WHAT?
Phytorelax Marula Oil Moisturizing Hair Conditioner
SHORT AND SWEET
If you can get over the smell, this is actually a pretty good conditioner according to the formula I have.
INGREDIENTS:
Aqua/Water/Eau., Cetearyl alcohol, Cetrimonium Chloride, Hydroxypropyl oxidized starch PG-trimonium chloride, Sclerocarya birrea seed oil (Marula), Phenoxyethanol, Parfum [Fragrance], Benzoic acid, Dehydroacetic acid, Sodium lactate, Sodium chloride, Hexyl cinnamal, Lactic acid, Linalool, Ethylhexylglycerin, Citric Acid.
SMELL
OMG, no. This conditioner smells like men’s cologne. I don’t know if this was initially designed as a men’s conditioner, but I don’t see any indications on the bottle unless I’m completely overlooking it. The smell mostly dissipates but will probably be masked by the smell of your follow-up leave-in conditioner, gel or other styling products.
HOW IT WORKED
Despite the strong scent, this Phytorelax Marula Oil Moisturizing Hair Conditioner works well. It’s a product of Italy (Made in Italy) so it may or may not be hard to find. I’ve just never seen it in regular stores. This conditioner was part of my #tjmaxxfind haul. With another fragrance, this would be great.
Wet hair
Phytorelax hair conditioner is a rinse out conditioner so it’s made to be used on wet hair. It did NOT sit on my hair like some other conditioners. It looks as if it was absorbing or at least adhering to my hair as I was detangling it.
It has a perfect consistency for a conditioner, in my opinion. It’s not too thick, but it’s not watery either. It’s right in that sweet spot as far as consistency goes. This may be the reason why it doesn’t just sit on the hair (soaping effect) in big globs.
WHAT’S IN IT?
Sclerocarya birrea seed oil (Marula) – Marula oil is native to Africa and is a highly prized oil used for their emollient properties. It’s extracted from the kernels of the fruit. It is high in fatty acids and antioxidants. Marula is also a quickly absorbing oil which helps condition hair and skin.
Cetrimonium Chloride – Centrimonium Chloride is a “quaternary ammonium” conditioning ingredient used to fight frizz (antistatic). It also has some antimicrobial properties.
Cetearyl alcohol – Cetearyl alcohol is a fatty alcohol used to thicken and stabilize a product. It’s a mix of cetyl and stearyl alcohols.
Hydroxypropyl Oxidized Starch PG-trimonium Chloride – This ingredient is used to “enhance” shampoos and conditioners. It is said to have “highly effective conditioning properties”. It is a humectant and hair conditioner.
Benzoic acid – Benzoic acid is used as a pH adjuster, preservative and fragrance ingredient.
Dehydroacetic acid – Dehydroacetic acid is a synthetic preservative used in everything from sunscreen and shaving products to haircare and skincare products.
Sodium lactate – Sodium lactate is normally used on skincare products as a humectant and to even out skintone. It’s also added to soaps to harden the bar and increase retention of moisture. There’s more preservative than sodium lactate in this conditioner — typically used at very low percentages anyway. That’s why I wasn’t too concerned about testing this conditioner. But I typically don’t want to use sodium lactate on hair.
Sodium chloride – Sodium chloride is table salt.
Hexyl cinnamal – Hexyl cinnamal is an additive used for aroma (fragrance)
Lactic acid and Citric acid – Lactic acid is normally used to gently exfoliate the skin. Sometimes citric acid is used to adjust the pH of a product. In hair, Lactic acid typically used to help smooth the hair and make it more manageable.
Linalool – Linalool, surprisingly has an EWG score of 5. Linalool is used as a masking agent or fragrance ingredient.
Ethylhexylglycerin – Ethylhexylglycerin is a preservative and conditioning agent
SUMMARY
I was pleasantly surprised that this Phytorelax Marula Oil Moisturizing Conditioner was as good as it is. It didn’t sit atop the hair, and I could get a detangling brush through even though it doesn’t have a ton of slip.
Pro
+DID NOT just sit on the hair
+Helped to soften and slightly detangle
+Relatively short ingredients list
Cons
+Strong scent, like a man’s cologne
+Hard to find
Related
http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient/701258/CETRIMONIUM_CHLORIDE/
http://dir.cosmeticsandtoiletries.com/detail/inci.html?id=Hydroxypropyl+Oxidized+Starch+PG-Trimonium+Chloride
http://www.getsimplifica.com/Benzoic-Acid/
http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient.php?ingred06=701893
http://www.naturalwellbeing.com/learning-center/Sodium_Lactate
http://www.livestrong.com/article/551898-lactic-acid-in-hair/
http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient/703568/LINALOOL/
http://chemicaloftheday.squarespace.com/todays-chemical/2009/7/31/ethylhexylglycerin.html
