Head & Shoulders review

A while back, I bought a Head and Shoulders shampoo to help with my seasonal dandruff. I've been putting off writing a review because I wasn't so impressed. 

I used it twice and... It was okay, I guess?

It removed the flakes, but not more than any other shampoo or CO wash. And the flakes returned at the same speed as usual.

Now looking into the ingredient list, I found something weird: My Head & Shoulders Classic Clean has a completely different ingredient list than any other Head & Shoulders Classic Clean ingredient lists I found online. I found one list at an Aussie blogger, some US webshop sites, a Canadian webshop site and of course a list at Korean COSDNA. None were identical. They started off pretty similar, with the first 5-7 ingredients being the same, but then differed. COSDNA didn't even recognize it as a Head and Shoulders product. Odd. Euro zone regulations for the ingredients maybe?

Here is the US version:

It has Zinc Carbonate listed as ingredient #5. 

Here is my ingredient list for comparison:

Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Xylenesulfonate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Glycol Distearate, Sodium Citrate, Parfum, Dimethiconol, Piroctone Olamine, Sodium Benzoate, Dimethicone, Citric Acid, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, TEA-Dodecylbenzenesulfonate, Hexyl Cinnamal, Linalool, Tetrasodium EDTA, Sodium Hydroxide, Trideceth-10, Sodium Salicylate, Triethylene glycol, Propylene Glycol, CL42090, CL 17200

But wait. It get's weirder.

The active ingredient according to Head and Shoulders themselves is Pyrithione zinc and the shampoo is supposed to contain 1 % of it. 

Now, I've been staring at this ingredient list for longer than I'd like to admit, but I just don't find it. In fact, find nothing even related to zinc in it.

Nope, the dandruff-fighting ingredient is just not there.

So what's my takeaway from this?

Simple: The Eurozone Head and Shoulders Classic Clean shampoo is not an anti dandruff shampoo. 

Going to take a closer look at the ingredient list:
Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Xylenesulfonate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Glycol Distearate, Sodium Citrate, Parfum, Dimethiconol, Piroctone Olamine, Sodium Benzoate, Dimethicone, Citric Acid, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, TEA-Dodecylbenzenesulfonate, Hexyl Cinnamal, Linalool, Tetrasodium EDTA, Sodium Hydroxide, Trideceth-10, Sodium Salicylate, Triethylene glycol, Propylene Glycol, CL42090, CL 17200

COSDNA analysis says:

26 ingredients in total
For acne-triggers, we have one 5, one 3 and two 1´s. The 3 and 5 are ingredient number 2 and 3. And I'm tempted not to include water here, which would make it ingredients one and two!
For potential irritants, the same two ingredients score a 2 each. Also not good.
Safety is fairly decent though: 16 greens, 8 in yellow and 2 in green to yellow.

But the main problem is in the Sodium Laureth Sulfate and Sodium Lauryl Sulfate.
This is not even a nice ingredient list for a normal shampoo. This is harsh and irritating.

Sodium Laureth Sulfate is the first cleansing agent on the list, and milder than the Lauryl-version. Common abbreviation is SLES.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is the infamous harsh cleanser that can be used to de-grease engines. It's a detergent and foaming agent and often abbreviated as SLS. It is simply unnecessary in a shampoo, when there are so many gentler ingredient options.

Sodium Chloride is good old table salt to thicken the formula.

Sodium Xylenesulfonate is a surfactant stabiliser. 

Cocamidopropyl Betaine is a surfactant, hydrophilic thickener, cleaning agent and foam booster, which seems really unnecessary after SLS and SLES?

Glycol Distearate is an emollient and emulsifier. 

Sodium Citrate is a pH adjuster and the antioxidant they advertise for on the bottle.

Parfum is fragrance.

Dimethiconol is an emollient.

Piroctone Olamine is a preservative.

Sodium Benzoate is a preservative.

Dimethicone is an emollient.

Citric Acid  is a pH adjuster.

Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride is an antistatic.

TEA-Dodecylbenzenesulfonate is a surfactant.

Hexyl Cinnamal is a synthetic fragrance linked to allergic reactions.

Linalool is a synthetic fragrance linked to allergic reactions. Unfortunately this ingredient is really common in hair products!

Tetrasodium EDTA is a preservative.

Sodium Hydroxide is a pH adjuster. 

Trideceth-10 is an emulsifier.

Sodium Salicylate is a preservative.

Triethylene glycol is a solvent.

Propylene Glycol is a solvent.

CL42090 is a pigment.

CL 17200 is a pigment.

So on the ingredient list we have:

4 preservatives

3 fragrances

2 pigments

Yea... This seems necessary?! 

In conclusion: The Head & Shoulders Classic Clean shampoo found in the Euro zone is not an anti dandruff shampoo. It's simply a rather harsh and irritating cleansing shampoo.

Be aware. Everyone in the Eurozone, check your ingredient list. You might not get what you paid for.

Today's hair

The three stacked buns from yesterday gave me an idea: What if I took the top braid and wrapped it in a figure 8-shape around the two bottom buns?

Good things:

It did seem to flatten the bun-construction while maintaining that almost faux-hawk kind of effect I liked.

Bad things:

The braid base was just too messy to give an honest impression of how this would look.

I might have to try this again on some "newer" braids.

Today's hair

Hmm. Nope. My idea did't make a big difference. The top bun still ends up too high up on the head.
Too bad, because it has a potential kind of faux-bun-hawk kind of look about it that I like.
Maybe what I need to do is to secure the bun base at the braid base of the braid underneath the braid in question?

Today's hair

I have an idea for tomorrow for three stacked braided buns. I've done it before, but the op bun usually ends up weirdly high up for my liking. We'll see if it looks better tomorrow.

Today's hair

Fourth day and it was a little too messy for my liking. I think I need to find a leave in-conditioner with stronger hold when I do the four-days-of-lazy-thing.

Today's hair

I wanted to do a Royal bun, but I had trouble getting my hair to cooperate with me. When it's freshly washed, it's just too slippery and uncooperative sometimes.

Today's hair

Two "Mickey Mouse" ears for buns. I liked the little detail of crossing the braids in the back!

Today's hair

Running some errands this weekend where I want to look relaxed, but not like a complete slob. So for laziness's sake, I figured I could do the four braid base thing yesterday. Maybe it can even look okay for work Monday and Tuesday?

The quest for "healthy" part 2

Back some three weeks ago I put a post up on The quest for "healthy" and got some really interesting comments. Anja and Buchfreundin both recommended melatonin and I made an order of three different kinds so I can experiment with brand and dosage. 

I bought:

Olympian Labs Fast dissolve (Tastes like "raspberry", so I just swallow them instead of letting them dissolve)

Natrol Advanced sleep

and Bluebonnet Nutrition Chewables

I have only tried the Olympian Labs one so far and I think it helps me sleep better. 

It's a little hard to tell how big a difference it makes though. It's not like I can directly compare the effects to the sleep I get without. But so far I'm very happy with it!

So thank you for the advice to Anja and Buchfreundin! I really appreciate you took the time to write the recommendation!

I also received an email with recommendations on a mediation app. I actually tried various mediation apps and MP3's, but I always end up getting mildly annoyed with them and feel like it's a waste of time and energy.

It's actually better for me to take care of those various office/private things I can on my commute. It feels good to be on top of those things and get it done.

One thing that does help me "zone out" is books on MP3. It gives me something "to do" while still relaxing. However, I have discovered that I need to check and be sure of the audio quality and how the narrator delivers the story. I had to give up on the Ursula K. Le Guin books because the quality was too poor. And I'm one who wears "ridiculously expensive"(Quote Mr Igor) around-the-ear Sennheiser headphones. I couldn't get past the first five minutes in the The Witcher books because the narrator delivered the story like he was trying to be sexy or something (Honestly, WTF). Audio quality and narrator delivery matters, people!

Nurses Assistant-friend brought something up the other day: We were talking about massage therapists (I love mine, she swears by hers) but we both agreed on that we wouldn't go if it wasn't for the purpose of fixing muscles that gets abused by too much static office work. It's not always that pleasant. Or, well, it can be, but then it doesn't really get the effect that you want.

Nurses Assistant-friend pointed out that maybe what we should do, is to go to a real spa once in a while. Something you go to for a purpose other than to unfuck your neck muscles. Something that you just go to to relax and be spoiled. Something that you go to with no other real purpose than to lower your cortisol levels.

Nurses Assistant-friend can be annoyingly wise.

I took her advice and have booked a 90 minute spa treatment at the end of the month. I figured I could "shop around" a little in Lund and have started with Complete Me for no other reason than it's conveniently located near the train station. If I like it, I figure I'd want something like body scrubs and masks or something like that on the regular. I'm deeply (And understandably) suspicious of the products they use in places like this and expect them to be picked for smelling nice. The exact opposite I need for my sensitive skin. I mean, when I go to my own massage therapist she has oils (Hemp and argan) standing around that I brought myself and she only uses on me and Mr Igor just because I'm suspicious of standard oil she uses. We'll see what happens at the spa. Maybe I will like it, maybe my skin will flip out so hard I will never dare go again.

I have managed to prioritize time with Mr Igor and friends better lately. It's a nice recharging experience. I literally made a list with things like museums, yoga classes and the water park that I want to see/do. And a separate list with the restaurants nearby I want to try. I figure if we prioritize to do something like that every other week, it's a nice "break" and something to look forward to, without becoming too much work and pressure to "do" something. I need to prioritize that kind of things too. 2018 seemed to disappear in a haze of work and school with just two vacation breaks. I don't want to repeat that.

I guess the key is to do little, fun things. Nothing that requires a lot of preparation and work and ends up feeling like pressure. Plopping down in a restaurant chair and waiting to be spoiled sounds good. Plopping down in a spa chair and waiting to be spoiled sounds good too. Something simple like going to the city park with some peas for the local ducks sounds like a fun way to spend the afternoon. Trying a new cake-recipe is also fun. It's the little things that counts and should help me sleep better.

L'Anza leave in conditioner

I bought this massive leave in conditioner solely based on that I have never seen such a large leave in product before. A whole liter in this one! It's heavy!

I didn't expect much from it, but it actually has a really nice ingredient list and even contains SPF (Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate)! As usual, I'm suspicious of the extracts though.

Ingredient list

Water (Aqua), Ceteryl Alcohol, Glycereth 26, Cyclopentasiloxane, Trimethylsiloxyamodimethicone, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Calendula (Calendula Officinalis) Flower Extract, Centaurea Cyanus (Cornflower) Extract (Corn Flower), Hibiscus Sabdariffa Flower Extract (Hibiscus), Orchis Morio Flower Extract (Orchid), Gardenia Florida Flower Extract (Gardenia), Rosaceae Foetida Flower Extract (Yellow Rose), Echinacea Pupurea (Coneflower) Extract (Cone Flower), Citrus Medica Limonum Extract (Lemon), Fumaria Officinalis Extract (Fumitory), Ceramide 2, Keratin Amino Acids, Fumaric Acid, Aleurites Moluccana (Kukui Nut) Oil (Kukui Nut), Macadamia Ternifolia (Nut) Seed Oil, Sodium PCA, Magnesium PCA, Zinc PCA, Manganese PCA, Ergothioneine, Saccharide Hydrolysate, Magnesium Aspartate, Glycine, Alanine, Creatine, PPG 4 Ceteth 20, Dipropylene Glycol, Dimethiconal Meadowfoamate, Polyether 1, Cinnamidopropyl Trimonium Chloride, C11 15 Pareth 7, C12 16 Pareth 9, Glycerin, Trideceth 12, Dimethicone, Cetrimonium Chloride, Steartrimonium Chloride, Urea, Sodium Benzotriazole Butylphenol Sulfonate, Buteth 3, Tributyl Citrate, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Fragrance (Parfum), Benzyl Alcohol, Citral, Geraniol, Hexyl Cinnamal, Linalool, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Hydroxide, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, Propylparaben, Butyparaben, BCC12-Base