I Like Challenging Myself Sometimes...

it's good for you to step outside of your comfort zone, and challenge yourself a little, right?

This review is a first of its kind for me - shampoo and conditioner!

After how much I enjoyed the argan oil I reviewed a few weeks back, I knew that argan oil shampoo would be another product I would love a lot.

I was not disappointed! This product is very natural, if you are allergic to certain ingredients, or just don't like to use some, this shampoo is probably safe for you to use! "Free of SLS, parabens, gluten, DEA, artificial colors, artificial fragrances and harsh preservatives".

I'd looked for other blog entries about the Pura D'Or products, and read one blogger say that they didn't like the scent of this same shampoo, but I actually quite like it. This shampoo boasts a number of essential oils in its ingredient list - argan oil, tea tree oil, cedarwood oil, nettle extract, thyme extract, lavender oil, lemon oil, avocado oil and patchouli oil all come in on the ingredient list. I've got a bit of a soft spot in my heart for the scent of tea tree oil, so I liked the scent! If that's not quite your scene, worry not. The scent dissipates well, you won't be answering questions about smelling like patchouli for the rest of the day or anything. 

And, when I talked about the pure argan oil, I pointed out that some companies will just use some  argan oil, and splash it all over the label. Argan oil is the beauty ingredient of the moment. Unfortunately, Pura D'Or isn't 100% innocent in this case - "Argan Oil" is plainly easy to see, in great big letters. In the shampoo, it actually doesn't come in to play until line 5 of the ingredients list. Of 7.

At any rate. I like the performance of this shampoo. My hair was clean, soft, manageable. All great things. It's more of an "all purpose" sort of shampoo - no noticeable volumizing, frizz control, or anything of that nature. My 8 year old son used it, and his hair is considerably finer than mine, and he also had soft, shiny, manageable hair, without it being weighed down.

My biggest beef, I suppose, is that the formula is quite thin. I'm pretty free in admitting that I've got a big head, and a lot of hair. And it took a LOT of product. Because this shampoo is SLS free, it won't lather in the way that most shampoos typically will. I knew that. But still - it took twelve pumps of shampoo to be able to apply shampoo to my entire head. Compare to TIGI, where I can saturate my entire head - with a little room to spare - in five. Parents around the world are always joking about how their kids just dump the shampoo down the drain (I know I've used more than I needed...). If you personally have a weakness for using too much, or you've got a kid who does, this maybe isn't your safest bet.

Other than the thinness of the formula, this shampoo is a great all purpose shampoo. Clean, soft, manageable hair never goes out of style!

Now, lets turn our sights to it's counterpart, the Lavender Vanilla conditioner.

Since I pointed out that Argan Oil didn't actually make it in until line 5 for the shampoo, I'll point out here that it's at line 2. Of 4. And I know this reads a little like I'm trying to accuse Pura D'Or of something, and I'm not. They said there was argan oil in their shampoo, and there is. I point that out to show that you need to read labels. If you have something that's important to you in hair and makeup - if you're really after that argan oil content, or you need to know that your shampoo is gluten free, or that your eye shadow wasn't tested on a bunny, don't take the companies at their word. Learn to read the labels, and read them. The label would have you believe that Pura D'Or started with argan oil and formulated out from there, which isn't quite the case.

The formulation is done similarly to the shampoo - if you're sensitive to it, or outright allergic to it, it's not in here. 99% vegetable ingredients, according to the front. It is largely, it seems like, coconut based. Which is kind of amusing - I always thought coconuts were fruits. Go figure - we're learning together!

In addition to my big head and large amount of hair, I also boast a medium/coarse texture, and color treatment. So I might have the ideal household to test shampoo, because between my fine haired son and I, we cover the entire demographic, hair wise.

I thought this conditioner was OK. For my texture/color treatment concerns, I prefer my conditioners a little more emollient than this one is. You'll get shiny, soft, manageable hair. It's not the holy grail for my thick haired sisters (and brothers!) or anything, but it's pretty good.

My son though, might disagree. I wish I'd taken before and after shots of him. His fine, medium length hair (long hair is in style in third grade, I guess...) was soft, manageable and shiny, and the ever present fly aways are a thing of the past.

So I guess the secret is in the hair type, right? I've got thick, coarse hair, and liked this product very much, but wanted a thicker, more emollient formula. My fine haired son is obsessed (I've never seen him so happy to take a shower...), and has had some of the best hair days he's ever had since we started using this shampoo.

So I suppose, if I had to cut right to the chase, that's how I'd do it. This is a natural, SLS free product. If that is important to you, you will like this (it's better than most). If that is important and you've got fine hair, you'll LOVE it.

If you go to Pura D'Or's website, they're running a large variety of promotions right now - buy a shampoo, get 40% off a conditioner is going right now, and that is a great deal! 

DISCLOSURE: The good people at Pura D'Or generously supplied me with the shampoo and conditioner that I discussed here, in exchange for my opinions on them. All opinions are my own.

See you soon, lovelies!