TRESemmé Naturals Conditioner, Nourishing Moisture, with Aloe Vera and Avocado

Walking through Target the other day, I noticed this conditioner and decided to buy it.  Maybe I was sucked in by the word "Naturals" or just felt like trying something new.  Since I've been natural, my staple detangling conditioners have been Herbal Essences Hello Hydration and Suave Naturals Tropical Coconut.  These two products work very well on my hair as detanglers, are very affordable and easily accessible. 

My thoughts: Overall, I really like this conditioner.  When I read the ingredients, I was concerned about the alcohol, however, since it's pretty far down on the list of ingredients, I decided to give it a try anyway.  In the shower, I applied a very generous amount to my water saturated hair, concentrating on the ends.  I parted my hair in two sections and clipped one side while I detangled the other side.  The slip is amazing!!!  It took me less than 5 minutes (per side) to detangle.  (This was hair that had been out, wild and free for the previous 2 days....plus I had slept on it without donning my scarf the night before....yeah.)  Anyway, the scent is nice, clean & lightly citrusy, not overbearing.  After detangling both sides, I thoroughly rinsed, as I didn't intend to use this as a leave-in.  Once out of the shower, I blotted dry and was very happy to see virtually frizz-free curls.  To style, I added a quarter sized amount of a leave-in conditioner, some Jane Carter Solutions Nourish & Shine and bit of styling gel for a little hold.  Wow!!!  Once my hair was dry (about the time I arrived at work), it felt very soft and touchable. 

Summary: Terrific slip, great scent, moisturizing, at $4.99 for 25 ounces it's very affordable!!  I like that it's silicone-free and not tested on animals.

Product Description/Claims:

• Professional quality, used by professionals

• Silicone-free & light weight

• Affordable

• U.S.D.A. certified organic aloe vera & avocado extracts

• Moisturizes hair, protects against damage & breakage with naturally derived polymers, leaves hair soft , more manageable, looking shinier and feeling 10x stronger after just one use (when used with Tresemmé Naturals Nourishing Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner versus non-conditioning shampoo).

• Dye-free, hypoallergenic, color-safe, great for all hair types

• Not tested on animals

• Made in U.S.A.

Ingredients:

Water (Aqua), Stearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Fragrance (Parfum), Lauroyl Lysine, Caprylyl Glycol, Brassica Campestris/Aleurites Fordi Oil Copolymer, Aspartic Acid, Distearyldimonium Chloride, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Citric Acid, Alcohol, Isopropyl Alcohol, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice. USDA Certified Organic Extracts: Aloe Vera, Sweet Orange, and Avocado.

Warnings:

Avoid contact with eyes. In case of contact with eyes, flush thoroughly with water.

Suggested Directions:
Apply an adequate amount of conditioner from mid-shaft to ends first. Work anything that's left through the roots. Leave on for 2-3 minutes, rinse thoroughly, style as usual.

Ingredient definitions*:
stearyl alcohol - Fatty alcohol used as an emollient and to help keep other ingredients intact in a formulation. See fatty alcohol.

cetyl alcohol - Fatty alcohol used as an emollient, emulsifier, thickener, and carrying agent for other ingredients. Can be derived naturally, as in coconut fatty alcohol, or synthetically. It is not an irritant and is not related to sd alcohol or ethyl alcohol.

caprylic/capric triglyceride - Extract derived from coconut and considered a good emollient and thickening agent in cosmetics.

stearamidopropyl dimethylamine - like behentrimonium methosulfate is technically a detergent. It is slightly milder than shampoo detergents and is at a much lower level than you’d find in a shampoo (say 1% versus 12% in shampoo). (http://thebeautybrains.com/2007/03/09/how-to-clean-your-hair-with-conditioner/)

lauroyl lysine - Amino acid derivative that functions as a skin- and hair-conditioning agent. It also contributes to a product’s texture by helping to gel solvents, while also remaining stable under high heat conditions (Source: Organic and Molecular Biochemistry, November 2003, pages 4124–4131).

caprylyl glycol - Skin-conditioning agent that may be plant-derived or synthetic. Often used as part of a preservative blend with phenoxyethanol and chloroxylenol, two preservatives that meet current global regulations.

brassica campestris - See rapeseed oil. rapeseed oil - Nonfragrant oil that has emollient and potential antioxidant properties for skin (Source: British Journal of Nutrition, May 2002, pages 489–499).

aleurites fordii oil - Oil from the Polynesian tung tree, which may have antimicrobial properties for skin (Source: Journal of Ethnopharmacology, November 1995, pages 23–32).

aspartic acid - (See amino acid) amino acid - Fundamental constituents of all proteins found in the body, such as: alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, cystine, glutamic acid, glutamine, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, tryptophan, tyrosine, and valine. Some of these amino acids can be synthesized by the body; others, the essential amino acids must be obtained from protein in the diet. In skin-care products, these types of ingredients act primarily as water-binding agents, and some have antioxidant properties and wound-healing abilities as well. However, these substances cannot affect, change, or rebuild wrinkles. Whether the protein in a skin-care product is derived from an animal or a plant, the skin can’t tell the difference. See protein and natural moisturizing factor (NMF).

distearyldimonium chloride - Antistatic Agent; hair conditioning agent. (http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/ingredient.php?ingred06=702183)

persea gratissima oil - (See avocado oil) avocado oil - Emollient oil similar to other nonfragrant plant oils. It has antioxidant properties. See natural moisturizing factor (NMF).

citric acid - Extract derived from citrus and used primarily to adjust the pH of products to prevent them from being too alkaline.

alcohol - Group of organic compounds that have a vast range of forms and uses in cosmetics. In benign form they are glycols used as humectants that help deliver ingredients into skin. When fats and oils (see fatty acid) are chemically reduced, they become a group of less-dense alcohols called fatty alcohols that can have emollient properties or can become detergent cleansing agents. When alcohols have low molecular weights they can be drying and irritating. The alcohols to be concerned about in skin-care products are ethanol, denatured alcohol, ethyl alcohol, methanol, benzyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, and sd alcohol, which not only can be extremely drying and irritating to skin, but also can generate free-radical damage (Sources: “Skin Care—From the Inside Out and Outside In,” Tufts Daily, April 1, 2002; eMedicine Journal, May 8, 2002, volume 3, number 5, www.emedicine.com; Cutis, February 2001, pages 25–27; Contact Dermatitis, January 1996, pages 12–16; and http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh27-4/277-284.htm). In a product where these ingredients are at the top of the ingredient list, they will be problematic for all skin types; when they are at the bottom of an ingredient list, there most likely is not enough present to be a problem for skin.

isopropyl alcohol - See alcohol.

aloe vera - There is no real evidence that aloe vera (Aloe barbadenis) helps the skin in any significant way. An article in the British Journal of General Practice (October 1999, pages 823–828) stated that “Topical application of aloe vera is not an effective preventative for radiation-induced injuries…. Whether it promotes wound healing is unclear…. Even though there are some promising results, clinical effectiveness of oral or topical aloe vera is not sufficiently defined at present.” There is research indicating that isolated components of aloe vera, such as glycoprotein, can have some effectiveness for wound healing and as an anti-irritant (Sources: Journal of Ethnopharmacology, December 1999, pages 3–37; Free-Radical Biology and Medicine, January 2000, pages 261–265; and British Journal of Dermatology, October 2001, pages 535–545). However, when mixed into a cosmetic product, it is doubtful those qualities remain, although it may still play a role in binding moisture to skin (Source: Skin Research and Technology, November 2006, pages 241–246).


*unless otherwise noted, ingredient source: http://www.cosmeticscop.com/cosmetic-ingredient-dictionary.aspx

If you've tried this conditioner, let me know what you think.....
~Mik