I’m constantly on the hunt for good conditioners, leave-ins, and styling products, but I’ve rarely given much thought to shampoos. For me and perhaps many others, a majority of our time is spent protecting our hair and supporting our waves, curls or coils in their natural state. Shampoos just clean your hair, right? Well, yes. But a good shampoo should do more than that.
Your hair needs just as much protection while it’s being washed, as it does while it’s being conditioned and styled. And some shampoos are almost too good at their jobs. This is the reason why many naturals have turned to co-washing, as it proved to be the most gentle process to get our hair clean. But not all shampoos are created equal. I was happy to try Argan Oil Restorative Shampoo from Essential Oil Labs, and I think this might be a keeper.
Ingredients
For starters, the contents are darn near perfect. Those first several ingredients are just water and a bounty of various oils. Behold: distilled water, argan oil, avocado oil, jojoba oil, camellia seed oil, botanical keratin, almond oil. It’s a creamy consistency, so if you have locs, you might want to skip to avoid build up (but more on that later”>.
Now, I’ve never seen this before, but the bottle also comes with two dispensing cap options: a pump and press top, plus a regular sealed cap for when it’s not in use. This is really convenient for travel.
Product Breakdown
Not going to beat around the bush: I love this shampoo. It smells heavenly. I usually lather and rinse twice. My hair felt clean, but not squeaky clean to the point of being dry. It truly felt like I had just applied conditioner and rinsed. My hair felt that soft and manageable.
I said above that those with locs might want to stay away since it’s a creamy shampoo, and you want to do what you can to avoid build-up. But I say, use at your discretion. Locs can dry out too and need to be conditioned as well, and most people with locs use oils (myself included when I had locs”> for conditioning. There are no butters in this shampoo, just oils, so it could be a good option.
Final thoughts
For those that have trouble keeping their hair moist during a wash, I think this is a great shampoo to try. Since it is oil-based, loc wearers might want to give it a go.
Have you tried Essential Oil Lab products or this shampoo in particular? How did they work for you? Anyone with locs tried these products? Let us know in the comments!
