Saturday 16 March 2013

Syoss on sale


Another instalment of Igor’s patented haircare method of ”Whatever is on sale”.
Two Syoss products. One that says “In-depth care, oil-conditioner” and “Thermoactive oil-care for combability & nourished, shiny hair”. The other one says “Shine-sealing conditioner” and “Combability & long-lasting Shine-sealing”.


In-depth care, oil-conditioner
Looks and image
This one goes for the scientific approach: “Pro-cellium keratin” (What is that supposed to be anyways?) and “In-depth care oil-conditioner”. On the back it says a lot about being heat-activated. It is quite specific (Odd, actually) to require heat in a “mainstream” product for conditioning.
Scent
Fruity and soapy. I like!
Touch
Both of these are quite nice and thick and easy to apply to hair.
Rinse ability
I did my usual test with applying a drop of the conditioner on my hands, doing a pretend hand wash and then seeing how troublesome it was to wash off. This gives you a good idea of how difficult a product is to rinse off.
Both of these conditioners had an odd effect where when my hands were rinsed almost clean, they developed a sticky effect. Quite literally sticky where my hands felt like they stuck together on rubbing against each other, despite also feeling slick. Very, very odd!
Even stranger was that both these conditioners ended up making my hands feel dry after the hand-test. Very strange indeed.
Usability
Well, the product itself was quite nice and thick. Easy to distribute and very spill-free. But it was quite difficult to rinse clean. It did leave my hair beautifully shiny though.
I do however wonder if these products are more of a “reconstruction” kind of conditioner and would actually require to be followed up with some moisture (!) Maybe they would work wonderful with my cassia mix, which also is followed with moisture?
Price and value
I bought this one on sale, so it had the best litre-price in the store.
Ingredients
Aqua, yep, that is water.
Cetearyl Alcohol, keeps an emulsion from separating into its oil and liquid components.
Quanternium-87, I couldn’t find it on www.cosmeticsinfo.org but after some Googling I didn’t find any information about this being harmful. Not entirely sure what this is though.
Propylene Glycol, conditioning agent and surfactant.
Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil, apricot kernel oil.
Hydrolyzed Keratin, this supposedly binds itself to hair and replaces the destroyed areas of your hair. I always find myself very sceptical of claims like this.
Panthenol, is derived from vitamin B5 and enhance the feeling and appearance of hair.
Isopropyl Myristate, a fatty acid that works as conditioning agent.
Distearoylethyl Hydroxyethylmonium Methosulfate, took some work but this mouthful of a name appears to be a conditioning agent.
Citric Acid, helps preserve the product and balance the pH of the product to be closer to the scalps pH value.
Phenoxyethanol, prevents microbial growth and prevents product from spoiling.
Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, took some Googling, but seems to be a water-soluble ‘cone replacement.
Ceteareth-20, “Ceteareths are made from cetearyl alcohol, which is a mixture of cetyl and stearyl alcohol, and ethylene oxide. The numerical value represents the average number of molecules of ethylene oxide added to generate the specific Ceteareth ingredient. Ceteareth-2 to -18, and Ceteareth-22, helps to form emulsions by reducing the surface tension of the substances to be emulsified. Ceteareth-22 is also used to decrease the thickness of liquid cosmetics and personal care products.” Okay, this was a long explanation that basically explained nothing for me!
Glyceryl Stearate, “Glyceryl Stearate is made by reacting glycerin with stearic acid, a fatty acid obtained from animal and vegetable fats and oils. It acts as a lubricant on the skin’s surface, which gives the skin a soft and smooth appearance. It also slows the loss of water from the skin by forming a barrier on the skin’s surface.” Does this go for hair too?
Sodium Methylparaben, yet another preservative.
Parfum, well, perfume. One sort of added scent or another.
Hexyl Cinnamal, Wikipedia informs me that this is a common additive in perfume and cosmetic industry as aroma substance. It is found naturally in the essential oil of chamomile.
Butylphenyl Methylpropional, is a synthetic fragrance compound. www.cosmeticsinfo.org says: “The IFRA Standard restricts the use of Butylphenyl Methylpropional in fragrances because of potential sensitization.”
Benzyl Salicylate, functions as a fragrance ingredient and as an ultraviolet light absorber. www.cosmeticsinfo.org says: “The IFRA Standard restricts the use of Benzyl Salicylate in fragrances because of potential sensitization.”
Linalool, is a colorless to very pale yellow liquid with a floral smell similar to that of bergamot oil and French lavender. It is a naturally occurring substance that is used to make fragrances and flavors. www.cosmeticsinfo.org says: “The IFRA Standard restricts the use of Linalool in fragrances because of potential sensitization.”
Benzyl Alcohol, fragrance ingredient and preservative. www.cosmeticsinfo.org says: “The IFRA standards restrict the use of Benzyl Alcohol and Benzyl Benzoate in fragrances because of potential sensitization”.
Limonene, is used to make fragrances and flavours. It is naturally occurring substance found in many citrus fruits. www.cosmeticsinfo.org says: “The IFRA Standard restricts the use of Limonene in fragrances because of potential sensitization.”
Out of all the products I have taken the time (Long, long time, I might add. It really takes forever) to analyse ingredient for ingredient, this is one of the better ones. None of the ingredients have any severe warnings linked to them, so that’s pretty good.
Conclusion
I’m quite mystified by this conditioner!
Pros:
  • Good price
  • Left my hair shiny
  • Nice and thick consistency
  • The ingredient list is maybe the best one I have analysed so far. Good ingredient list that might actually do something good for hair and no bad ingredients
  • Yummy scent

Cons:
  • Left my hands feeling dry after my hand-test. WTF?
  • Weird/difficult to rinse

So yea, I’m really not sure what to think of this one. I really think I should try it as base in my cassia mix and follow with moisture.

Shine-sealing conditioner
Looks and image
Because, well, I think it’s kind of funny to see what they use to hook customers. Is it the “scientific” Complexrepair Fast-acting Keratineconcrete Hair Mend Molecules (Patent pending) or is it the extract of African Silky Angel Wing Hibiscus petals they use to lure the consumers with?
Scent
Kind of soapy, not so crazy about it
Touch
Both of these are quite nice and thick and easy to apply to hair.
Rinse ability
I did my usual test with applying a drop of the conditioner on my hands, doing a pretend hand wash and then seeing how troublesome it was to wash off. This gives you a good idea of how difficult a product is to rinse off.
Both of these conditioners had an odd effect where when my hands were rinsed almost clean, they developed a sticky effect. Quite literally sticky where my hands felt like they stuck together on rubbing against each other, despite also feeling slick. Very, very odd!
Even stranger was that both these conditioners ended up making my hands feel dry after the hand-test. Very strange indeed.
Usability
Well, the product itself was quite nice and thick. Easy to distribute and very spill-free. But it was quite difficult to rinse clean. I found this one especially difficult to rinse out of my hair. Once I got bored and cramped up in my back, I still felt my hair wasn’t entirely clean.
It did leave my hair beautifully shiny though.
I do however wonder if these products are more of a “reconstruction” kind of conditioner and would actually require to be followed up with some moisture (!) Maybe they would work wonderful with my cassia mix, which also is followed with moisture?
Price and value
I bought this one on sale, so it had the best litre-price in the store.
Ingredients
Aqua, yep, that is water.
Cetearyl Alcohol, keep an emulsion from separating into its oil and liquid components.
Quanternium-87, I couldn’t find it on www.cosmeticsinfo.org but after some Googling I didn’t find any information about this being harmful. Not entirely sure what this is though.
Propylene Glycol, conditioning agent and surfactant.
Amodimethicone / Mopholinomethyl Silsesquioxane copolymer, a form of silicone. 
Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil, apricot kernel oil.
Hydrolyzed Keratin, this supposedly binds itself to hair and replaces the destroyed areas of your hair. I always find myself very sceptical of claims like this.
Panthenol, is derived from vitamin B5 and enhance the feeling and appearance of hair.
Isopropyl Myristate, a fatty acid that works as conditioning agent.
Distearoylethyl Hydroxyethylmonium Methosulfate, took some work but this mouthful of a name appears to be a conditioning agent.
Parfum, well, perfume. One sort of added scent or another.
Phenoxyethanol, prevents microbial growth and prevents product from spoiling.
Lactic acid, naturally occurring organic acid and pH adjuster. www.cosmeticsinfo.org says: “safe for use in cosmetics and personal care products at concentrations of 10% or less”
Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, took some Googling, but seems to be a water-soluble ‘cone replacement.
Ceteareth-20, “Ceteareths are made from cetearyl alcohol, which is a mixture of cetyl and stearyl alcohol, and ethylene oxide. The numerical value represents the average number of molecules of ethylene oxide added to generate the specific Ceteareth ingredient. Ceteareth-2 to -18, and Ceteareth-22, helps to form emulsions by reducing the surface tension of the substances to be emulsified. Ceteareth-22 is also used to decrease the thickness of liquid cosmetics and personal care products.” Okay, this was a long explanation that basically explained nothing for me!
Glyceryl stearate, “Glyceryl Stearate is made by reacting glycerin with stearic acid, a fatty acid obtained from animal and vegetable fats and oils. It acts as a lubricant on the skin’s surface, which gives the skin a soft and smooth appearance. It also slows the loss of water from the skin by forming a barrier on the skin’s surface.” Does this go for hair too?
Sodium Methylparaben, yet another preservative.
Hexyl Cinnamal, Wikipedia informs me that this is a common additive in perfume and cosmetic industry as aroma substance. It is found naturally in the essential oil of chamomile.
Butylphenyl Methylpropional, is a synthetic fragrance compound. www.cosmeticsinfo.org says: “The IFRA Standard restricts the use of Butylphenyl Methylpropional in fragrances because of potential sensitization.”
Benzyl Salicylate, functions as a fragrance ingredient and as an ultraviolet light absorber. www.cosmeticsinfo.org says: “The IFRA Standard restricts the use of Benzyl Salicylate in fragrances because of potential sensitization.”
Linalool, is a colorless to very pale yellow liquid with a floral smell similar to that of bergamot oil and French lavender. It is a naturally occurring substance that is used to make fragrances and flavors. www.cosmeticsinfo.org says: “The IFRA Standard restricts the use of Linalool in fragrances because of potential sensitization.”
Benzyl Alcohol, fragrance ingredient and preservative. www.cosmeticsinfo.org says: “The IFRA standards restrict the use of Benzyl Alcohol and Benzyl Benzoate in fragrances because of potential sensitization”.
Limonene, is used to make fragrances and flavours. It is naturally occurring substance found in many citrus fruits. www.cosmeticsinfo.org says: “The IFRA Standard restricts the use of Limonene in fragrances because of potential sensitization.”
Trideceth-5, is polyethylene glycol ethers of tridecyl alcohol. The number in the name indicates the average number of units of ethylene oxide in the molecule. Long explanation, but basically this is a emulsifying agent.
Conclusion
I’m quite mystified by this conditioner!
Pros:
  • Good price
  • Left my hair shiny
  • Nice and thick consistency
  • The ingredient list is maybe the best one I have analysed so far. Good ingredient list that might actually do something good for hair and no bad ingredients
  • Yummy scent

Cons:
  • Left my hands feeling dry after my hand-test. WTF?
  • Weird/difficult to rinse

So yea, I’m really not sure what to think of this one. I really think I should try it as base in my cassia mix and follow with moisture.

Notice how near-identical the ingredient list is for these two products? *Head scratch*

I guess my overall verdict is:
"Meh". 

Thursday 14 March 2013

This and that


For years I have considered adding a hint of henna to my cassia treatment. Yesterday I was window-shopping on http://www.hennasooq.com/ and noticed the chat function.
I decide to ask a few questions and who else but Little_Cherry is there answering my questions. The longhair circuit is small indeed!
Hubby’s comment was “You long haired people really are planning to take over the world, aren’t you?”.
Yes, yes we are.


In more annoying news, I was going to do a Nodosaurus and decided to shoot a video of how I do it, only to find that I absolutely cannot record any sound on my laptop. Seriously weird. The built in microphone doesn’t work and I can’t even tape sound from a headset. Truly weird.
Maybe it’s a sign that I shouldn’t bother, hah. Seems like the people who are really interested in haircare will find my blog and those who just wants to gawk at or perv on long hair can go find some other youtube channel. 

Sunday 10 March 2013

Not so cute

I decided to try the triple braided bun from my last post.
It looks so cute on the model!

On me?
Yea, not so much.
They are definitely too big to be cute.


Note the short pieces at my neck. Still undecided what to do with them.


When Hubby saw me, his first comment was “Princess Leia buns!” Hm, yea okay, but… Not really what I was going for. *Pout*