Scandinavia Formula glansdroppar (“Shine drops”) bought at
Åhlens for 40 kronor (50 ml)
Looks and
image
This one
felt annoyingly cheap. Cheap, shiny plastic and cheap print in only two
colours, the product in all feels almost “pharmacy product”-like. Yet it came
in a tiny little bottle that usually signals something a little more exclusive.
Hm? Text is quite non-nonsense and aware of just being for silicone drops.
Scent
Completely
neutral. But I don’t see any perfume listed either so I guess that explains it.
Touch
The product
is a very runny and slippery liquid.
Rinse
ability
Difficult!
Even with soap I felt I had leftover product on my hands. This is a serious
cone-product.
Usability
This thing
has the Worst. Pump. Ever! With wet and slippery fingers it was plain
impossible to use. The top of the pump is curved so your fingers simply slip
off it when you try to press it.Doesn’t offer any hold
but adds a lot of shine.
Price and
value
0,8 kronor
per ml.
Ingredients
Dimethicone:
Cyclomethicone (Cyclopentasiloxane), Dimethiconeol, Phenyl Trimethicone,
Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexyl Dimethyl PAB.
Whatever
your attitude towards cones is, there is nothing dangerous or potentially
irritating in this product. Some of the cones may require SLS to effectively
wash off though. I guess it comes down to what you value in your hair products.
Me, I like cones and worry about potential scalp irritants.
Conclusion
It’s a
serious shine and cone-product but I think I would like it better if I would
add some of this to my regular old Sunsilk.
Meh.
L’Oreal
Everpure lasting moisture leave in-crème bought at H&M for 109 kronor (150
ml)
Looks and
image
I quite
liked the bottle. It is obviously plastic once you touch it, but it looks
vaguely metallic from a distance. In some lights it seems greyer overall and in
some lights purple or pinker. I quite liked it. Promises nourishment, shine and
non-greasiness. Says “No sulphates!” on the label so that in combination with
the “Pure” appeals to people wanting a “clean” product.
Scent
Soapy,
“laundry” kind of scent.
Touch
The product
is rather gel-like. Feels a little thick but works fine.
Rinse
ability
Easy to
rinse. I felt no residue even without using soap.
Usability
It felt pretty
thick when I tested it first but extremely thick when I used it on my hair.
Maybe the scent changed once it got in contact with water and hair too, since
the scent changed to weird and unpleasant. It didn’t stay dominant though. The
thick gel-formula also made my hands and combs extremely “greasy” and slippery
so I managed to drop the comb twice. It made me quite annoyed with it. It
didn’t do anything for shine or glossiness. Hubby sniffed my braid and promptly
complained about the scent: “It smells like furniture polish!” he said. The next day
when I combed my hair out for my morning shower, it felt distinctly “glue-ish”.
Ew and ick. My hair definitely wasn’t happy with this stuff.
Price and
value
0,72 kronor
per ml.
Ingredients
Aqua/Water,
Glycerin, Propylene Glycol, Polyquaternium 10, PEG 12 Dimethicone,
Oleth 20 tocopherol: "Data on the Oleth ingredients indicated evidence of mild to moderate eye and
skin irritation”
Phenoxyethanol,
Ethylexyl
Methoxycinnamate: “There are studies that suggest that some sunscreen
ingredients, including Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate may have activity like the
hormone, estrogen”
Polyquaternium
4,
Limonene: “In
Europe, Limonene is included on the list of
“allergenic” substances.”
Benzophenone
4: “When undiluted, some Benzophenones, were slightly irritating to the skin
and eyes. At concentrations used in cosmetics and personal care products,
Benzophenoens were not irritating. There are studies that suggest that some
sunscreen ingredients, including Oxybenzone may have activity like the hormone,
estrogen.”
Mentha
Piperita (Peppermint) Leaf Extract Peppermint: ”Isolated clinical cases of
irritation and/or sensitization to Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil and/or its
components have been reported”
Linalool: “In
Europe, Linalool is included on the list of
“allergenic” substances.”
Sorbitol: I
had to read this one twice, lol. Yes, the sugar substitute I know from food is used
as a humectant and skin conditioning agent as well.
Geraniol: “In
Europe, Geraniol is included on the list of
"allergenic" substances.”
Rosmarinus
Officinalis (Rosemary Leaf Oil) ,
Methylparaben:
Ah, parabens. Just speaking the word can send some people into a frenzy. I’m
not so convinced but none the less: “The CIR Expert Panel discussed “paraben
paradox” in which paraben-sensitive patients can tolerate paraben-containing
cosmetics applied to normal, unbroken skin but not when applied to eczematous
or ulcerated skin.”
Butylphenyl
Methlyproprional: “In Europe, Butylphenyl
Methylpropional is included on the list of "allergenic" substances.”
Citronellol:
I had a good laugh at this part of the description: “Citronellol is used in
perfumes and insect repellents, and as a mite attractant.” Ehm. Huh?
Coumarin: “In
Europe, Coumarin is included on the list of
“allergenic” substances.” And a bit of history: “It occurs widely in natural
products, and has been has been an important ingredient in perfumes since 1882.”
Parfum/Fragrance
10
potential irritants out of 21 ingredients! Yikes! So much for being a “Pure”
product.
Conclusion
It made my
hair quite difficult to manage, it didn’t make my hair glossier and hubby
didn’t approve of the scent. I’m annoyed at having found almost half the
ingredients being potentially irritating. I think I will use this one up but
not buy it again. I find it ironic that the ingredients are so potentially
irritating when it appeals to the people looking to avoid “bad” ingredients.
No, thank you
L’Oreal
extraordinary oil (SPF version) bought at H&M for 119 kronor (100 ml)
Looks and
image
This
product is all over in the media at the moment. The ads are quite difficult to
avoid if you read anything remotely “girly” actually. The ads have greatly
annoyed me: They seem to be the textbook example of “fluffy jargon” about the
luxurious and exotic oils it contains.
I was quite
pleased to see they haven’t spread that crap all over the bottle. The bottle
left me mildly irritated: It’s real glass and quite slippery with dry hands
alone. I can just picture it slipping out of my wet hands trying to spread some
product in my hair. Smash! Evil little glass shards all over my bathroom floor.
Scent
Hmm, not
sure how to describe this one? “Warm”? It reminds me of a perfume, but I can’t
remember the name.
Touch
Very runny!
Rinse
ability
I needed
soap to wash this one off and even then I felt I had residue left.
Usability
The extreme
runniness of this one made it very difficult to distribute in my hair. It took
a long time to put enough product in my long hair before I felt satisfied. Of
course it didn’t help that the pump dispenses very little product at the time
either! Once it was in, it felt pretty good actually. Not too greasy or cone-y.
To my surprise it even felt like it had a bit of hold too. Strangely, for an
oil and cone-product my hair almost felt dry the next day.
Price and
value
1,19 kronor
per ml. The most expensive one of the 4 tested.
Ingredients
Cyclopentasiloxane,
alcohol denat, phenyl trimethicone, dimethiconol,
c12-15
alkyl benzoate: Gosh, what a name! It sounds horrible and toxic but none the
less it has no bad remarks. This is a Long-chain alkyl benzoate ester for those
interested.
chamomilla
recutita extract/matricaria flower extract: As the Latin name suggests, this is
chamomile.
cocos
nucifera oil/ coconut oil,
ethylhexyl
methoxycinnamate: “There are studies that suggest that some sunscreen
ingredients, including Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate may have activity like the
hormone, estrogen.”
nelumbuim
speciosum extract/nelumbuim speciosum flower extract: This is a lotus flower.
Weird it’s only named by the Latin names?
benzyl
alcohol: “Although, genotoxicity tests for these ingredients were mostly
negative, there were some assays that were positive.”
Cinnamal: “In
Europe, Cinnamal is included on the list of
"allergenic" substances.” Hah, good to see that my belief that
natural doesn’t mean safe is backed up by science. “Cinnamal is a naturally
occurring fragrance compound found in the bark of cinnamon trees.” Cool.
Linalool: “In
Europe, Linalool is included on the list of
“allergenic” substances.”
linum
usitatissimum flower extract: Linseed flower extract. Weird it’s only named by
the Latin names?
caprylic/capric
triglyceride: “…is an oily liquid made from coconut oil.” and “…slows the loss
of water from the skin by forming a barrier on the skin’s surface.”
gardenia
tahitensis flower extract: This is Tahitian gardenia. Hm, I wonder why they
haven’t smeared that all over the package? “Contains exotic Tahitian gardenia
flower extract!” Hah.
rosa
canina flower extract: A wild rose species commonly known as “Dog rose”. In Denmark the
fruits of this plant can be used for jams and teas.
Bisabolol:
What an awful name for something that “…is
the main component of the essential oil made from the German chamomile plant”
glycine
soja oil/soybean.
parfum/fragrance
(F.I.LC51164/2)
I wonder
why they use so many of the Latin names on the ingredient list instead of the
“prettier” common English ones. Maybe they don’t expect their consumers to
actually read the label?
Anyways, I
only see 4 “real” oils listed and 6 “extract of…”s on the ingredients. Not
entirely what the label promised me.
4 potential
irritants out of 18 ingredients
Conclusion
I think
this would be a product I would buy again and use a bit of in my regular
Sunsilk conditioner. I was actually pleasantly surprised. After the hype I
expected it to be crap.
Thumb up
Schwarzkopf
Gliss hair repair bought at H&M for 69,50 kronor (125 ml)
Looks and
image
My
goodness, this looks and feels plain old cheap. Even though I quite like the
colours and adore the concave shape of the bottle (Easier grip on this sucker!
The Extraordinary Oil could learn a lesson from here!) the bottle feels really
cheap.
Scent
The scent
made me go “WTF” as first. I’m not sure how to describe it. Like soapy apples I
guess? It is not unpleasant, it is just unusual and a bit of a strange
combination.
Touch
Thin foam.
Rinse
ability
Easy to
rinse off my hands. Even without soap I felt I got rid of the residue.
Usability
Hm. The
thinness of the foam made it quite difficult (And messy!) to distribute. One it
was in, it felt pretty good. It added some hold and shine. I redid a Figure 8
bun into a simple braid for sleeping and found to my surprise that the product
had added some volume. It felt post-cassia thick. I had spotted that it said
“volume” on the bottle but didn’t actually expect it to have any effect.
Price and
value
0,55 kronor
per ml. The cheapest of the 4 tested.
Ingredients
Aqua,
Cetrimonium
chloride: “[Is a] quaternary ammonium salt.” Yikes, that sounds drying? “…safe
for use in rinse-off products and were safe for use at concentrations of up to
0.25% in leave-on products” But this is ingredient #2, so yikes?!
Hydrolyzed
Collagen: “Hydrolyzed Collagen generally is adsorbed on hair, increasing
tensile strength and elongation.” Cool.
Panthenol,
Cocodimonium
Hydroxypropyl Hydrolyzed Keratin: I really wondered if they had forgotten a
comma somewhere here. Some mouthful of a
name!
Hydrolyzed
Keratin, Stereamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Phenoxyethanol,
Ceteareth-25:
“Ceteareth ingredients should not be used on damaged skin.”
PEG-12
Dimethicone,
Lactic
acid: A bit of history: “Lactic acid, derived primarily from milk and its
origins can be traced back to Cleopatra, who purportedly used sour milk on her
skin.”
Dipalmitoylethyl
Dimonium Chloride,
Silicone
Quaternium-22: “Enhances the appearance and feel of hair by increasing hair
body, suppleness, and sheen; or by improving the texture of hair that has been
damaged physically or by chemical treatment. It also prevents or inhibits the
buildup of static electricity.” Not bad!
Sodium
Methylparaben, VP/VA Copolymer, PPG-3 Myristyl Ether, Coco-betaine, Poly
quaternium-69, Glycerin, Propylene Glycol, Parfum, Polyquaternium-10, Styrene/VP
copolymer, Alcohol denat., Citric Acid,
Sodium
Chloride: Plain old table salt.
PEG-14M, Hexyl
Cinnamal, Amyl Cinnamal,
Limonene: “In
Europe, Limonene is included on the list of
“allergenic” substances.”
Linalool: “In
Europe, Linalool is included on the list of
“allergenic” substances.”
Benzyl
Salicylate: “In Europe, Benzyl Salicylate is
included on the list of "allergenic" substances.”
Benzyl
alcohol,
Butylphenyl
Methylpropional: “In Europe, Butylphenyl
Methylpropional is included on the list of "allergenic" substances.”
6 potential
irritants out of 34 ingredients. Although that is not a bad statistic, the
Cetrimonium chloride-issue seriously freaked me out. Do not like!
Conclusion
Until I
read up on the ingredients I actually really liked this one. Now I’m paranoid
that my sudden case of the greasies may be a result of irritation from the cetrimonium
chloride. I think this one will go in the trashcan.
GTFO.
