Wednesday, July 15, 2009 at 11:30AM Product Test: flake-fighting shampoos
As the commercials love to point out, fabulous hair can’t have flakes; but with our constant exposure to coloring, environmental pollutants, sun, wind, and gobs of skin-irritating styling products, who hasn’t had an occasional itchy scalp?
Of course no one wants to discuss dandruff, we just want it dealt with quickly, and without any chemical-shampoo scents left behind, something every product on the market promises.
But, do any of them actually deliver? We tested three brands at three different price points to see which would leave us itchy and which would leave us flake-free.
Product #1 Neutrogena T-Gel Daily Control (8.5 fl. Oz.$6.99) A classic drugstore bband, Neutrogena tackles the flake- issue with it’s T-Gel line. The daily control shampoo had a light floral fragrance that reminded us of kid friendly “no tears” shampoos. The light tingling sensation upon lathering felt soothing in the shower but left our scalps slightly tight feeling afterwards. An excellent option at the a super affordable price this one seemed to work best as a treatment to be used two or three times a week, with little to no preventative effects noticed. Available at drugstores and supermarkets nationwide
Product #2 Matrix Biolage Scalptherapie Cooling Mint Shampoo (13.5 Oz. $18) The intense aroma therapy of this mint and rosemary heavy lather instantly perked up our senses (and reminded us of the pricier Pureology line). A generous foam that not only left our scalps refreshed, but our minds invigorated was a definite plus. The downside? The overall effectiveness of the shampoo was mediocre, and needed to be used every day to truly de-flake, which is not usually recommended for color-treated hair. Available at salons and salon-shops such as Pure Beauty.
Product #3 Philip B Anti-Itch Flake Relief Shampoo (7.4 oz. $35) To be honest, whenever one sets up a product test, the hope is that you will discover a low-priced easy to find product works just as well, if not better, than the pricey exclusive brands. Unfortunately when comparing other brands to Philippe B’s mustard yellow botanical blend, the less expensive models just can’t measure up. Phillip B uses the same first ingredient as the Neutrogena sample (1% Pyrithione Zinc) but the addition of coal tar, tea tree oil, chamomile and Aloe Vera puts this product a head and shoulders above the rest. This product worked as both a treatment, completely de-flaking the scalp, and as a preventative product, which only needed to be used once a week for results to remain.
Philip B products are available online or at at these Bay Area locations:
Barneys New York
77 O'Farrell Street
San Francisco, CA 94108
United States
tel. 415.848.6430
PATRICK RICHARDS SALON
3631 SACRAMENTO STREET
SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118
United States
tel. 415-922-4247
SALON CARTIER
2400 OLYMPIC BOULEVARD, SUITE 4
WALNUT CREEK, CA 94595
United States
tel. 925-939-7425
5214-F Diamond Heights Blvd., #318
San Francisco, CA 94131
United States
tel. (888) 874-6723
bluemercury, inc. - CORTE MADERA
1618 Redwood Highway, Suite D018
Corte Madera, CA 94925
United States
tel. 415.924.5400
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