Can you tell by the picture that I've used these products more than once? I wanted to be sure of my review. I gave Trader Joe's a try because they are all about value and quality. This product is not marketed for curly, coily hair. (Trader Joe's doesn't really market much at all). But I like searching for products that are not specifically marketed towards kinky or curly hair. Many brands have discovered that there is money to be made in natural hair care products I'm hesitant to try because they are $22.00 a bottle for chemical-based products.
That being said, let's get to the review. On the label of Trader Joe's Nourish Spa Balanced Moisturizing Shampoo, the first ingredient is purified water. This is followed by organic rosemary oil, organic valencia orange citrus and several other organic ingredients.... and then way down towards the end of the list there are the chemical additives. That's where you find C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate. And a couple of parabens. So although the label boasts that it does not contain laurel/laureth sulfates, it does contain a smaller quantity different form of sulfate. I think this would qualify the shampoo as a "low-poo" (A low-poo is a shampoo containing smaller quantities of sulfate.)
The Trader Joe's Nourish Spa Balanced Moisturizing Conditioner has identical organic ingredients. If you take away 2 cleansing ingredient and add alcohol and a moisturizer, you have your conditioner. Both are lightly scented.
 |
| Clean, conditioned hair. I used a "low-poo" and I'm still alive! |
The Good
- The first time I DESPISED the shampoo. But on the second use, I used shampoo with the conditioner and a deep conditioning pack of another brand. I must say, my hair tolerated the shampoo a lot better when I used it with the Nourish Spa conditioner.
- My hair was clean after the first shampoo, and stripped clean after the second shampoo. Moderate the amount of use to avoid stripping hair. Because this shampoo contains so many organic essential oils, the sulfonate is more tolerable (at least for MY hair).
- The conditioner works fairly well. It's wet enough to be distributed easily through dense hair and provides enough slip to detangle.
The Not So Good
- One word: Sulfonate
- The conditioner could be a little less watery. I've lost more than I would like to in the drain because it slipped through my fingers or slid off my palm.
The Other
- Trader Joe's is a cool place to shop. However, these stores are not easily accessible. I bought both products for about $3.00 in the Nashville location. If you don't live near a Trader Joe's, you can always shop at the Trader Joe's Amazon Store. They sell these online for a mere...... $10.00+shipping per bottle. (For the record, my puff and talked it over. We agreed that I would not pay $10.00 + shipping for this slightly sulfated shampoo.)
So there you have it. These (like many products) work well when used together. My hair doesn't like sulfates, but this one wasn't so bad. The shampoo cleans and the conditioner moisturizes. But that's like getting a 79.99 on a test. You know that's a B, which would be fine, if you didn't know there were A's out there.
Don't let me be the only voice here. Have you tried this product? Did you love it, like it, or... not so much? Comment below.
