Sunday, November 7, 2010

Yves Rocher Phytum Actif Shampoo and Conditioner Review

My search for the perfect shampoo replacement for my The Body Bakery's favourites is still going on strong. Since I had been going in and out of Yves Rocher recently, I decided why not just try their shampoo? So on a fine evening after a grueling day at work, I stopped by the shop and picked up a bottle of Phytum Actif Invigorating Aromatic Shampoo and a bottle of Phytum Actif Repairing Conditioner. What made me decided on these choices? The sales assistant told me that this is the only minty shampoo they have and it will leave a minty feeling on my head after shampooing. Well, anything minty will obviously attract me. Plus, they were having a promotion of getting both the shampoo and conditioner at the price of RM40.

The Phytum Actif Invigorating Shampoo and Repairing Conditioner.

Phytum Actif Invigorating Aromatic Shampoo
Product description: The Phytum Actif Invigorating Aromatic Shampoo is enriched with 100% organic essential oil mint with invigorating properties. It provides a delicious moment of well-being and leaves hair soft and light and subtly scented. It is suitable for frequent use and all types of hair.

The shampoo comes in a oval shaped, tall and slightly curved green translucent pet plastic bottle weighing 200 ml. It has a twist off cap with a pull-off tab on the top in a darker green colour. The bottle is quite slim when I hold it in my hands. The label on the front is made up of a picture of mint leaves and the product's name printed in white. The back of the bottle is pasted with a sticker label printed with product information and list of ingredients.
 The pull-off tab on the cap of the bottle. Shampoo liquid comes out from here.

The list of ingredients: Aqua, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate, Cocamide Mipa, Sodium Chloride, Parfum, Polysorbate 20, Polyquaternium-10, Hydroxypropyl Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Limonene, Salicylic Acid, Linalool, Mentha Poperita Pil, Propylene Glycol, CI 42053, CI 19140. (I can see SLS in the list, making this shampoo not a 100% organic and nautral).
List of ingredients.

The shampoo is quite runny and is translucent green in colour. It has this leafy smell to it but it does not smell minty at all which is big let down for me. It just smelled like green leaves - almost like betel leaves. The shampoo lathers very well and gets quite creamy but not too thick. As I rinse the suds off from my head, I couldn't help but notice that my hair felt soft and knot free. It made me think that this shampoo could be used just on its own without any conditioner.
Runny green liquid of shampoo.

The runny liquid turned into creamy suds for the head.

Phytum Actif Repairing Conditioner
Product description: The Phytum Actif Repairing Conditioner is made of 100% vegetal nourishing liposomes that helps repairs hair fibre and smooths the hair without weighing it down.

The conditioner comes the same slightly curved shaped pet plastic bottle but a little bit shorter than the shampoo's bottle. The conditioner weighs 150 ml and the bottle is orange in colour with a red cap at the top. The cap also houses the same pull-off tab and can be twisted open when necessary. There is no picture on the front label of the bottle and the back is pasted with a label printed with product information and list of ingredients.
 
Pull-off tab on the conditioner bottle.

The list of ingredients: Aqua, Cetyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Chloride, PPG-3 Myristyl Ether, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Quaternium-80, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Parfum, Methylparaben, Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Amodimethicone, Guar Hyrdoxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Citrci Acid, Polyquarternium-16, Arginine, Propylparaben, Linalool, Benzyl Salicylate, Coumarin, Amyl Cinnamal, Trideceth-12, Simmondsia Chinensis, Cetrimonium Chloride, Phospholipids, Propylene Glycol, Triethanolamine, Chondrus Crsipus, Carbomer, CI 19140, CI 14700. (This conditioner contains parabens - methylparaben and the propylparaben).
Finely printed list of ingredients.

The conditioner has a very soft and lotion-like texture. It distributes well and gets absorb into my hair quite quickly. It has a subtle powdery smell to it which I didn't quite like. Rinsing off the conditioner is easy and it didn't leave sticky feeling or residue on the base of my neck or ears. I find that the conditioner is just like any other normal drugstore bought conditioner. My hair felt soft after rinsing but it failed at the combing test where my comb did not slide freely through my wet hair. It also did not help my dry ends.

Here's what the texture of the conditioner looks like:
A blob of conditioner.
The conditioner is very soft and like lotion, it slid down my palm.
The conditioner spread over my palm.

When comparing the Yves Rocher's Phytum Actif Conditioner with The Body Shop's Rainforest Moisture Conditioner, I found that in terms of texture, the Phytum Actif seems to be more emollient and slippery whereas The Body Shop's conditioner is more thick and stayed put on my finger.

When both are spread evenly on my hands, the Yves Rocher Phytum Actif Conditoner had a thicker consistency compared to The Body Shop's which goes on more thinner. As for the result of the conditioner on my hair, I found that I liked The Body Shop's conditioner better as it had a slightly better smell and conditioned my dry ends a little better.
Comparison of TBS' and Yves Rocher's conditioner.


My verdict: I think the shampoo did quite well in making my hair feel soft and manageable but I was quite disappointed in the scent for I was hoping it would smell and feel minty on my head. The conditioner was also a let down for me since it did not help repair my dry ends at all. The shampoo is better to be used on its own. I don't think I would repurchase unless they make the shampoo smell more minty and a little bit sweet, and until the mintiness can really be felt on my scalp. Definitely no to the conditioner.

You can check out both the shampoo and conditioner at Yves Rocher's website.

 

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