I'm Gonna Wash that Grime Right Outa My Hair (Organics 2 in 1 shampoo)

Member Name: mattygroves10

Product:	Organics 2 in 1 shampoo
Date:	09/08/05 (268 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Not expensive, as these things go . Smells nice

Disadvantages: Conditioner element doesn't really...well...work

I'm not a toiletry junkie. I rarely wear make up, never wear perfume, and try to avoid being sucked in by extravagant advertising claims that this product or that will instantly transform my looks; turning me into a near super-model. Fake science doesn't do it for me either.

I don't moisturise, I don't visit Lush or Body Shop. I don't use hair spray, mousse, wax, or any other styling preparation. However, I DO shampoo. Every day. Every morning (at the ungodly hour of ten to seven, on weekdays), I walk bleary-eyed into the shower. Now, I don't want to spend ages there. However, my hair really, really needs conditioning - it is VERY fine (I mean baby fine), and tangles easily. But I don't like mornings - and I don't want to spend any more time on morning absolutions than absolutely necessary. So I like using a 2-in-1 shampoo combined conditioner.

Normally, my brand of choice is Pantene - their 2-in-1 product seems to condition better than even some conditioners do, and certainly does so better than other combined products I've tried. But I don't always do the shopping. In fact, if I'm honest, I rarely do the shopping. So sometimes my husband claims he cannot find my preferred brand. Personally, I think he objects to the price, but I can't prove it.

Anyway, a few weeks ago, he came home with a 200ml bottle of ORGANICS 2 IN 1 INSTANT SHINE. I assume he paid £1.49, since that's what the Sainsbury's website tells me it costs, and we do indeed shop in Sainsbury's.

Now, I guess, you want to know...does it work? Does it get matty's seal of approval? Well, read on.

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APPEARANCE - the bottle
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I have here in front of me a green bottle. It is shaped as the picture above - kind of a rounded oblong. It has the Organics logo (black with a silver circle), and the claims in both French and English (apparently, it has 5 essential oils. Or huiles essentielles, if you prefer.) In pink the 2 in 1 instant shine bit is there (apparently, 'instant shine' in French is 'brillance express.'). In smaller pink letters, I am informed that it is a shampoo and conditioner for all hair types. Jolly dee, as I seem to have all hair types (NOT).

Turning the bottle around, in quite small print (remember, they have to fit all this information on the small bottle in two languages), the marketing blurb appears, along with the contact details (www.livinghair.com, if you must), and the size (200ml).

The ingredients contain all the usual suspects, including 'aqua' (why do they DO that - do they think we're too stupid to realise that's WATER???) and sodium laureth sulfate, amongst others - I mention this, because there are websites and leaflets that claim these ingredients are 'bad things.' It's up to you, really.

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A Design Flaw
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What IS important to me about the bottle is the shape of the top. You see, I hate wastage, so when a bottle of shampoo or conditioner is nearly empty, I like to invert the bottle on the shelf, so that all the gunk ends up near the dispensing hole, thus enabling me to squeeze every last drop out. The top of THIS bottle is rounded, thus making that process rather difficult. The only way I can achieve it is to carefully lean and balance the bottle against the corner of the shelf by the window. This is not ideal. So it loses points for design.

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APPEARANCE - the stuff
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Well...it's white. It's fairly thick...ish. Actually, it's a bit thinner than I would hope for a product that contains conditioner - it's not as thick as Pantene. But it's OK.

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SMELL - the stuff
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God, how do you describe the smell of a shampoo? It's fairly sweet smelling, but not as sweet as shampoos that claim to contain fruit extracts (my daughter is currently using some Australian conditioner that says it contains strawberries - it's bright pink, and smells like strawberry jelly). I'd say it smells a tiny bit like marzipan. It is a pleasant smell - not too overpowering. What more can I say?

I'm NOT tasting it for you...so we'll skip straight to:

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USAGE - how to
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C'mon guys...you put a bit on your hand (I have shortish, fine hair, so I use a bit somewhere between the size of a 5p and 10p). Rub that into your hair and scalp, and rinse. If you can't figure THAT out, I have NO idea how you figured out how to access the net!

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DOES IT WORK...as a shampoo?
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In a word, yes. It gets my hair clean. It rinses reasonably easily (so long as you don't use too much), therefore, my hair stays clean throughout the day. I can't vouch for whether your hair would stay clean for more than one day, as I, as you know if you were paying attention, shampoo every day. So for me, it works as a shampoo.

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DOES IT WORK...as a conditioner?
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Ah...there's the rub. Not really, I feel. Yes, it does condition better than, say Sainsbury's economy apple shampoo. It conditions better than most non-conditioning shampoos. But I find I still need to use conditioner following the Organics treatment.

Since my hair is so fine, it tends to be static-y and fly-away, and Organics 2-in-1 doesn't really control that. I also find that it's only a tiny bit easier to brush than it would be if I'd just used shampoo. OK, I don't need as much conditioner as I would normally, but I still need some.

Now with Pantene, on the other hand, I can, on most days (except the driest), get away with just using the 2-in-1.

Therefore, as a conditioner, it's not very effective for me.

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MATTY'S Recommendation
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Would I use it again? Only if my husband purchased it again...by mistake. I mean, it's not TERRIBLE; it's just not great.

Do I recommend it? Not really, no. I'll be sticking with the Pantene. At only 10p more for 200ml, it's worth it (and, to steal another company's advertising tagline - I'm worth it).

Summary: Fine shampoo. Disappointing conditioner. Not the product for me!