You may remember that, several months back, I experienced some annoying hair breakage. My normally-healthy, well-behaved locks were becoming tangled, unruly, and brittle. After I diagnosed the issue, I hastily switched shampoos. As much as I loved the TIGI Moisture Maniac, that and its so-called replacement (lies!) are the only prestige shampoo and conditioner I’ve really used; I don’t have any special loyalty or affinity for higher-end hair products, and welcome the opportunity to spend less on this sort of thing. I had purchased Suave Natural Infusion Awapuhi Anti-Breakage shampoo and conditioner some time prior with coupons (that made it almost free thanks to a sale, too), and hey – how convenient, right?
I scoured the ingredient label to make sure it was free of proteins that might exacerbate the issue. It was, so I pressed on. I wasn’t blown away on my first use, but not every shampoo and conditioner is like that. Sometimes, after all, they sneak up on you. I can live with that, so I stayed the course. My hair did improve, but it didn’t feel thicker or fuller like it suggests.
That said, although my hair improved, I’m not sure how much of it to attribute to the, “anti-breakage,” properties of the Suave Natural Infusion Awapuhi formula, and how much was just cutting back on topical proteins applied to my hair. The formula didn’t feel like anything overwhelmingly special. Not a sulfate-free formula (this doesn’t matter to me, but may matter to you), this dye- and paraben-free shampoo lathers reasonably. The conditioner doesn’t feel thick (I’m a sucker for thick conditioner) and doesn’t seem to do much beyond the regular Suave conditioner formulas, which to me feel as little more than slapping thin perfumed lotion that rinses out quickly without imparting much moisture. My hair wasn’t stripped or anything, it just wasn’t as moisturized as well as I like it to be and as a result, I wound up using my Aussie 3-minute Miracle a lot. I found that I needed to use more of each product, too, to thoroughly clean and condition.
One of the things that attracted me to this line (why I chose to purchase it in the first place since I did not buy it in response to my hair issues, but before), was the lure of Awapuhi Ginger and Honeysuckle. Many moons ago, I tried a shampoo from (I think?) Paul Mitchell and I LOVED how it smelled. It was amazing. I figured this might have a similar fragrance because that shampoo was also an Awapuhi-touting variety. Unfortunately, this shampoo did not smell anything like either awapuhi or honeysuckle (and honeysuckle is one of the few florals I’m into) – it had a sweet-smelling strong trying-to-be-floral chemical scent. I just really, really did not dig it.
Unfortunately, I have not tried the Pureology product that it claims to perform as well as, but based on my lackluster experience as compared to the reviews of Pureology products, I’m going to guess it isn’t going to blow your mind. It isn’t a bad product, but it just didn’t do much for me. I see rave reviews for it but it isn’t really anything special, I’m afraid. That isn’t to say I’m upset with Suave or this product – it might have done more or made a bigger change if my hair was crazy damaged (chemical processing, frequent heat-styling, etc).
For the price (less than $4) it may be just the ticket for you, but I’m willing to spend a tad bit more for more noticeable results. Being as that I’ve only used it for about three-and-a-half months and I’m already almost done with the bottles (yes, really, I told you I had to use a ton), I’m looking forward to trying something else soon.
Disclosure: Hey! Some of the links in this post are affiliate links – this means I may get a very small percentage of the sale if you decide to buy something. I only recommend products I’ve tried and verified as awesome, which is kind of the point of a favorites post. Ethical blogging FTW.