Sunday, March 11, 2012

Product review- Suave coconut shampoo and conditioner

 I am a fan of being cheap, however, hair care was one thing I was willing to spend a little more than a dollar or two on. Therefore, Suave was one brand I more or less overlooked unless I was picking up the green apple or strawberry shampoo as a clarifyier. With that said I have recently had a lengthy illness and my hair and skin have seemed to go berserk. Every "big name" shampoo and conditioner I would normally use ( Dove, Pantene, Herbal Essences or their store brand equivalent)  seemed to leave my hair a greasy mess and gave me an itchy scalp. Desperate I went to searching the internet and found that Suave coconut shampoo and conditioner seems to have this cult following. Bought a bottle of each a few months ago and have not looked back.

  Sauve coconut shampoo and conditoner can be purchased mostly anywhere and its dirt cheap- $1.50 for the large 22.5 oz size at my local Walmart. Have seen the smaller 15 oz. size for .94 cents at Target.

 The shampoo itself is a pearly white gel like shampoo thats actually pretty thick. It lathers well and rinses clean. It has a nice soft warm coconut scent that isn't overwhelming and since I use it daily I hardly notice the scent at all. Suave reformulated their Naturals line not to long ago making all the shampoos gentler by using sodium laureth sulfate (not to be confused with the much harsher sodium lauryl sulfate- for a good ingredient dictionary visit the "cosmetic cop") and supposedly making all the conditoners more moisturizing. Suave coconut shampoo is the only naturals shampoo that has slightly different ingredients than all the others. It has slightly more moisturizing ingredients and contains  more cleansers -ammonium lauryl and ammonium laureth sulfate - both of which are considered not overly harsh. It also contains ammonium xyelensulfonate which can be drying however since it is far down on the ingredient list it does not seem to cause any issues (for me at least).


 The conditioner is the real gem of this duo. I was surprized because there isn't much in this stuff- no silicones (which could be good or bad depending on your views) just detanglers, thickeners, preservatives and mild moisturizing ingredients with token amounts honey and coconut extract thrown in. It is not nearly as watery as I has assumed. Its white and creamy and coats hair very well. I have bra strap length slightly wavy hair that is color treated and is normal in thickness. I use gobs of this stuff and really work it in. It seems to saturate my hair instead of sitting on top like heavier conditioners do. I can finger comb it through my hair easily. It rinses clean but leaves wet hair feeling silky and has that same soft, warm, coconut scent that will linger but doesn't overpower.
  If you are a co-washer this conditoner is outstanding for that. I haven't had much luck with co-washing- probably beacause my hair is not curly and dry, rather very oily at the roots, but I can  alternate co-washing with this and shampooing daily and my hair is great.
  This can also be used as a leave in, apply a small amount to your ends or put in a large spray bottle with water and use it as a detangling spritz. I make my own leave in using a pea sized amount of conditioner and a few drops of Johnson and Johnson cocoa and shea baby oil. I feel I need to use a daily leave in as my hair tends to be breakage prone and I am always trying to get it to grow longer. You can make Suave coconut conditioner a more moisturizing conditioner by simply adding a few drops of safflower oil (lighter and less smelly than olive oil) to it in the shower. You can use it to shave your legs too!!

 All in all, Suave coconut shampoo and conditoner has really helped me get my hair back to "normal" and I have had consistantly good hair days with it, very little build up (still clarify once a week or so) and no itchy scalp or greasy flat hair. My new staple!

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