little white truths

We received this leave-in conditioner in a Maslow & Co box last year, and although it's had some good reviews (see eg Graydon's website), it doesn't work for me at all. That's why I've thrown it onto my Project Pan list, and I've almost finished it now so I'd better review it before it's gone for good.

Thankfully I've been able to play around with it and I've discovered that it works ok as a conditioner so I'll be able to get through it that way, but it's not great for that purpose either so I can't give it a good review. 

Graydon claims/product details:

• Blended with fresh herbs and oils (includes parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme)
• The ultimate conditioning and detangling treatment 
• Adds a boost of hydration to your hair, leaving it extra smooth and sleek without any buildup
• Beside containing a plethora of vitamins and minerals, sage is known for its antiseptic, astringent qualities that assist the scalp in regulating sebum production, and cleansing clogged hair follicles
• Sage also aids in improving circulation to the scalp, providing more nutrition to the hair follicles and encouraging new hair growth
• Sage can be effective in treating hair fallout and defending against dandruff
• Canadian-grown pressed broccoli seed oil has essential fatty acids that add hydration while absorbing easily into the hair
• Green tea extract stimulates hair growth and prevents hair loss
• Great for all hair types
• Normal hair: after shampooing, apply as a conditioner all over your scalp and hair; leave for a few minutes before rinsing out
• Fine hair: apply after shampooing and rinse out directly after applying
• To deep condition: leave on your hair for a few hours or overnight
• As a leave-in conditioner: apply sparsely to the tips of your clean hair and style as normal
• RRP $17.95 AUD for 30ml, but do shop around

Verdict

This product doesn't work for me and I've tried it in various ways so we can safely say that it just doesn't suit my hair.

It's a thick, sticky cream that's pale green in colour and it smells very green (I smell the broccoli).

My hair is long, dry, wavy and frizzy - so you'd expect that I could use this as a leave-in conditioner without issue. I can't. No matter how little I apply, all it does is weigh my hair down and leave it feeling tacky and coated, plus it looks dirty and dull to boot. The product also reduces the time between washes, which obviously isn't a good thing.

It also doesn't do anything positive as a leave-in treatment: it doesn't add shine; it doesn't detangle; and it doesn't nourish/hydrate or manage frizz.

I then tried it as a pre-wash treatment, so I left it on for a few hours before washing my hair. All that did was give my shampoo extra work to do because this stuff really clings to the hair and it's not easy to wash out, plus it didn't do anything positive so I didn't try that again.

Finally I tried it as a conditioner on not only my own hair, but also my kids' hair. My daughter's hair is fine and wavy, and my son's is normal and curly. While it does work ok as a conditioner for all three of us, it doesn't penetrate and nourish the strands like a good conditioner should do (ie, it sits on top of the hair, rather than adding juice), and it's also hard to wash out so I suggest conditioning first with this and shampooing second - otherwise your hair might look super dull and feel dirty after use.

As a conditioner, it leaves our hair knottier than usual and also feeling rather heavy and coated. Our hair also doesn't look shiny (more greasy and dull), but the result isn't awful so I haven't minded using it twice each on our hair and I'll use it one more time in this way to get through the last of the bottle. Given that I always run out of my conditioner before my shampoo, I'm happy to save a few uses of my conditioner by using this in its place, even though the result isn't great.

Overall this isn't a terrible product but it doesn't work for me or my children (and we all have very different hair), so it's safe to say that it's not the kind of product that will work well for most and I would definitely test it before purchase because it's not cheap.

Not for me.