Friday 21 September 2018

Product showdown

Up for a showdown this time is two Garnier Fructis products.
  • Garnier Fructis Densify
  • Garnier Fructis Goodbye Damage

Interesting fact
The US versions have different names and ingredient lists than the European counterparts. 
  • Garnier Fructis Densify is called Garnier Fructis Full & Plush
  • Garnier Fructis Goodbye Damage is called Garnier Fructis Damage Eraser
I found it funny that they re-translated the names when they were already in English. Why would they bother? 
The colour theme is the same though.And I mean European counterparts in plural, because I found several different ingredient lists for the European versions!


I brought the Goodbye Damage masque home from Tenerife, and that one was pretty good! 

I'm going to compare them on a few different factors:
  • First impressions
  • Effect: Shine and manageability
  • Ingredient analysis and interesting ingredients such as "actives": Oils, fruits, keratin, sunscreen

First impressions
Garnier Fructis Densify
I asked Hubby to help me sniff the conditioners because I have a slight cold and my sense of smell isn't what it usually is right now. He says this smells like "Chemicals. Red chemicals." Mr. Igor does not like strong smells. Not much help with the nuances there.
I think this smells like that typical Fructis-smell: Green apples. I remember when the brand just came on the market back like 20 years ago. I was at a boarding school and this girl in the room next door had bought it, and it smelled so strongly we had to ask her to put the damn thing in a bag or something! It smelled all the way down the corridor. Glad they have toned the smell down since.
The front of this conditioner boasts of being "Enriched with fibra-cylane + pomegranate extract". I have absolutely no clue what "fibra-cylane" is. But I guess they want you to believe it does something with the hair fibres?
Also it says it has no parabens. Groan.

Garnier Fructis Goodbye Damage
Mr. Igor says this smells like "Chemicals. Apples."
I think this smells just like that typical Fructis-smell: Green apples. The Goodbye Damage smells slightly less than Densify to me.
The front of this conditioner boasts of being "Enriched with keraphyll + amla fruit extract". I guess this is supposed to make you think of keratines? Amla sounds interesting though, it's a common ingredient in a lot of (Indian) hair treatments. What I don't like is that it says "amla fruit extract" where you can easily found it as pure powder. Delivering amla in a hair product in the form of an extract is not necessary. "Extract" can mean just about anything, as it is pretty much up to the manufacturer what they feel they "need" to do to "extract" the product.
This one also says it has no parabens. 


Effect
Garnier Fructis Densify
I'm very pleased with the result from this. My hair felt smooth, soft and well moisturized. It also did good job of cleaning my scalp. If I were to be picky, it left my hair a little too slippery.

Garnier Fructis Goodbye Damage
I'm very pleased with the result from this. My hair felt smooth, soft and well moisturized. It also did good job of cleaning my scalp. If I were to be picky, it left my hair a little too slippery.

They both had about the same result, and I would not be able to tell them apart!


Ingredient analysis
Garnier Fructis Densify

Aqua/Water, Cetearyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Chloride, Parfum/Fragrance, Aminopropyl Triethoxysilane, Starch Acetate, Niacinamide, Lactic Acid, Saccharum Officinarum Extract/Sugar Cane Extract, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Hydroxypropyltrimonium lemon protein, Phenoxyethanol,  Chlorhexidine Digluconate, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Benzyl Alcohol, Linalool, Punica Granatum Extract, Isopropyl Alcohol, 2-Oleamido-1,3-Octadecanediol, Pyrus Malus Extract/Apple Fruit Extract, Pyridoxine HCI, Cetyl Esters, Citric Acid, Citrus Medica Limonum Peel Extract/Lemon Peel Extract, Hexyl Cinnamal, Amyl Cinnamal (FIL C163595/2).

Applying the Beauty Brains "First five ingredients rule"
Water, Cetearyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Chloride, Parfum/Fragrance, Aminopropyl Triethoxysilane
Based on the first five ingredients on the list, Garnier Fructis Densify is a good cleanser and smells really strongly!

Interesting ingredients
  • Emulsifier to dissolve oils: Cetearyl Alcohol
  • Emollients to soften hair and soothe the scalp: Starch Acetate and Cetyl Esters
  • Surfactants to lower the surface tension between oil and water: Cetearyl Alcohol
  • Extracts of questionable value: Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Punica Granatum Extract, Pyrus Malus Extract and Citrus Medica Limonum Peel Extract
  • Niacinamide aka vitamin B3 is a very effective skin-restoring ingredient against ageing and environmental stress. Not entirely sure what good it would be for hair, but I can't protest against having it in a product that touches my scalp.
  • Protein from a mildly strange source: Hydroxypropyltrimonium lemon protein?
  • And, well, too much fragrance and preservative in this one for my taste.


25 ingredients in total
1 marked as a "2" for acne-trigger. 4 %

1 marked as a "2" for irritation-trigger. 4 %
1 marked as a "4" for irritation-trigger. 4 %

15 marked as "green" for safety. 60 %
5 marked as "yellow" for safety. 23 %
And one marked as "green-yellow" for safety. 4 %

Garnier Fructis Goodbye Damage
Aqua/Water, Cetearyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Chloride, Cetyl Esters, Niacinamide, Saccharum Officinarum Extract/Sugar Cane Extract, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein PG-Propyl Silanetriol, Sodium chloride, Hydroxypropyltrimonium lemon protein, Phenoxyethanol, Trideceth-6, Chlorhexidine Digluconate, Limonene, Camellia Sinesis Leaf Extract, Linalool, Benzyl Salicylate, Benzyl Alcohol, Amodimethicone, Isopropyl Alcohol, Pyrus Malus Extract/Apple Fruit Extract,  Pyridoxine HCI, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Citric Acid, Cetrimonium Chloride, Citronellol, Citrus Medica Limonum Peel Extract/Lemon Peel Extract, Potassium Sorbate, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Hexyl Cinnamal, Phyllanthus Emblica Fruit Extract, Parfum/Fragrance.


Applying the Beauty Brains "First five ingredients rule"
Water, Cetearyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Chloride, Cetyl Esters, Niacinamide
Based on the first five ingredients on the list, Garnier Fructis Goodbye Damage is a good cleanser  and a nice treat for my scalp.

Interesting ingredients
  • Emulsifier to dissolve oils: Cetearyl Alcohol
  • Emollients to soften hair and soothe the scalp: Starch Acetate and Cetyl Esters
  • Surfactants to lower the surface tension between oil and water: Cetearyl Alcohol
  • Extracts of questionable value: Saccharum Officinarum Extract, Camellia Sinesis Leaf Extract, Pyrus Malus Extract, Citrus Medica Limonum Peel Extract, Radish Root Ferment Filtrate and Phyllanthus Emblica Fruit Extract 
  • Niacinamide aka vitamin B3 is a very effective skin-restoring ingredient against ageing and environmental stress. Not entirely sure what good it would be for hair, but I can't protest against having it in a product that touches my scalp. Especially so high up on the list!
  • Protein from a mildly strange source: Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein PG-Propyl Silanetriol and Hydroxypropyltrimonium lemon protein
  • And, well, too much fragrance and preservative in this one for my taste.

These two products have more or less the same ingredient lists, just with some extracts swapped out and the niacinamide in different places on the ingredient list.


30 ingredients in total
1 marked as a "2" for acne-trigger. 3 %

1 marked as a "2" for irritation-trigger. 3 %
1 marked as a "4" for irritation-trigger. 3 %

17 marked as "green" for safety. 56 %
10 marked as "yellow" for safety. 33 %
1 marked as "red" for safety. 6 %
And one marked as "green-yellow" for safety. 3 %

Lady Igor says
These two products have more or less the same ingredient lists. Goodbye Damage has two ingredients in red for safety, but it also had niacinamide so wonderfully high up on the ingredient list. Densify however, has perfume really high up on the list.
So... Some minuses for both products there.
But since I honestly can't tell the difference in effect, I think I will have to award the victory to Goodbye Damage for the niacinamide.

Tuesday 18 September 2018

*groan*


Some days I'd happily trade some of my hairs thickness or length for skin that would behave.
This is one of those days. Sigh.