner in just 1-2 minutes.

Also share your opinions on:
Is Vanity Silly?
Hair Mask first or Conditioner?
Budgeting on Shopping
Face Mask Sheets or Face Masks?

Hair Mask first or Conditioner? {Your Opinion}

[Source: Google Images]

Well, ok, this has me baffled. Using conditioners and after-wash hair masks are very confusing and I sincerely don't understand which should come first? Ok, the simplest solution is to forgo conditioner and use only hair mask but then, if we go to the logic of the products - hair mask is nourishing but conditioner acts like a sealant, right? So, apparently, hair mask should be first followed by the conditioner. But, I have seen many products ask you to use the hair mask after the conditioner. Well, frankly, using other logic also, conditioner seals the cuticles and creates a layer over the hair so how will the mask nourish the hair if there is already a protective layer on the hair, right? So, is using hair mask before hair conditioner the norm? How do you use it?

And, another question is also that how long would you leave the hair mask? I mean keeping something on the hair when it is wet and waiting inside the bathroom is really very tedious, right? I read on the few hair masks I own - minimum stipulated time is 3 to 5 minutes and I don't know how much deep conditioning is done in that little time. Contrary to that, I like pre-wash hair masks, either DIY or over-the-counter product, which can be applied to dry hair because of two reasons - hair is dry so the absorption power is more and also, because I don't have to spend my time inside the bathroom. On the contrary, as winters are approaching and my head is a little susceptible to cold when wet so I have completely foregone on the DIY masks and have stocked up on over-the-counter hair masks - Dove, Loreal and again Dove. But, I am always confused on how long should one leave it and I don't like taking breaks during my bath and as I already pointed out before, body wash should not precede hair wash so may be indulging in a little manicure and pedicure would be appealing. What say? Or, may be you prefer getting deep conditioning treatments in the salons? Its definitely pampering but so heavy on the pocket!!!

Dove Nourishing Oil Care Conditioner {Product Review}

 

The second product of the Dove Nourishing Oil Range.

Price: Rs 160 for 180ml

Ingredients

sorry for the hazy snap but it has a really reflective surface!!!

My Experience

Ok, I am a little double minded about the conditioner. It is a really thick conditioner and is two-colored just as it says - the white stripe with a golden stripe. I think it has a tendency to weigh down the hair but if you don't apply it properly, it wouldn't give any results. So, to get results from this product, the quantity of the product has to be in balance with the time. For the first few times, I used two dollops of conditioner on water-squeezed hair and left the conditioner for 2-5 minutes each time. And, that I think weighed down my hair a bit but hair was soft and shiny. Where as, the last time I used, I was short of time and so I used only one dollop of conditioner and kept it for only a minute or may be under that and my hair was really not fine. It wasn't so shiny and it looked frizzy. So, its a hit and trial method with this product but it does deliver results.

I have just one problem with it - the conditioner is extremely thick. I am really sorry for the lack of snaps but I couldn't take out time before leaving to click them. So, I shall update this probably in sometime. But, the conditioner is thick and it doesn't glide on the hair easily. So, keep the hair damp enough but not wet or even too dry which will make you end up using more product and might weigh down the hair. So, its kind of an important regimen of this range which can't be ignored at all.

PS: Product sent by brand for consideration.

Also read other reviews from the same brand:
Dove Nourishing Oil Care Shampoo

Biotique Watercress Fresh Nourishing Conditioner {Product Review}

Well, I am really two-minded about Biotique products but to be fair, many of the products do work for me and so did this one also. I found this to be one of the really good conditioners I have ever used. 

Price: Rs 159 for 120ml

Ingredients

Earlier, the product was called water salad which was I think a more appropriate name for the product. As you can see from the ingredients, it has lots of vegetables - ananas (pineapple), carrots, cucumber, lemon, pudina, tomato. And, now to more obscure ingredients, Ghrit Kumari is aloe vera, Jav is Barley Water, Pyrus Cydonia is Quince Seed Extract, Ankurit Gehun is germinated wheat or wheatgerm oil and the base is of course water. No watercress :O

Packaging

Same as other Biotique products and the bottle has a very wide mouth because of which you will always get more of product than you intend. 

My Experience

Well, the conditioner is extremely watery and looks almost like aloevera gel mixed with a little water. Its green in color too. It definitely takes some getting used to because of its watery texture and is a bit runny to apply. But, I liked how it kept my hair soft and gave a bit of shine to it. And, the best part of this conditioner is that it doesn't weigh the hair down any time. And, didn't cause my hair to turn greasy or limp the next day or anything. And, also, I didn't feel as if created a residue on my hair or anything of the like. So, overall, it was a good experience. 

Yes, the product does wish me to desire a lot. For example, it has no watercress mentioned in the ingredient list which is really bad. That's misleading. And, the packaging also needs to be user-friendly so that there is no product wastage or spillage. Its, after all, not very cheap. 

My Recommendation

I would definitely say that it is a good conditioner and I would recommend it. Even if there is no transparency about the ingredient list, I can say that the product has no silicones which is a plus!!! 

Himalaya Protein Conditioner Softness and Shine {Product Review}

I had reviewed the protein shampoo almost a week back. I was not much impressed by the shampoo but I had pointed out that the conditioner removed all the roughness of my hair. 

Price: 70-80 INR for 100ml (approx.)

Ingredients
Key Ingredients: China Rose and Lotus (hair conditioners), Chickpea and Oats (proteins) 

My Experience

I am not one to believe that the shampoos and conditioners must belong to the same product range. I do use conditioners which I like and the shampoos often turn out to be ones which I don't like. So, if anyone can suggest me a good shampoo which is SLS free, I would be very grateful. So, returning back to the review, I used this conditioner both with its own product range and Pantene shampoo. And, both times, the result was good. My hair felt soft and shiny and it was all tangle-free. But, I have a feeling that this conditioner is only for normal to dry hair. Oily hair would become limp because the conditioner is a little heavy. 

There is only one problem with the conditioner. Actually, this is a problem with all the Himalaya conditioners. They are really sticky and need loads of water to wash off. And, this is a very big problem, not only from the environmental point of view, but also from time and patience point of view. But, I would also mention that this conditioner gets washed off easily when compared to the earlier conditioners of Himalaya so I think they are trying to make better products. Ok, one very big problem with the conditioner is that you have to struggle a lot to get it out of the bottle. It is a thick conditioner and doesn't come out even when I am madly pressing the entire bottle so I often have to take out the upper cap and then thump the bottle on my palm and squeeze it and all sorts of stuff to take it out.

Now, something which I noticed just now is that the conditioner does make the hair a bit oily on the second day. I have dry hair but sometimes it is hydrated and quite soft. It became especially healthy after using the last piece of Lush Caca Noir because of the cocoa butter treatment to my hair. So, avoid this shampoo if you have healthy and fine hair. It will make it limp but it will really suit the dry and frizzy hair well. It also helps in taming the curls so very helpful for curly haired gals.

My Recommendation

Yes, it is a good conditioner which softens the hair well and gives shine to it.

PS: Product provided by brand for consideration.