Hair Nerd: The Science in My Shampoo

I am that girl that thinks a simple wash and set can be perfected with practice at home, so I end up spending more time taking care of my hair myself than the hairdresser. So if any damage is done its my fault so I try very hard to make sure I get the products my hair needs at an affordable price. The Shampoo and Conditioner I have been using are the Garnier Fructis Fortifying Shampoo and Conditioner - Triple Nutrition.


The blurb advertises that it is for 'dry to over-dried or damaged hair'. I chose this one specifically because I had recently dyed my hair and it was feeling a bit limp and breaking a lot. The shampoo and conditioner boast that it contains ' 3 nutritive fruit oils - olive, avocado and shea' and promises that it 'fortifies and infuses with nutrients for silky hair, full of life'.

 The back of the bottle even makes it sound better with the following blurb: 'Triple Nutrition - the 3 nutritive fruit oils penetrate to nourish every strand to the core'. It basically sounds like a dream come true right? So of course I swooped it up and had high hopes for it. Of course, the gorgeous apple smell and the advertisements helped to suck me in. After the first two washes I was sorely disappointed. Surely something that boasted three oils could not be so drying! I felt like I had washed my hair with a mild form of the hand soap you find in hospital bathrooms. It may sound like I am exaggerating but I am not. I made the mistake of washing my hair then attempting to towel dry it so I could apply a treatment - let's just say it got so knotted up that I eventually just cut out the knot. I kid you not.

 The pair's only saving grace is the Conditioner. The Conditioner is not packed with the nutrition they promised but it does include silicone properties an glycerin properties that help smooth the hair shaft by weighing it down and closing the follicles. So I decided to take a peek at the ingredients and it began to make sense.

 I have been told that the first five ingredients of a product are the ingredients that are present in the greatest quantities in the product. IF this is true then I have reason to be disturbed. The first five ingredients in the Shampoo are

: >Sodium Laureth Sulfate: This is a chemical used to create suds when mixed with water. It is found in most cleaning or sanitary products like soap and shampoo but there has been a recent trend to step away from sulfates because of their harmful effects. (It is said that the body absorbs this and it messes with hormone levels). The sulfate is also said to strip hair and skin of its natural oils and proteins. Though you want your shampoo to clean your hair, you don't necessarily want it to strip your hair of proteins.

 >Coco betaine: This is a diffused derivative of coconut oil, and some companies try to get away with advertising this product as coconut oil. Don't be misled by this, this chemical works as a mild antiseptic with some germicidal properties to it. IE the focus is to clean rather than to moisturize

. >Glycerin: This is a humectant that attracts moisture. I am told that this allows for the sulfate to create more suds and to stay longer in your hair.

>Amodimethicone is an abbreviation of “amine-functionalized silicone,” which is a family of silicones modified to have specific properties. I am told that this is to ensure that there is some smoothing of the hair shaft.

 Other ingredients include but are not limited to castor oil, salicylic acid and avocado oil, shea oil and olive oil extracts.

IF I am to follow the 'first five' rule then it seems like the main purpose of the shampoo would be to sud up and serve an antiseptic/germicidal function. If I weren't following the rule though it seems that the majority of ingredients share that focus as well. Simply put, this shampoo is not going to moisturize your hair in any way shape or form.

 It gets the hair clean but as to moisturizing it, making it silky or shiny, Garnier Fructis fails miserably. I would not recommend this to anyone. I mean, do you really want salicylic acid in your hair and on your scalp? The next time you buy a hair product, read the back - it will give you a preview as to what to expect from it.

Till next time,
 Jane