Happy 2016 everyone, hope you all had a lovely holiday! What better way to start off the new year than with my favorite type of post – product reviews! Today I’d like to share a review on a shampoo + conditioner set I’ve been using from Keranique
My hair used to have all sorts of problems – damaged, thinning, frizzy, dull, you name it, I probably had it. After turning my hair routine around and using better products, I’ve managed to eliminate all problems except for thinning, So when I got the chance to review this Keranique shampoo and conditioner especially formulated for thinning hair, I was ecstatic.
Keranique Scalp Stimulating Shampoo
Using a sulfate-free shampoo is crucial to maintaining soft & shiny hair, so I was delighted to see that this shampoo met that criteria. It has a light herbal scent and created a nice lather which is a must-have for me.
So to get the full benefits of the scalp stimulating properties, you’re supposed to leave the shampoo on for about 1-2 minutes before rinsing it off. I’m not sure how I feel about that as the lather is usually gone after the wait, making it harder to wash out completely.
After using it for about a month, I haven’t noticed any increase in volume as a result. I also found that I need to rotate this shampoo with my usual Bumble & Bumble Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil shampoo or else my scalp starts to get oil. Not good.
full ingredient analysis on CosDNA
Keranique Volumizing Keratin Conditioner
This conditioner is interesting because it claims to coat your hair with keratin to create volume, AND you’re supposed to apply this to your scalp. I was hesitant at first, because all common sense told me that condition on scalp = bad idea, but I followed the instructions anyways.
Yep, bad idea. It definitely weighed down my scalp and left it greasy despite my best attempt to rinse the conditioner off. Even when applied from the mid-shaft down, I still didn’t notice any thickening effect. As a matter of fact, I didn’t really notice anything – it’s like I didn’t apply conditioner at all!
The conditioner has a lighter texture compared to traditional conditioners, I’m guessing to prevent it from weighing thin hair down. But that also means its smoothing capabilities are subpar in comparison, so if this can’t smooth nor volumize, I’m not really sure what it’s good for.
full ingredient analysis on CosDNA
Final Verdict
- Shampoo5.5/10
- Conditioner3/10
- Price6.5/10
For $34.95 per bottle, I expected these products to wow me like the Bumble & Bumble shampoo did. Instead, the shampoo was only slightly above average while the conditioner was just terrible. I really wanted to like this and use this consistency in hopes of seeing thicker hair, but so far the only thing that's really stood out is the greasy scalp it's given me when I use this continuously. So despite the seemingly promising ingredients and claims, these 2 products just didn't do it for me.
Awww I was hoping the volumnizing products worked out for you! That’s unfortunate for such pricy products. I really do need to find a shampoo that helps with thin hair because no matter what haircut I go with, the problem is that late at night my hair looks nasty and I stay out pretty late all the time! Dry shampoo doesn’t do too much though it helps a bit.
I’ve been looking for good keratin based products and my hair is starting to thin out. It’s such a shame these didn’t match up to your expectations. As you said, putting conditioner on your scalp sounds a very bad idea! Hopefully you can get some results from the shampoo eventually, but it sounds like sticking with Bumble & Bumble is the best!
I’ve tried other Keratin based products in the past but I haven’t had much luck with those either, so I’m starting to think that maybe my scalp/hair just doesn’t react well to that ingredient!