Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Dry Shampoo Disappointment: Suave Moroccan Infusion Weightless Dry Shampoo Review

Originally I was going to put this one in my adequate product roundup, because it sort of does the job. But the more I thought about it, I realized that I really only had complaints, so it gets its own post. (Here's a link to the product since I didn't take a photo of the packaging.)

First off, let's address the product name. Moroccan Infusion? Why? Well, I know why - it's so Suave can cash in on the popularity of their Moroccan Infusion shampoos and conditioners. They've put out a whole line of products under this name now. But this dry shampoo has no argan oil in it, so there's nothing "Moroccan" about it. It also doesn't have the same fragrance as the shampoo and conditioner, which may be disappointing to people who are a fan of that scent. Personally, since I don't like that fragrance, it's not a problem for me. Unfortunately, I don't like the smell of this product either.

That's my first complaint: the fragrance is way too fucking strong. It's overwhelming. I'd been happy with the basic Suave dry shampoo for a while, but when I bought my last can I found the scent annoying. I doubt the product has changed, but my tolerance for its extreme perfuminess has definitely decreased. This new version is just as bad, though. It has a different scent - I think the same one as the original gold can of Suave dry shampoo. It's way too much for me. It gives me a headache and makes my skin itch. That second part might be somewhat psychosomatic, to be fair, because just writing about it is making me itch a little. The issue, though, is that the fragrance is so obnoxious that I can't ignore it. It's in my nose constantly after I use the product. It never fades.

As for performance, well it does absorb oil, and it does add volume. But there's a problem. See for yourself:

Before: gross greasy hair.
After: gross powdery hair.
The lighting in the second photo might be a bit brighter, but nevertheless you can clearly see the white powder near my roots along the part and at my forehead. This is the result I got after a lot of fussing with it. First I sprayed it on at the roots. Then I rubbed it through with my fingers. Then I let it sit for about 5 minutes. Finally I brushed it out. A lot. I brushed every direction and I bent over and flipped my hair over my head and tried to brush it out that way. No good. There's still visible residue. Plus I feel like it makes my sad roots that are in need of coloring more obvious for some reason. They're more grey.

I can go out in public like this without looking too weird, but my hair is pretty light. If you have darker hair, you're probably going to have trouble with this. You could maybe get it to work if you have very light hair and you use only a very, very small amount of product. In that case you might not get as much volume, though.

I'm going to keep playing around with it to see if I can find the ideal amount of product to use that will actually make my hair look clean without turning it grey. So far I haven't struck that balance. Even if I manage to, I'm not sure I'll keep using it, just because I found the perfume so excessive.

How does this one compare to the other two Suave dry shampoos I've reviewed? Compared to the silver can, it's just as strongly scented, but the fragrance is different. It works as well for absorbing oil and adding volume, but it leaves more white powder behind. Compared to the original Keratin Infusion version, it smells the same (from what I remember), absorbs oil as well, leaves hair feeling softer, but again leaves more powder behind. (Having references like this available is a nice thing about blogging. Though maybe I should check them more often, because I didn't remember that I apparently liked the gold can better than the silver one, overall. Hmmm.)

Does anyone know of an affordable dry shampoo that works and doesn't smell like an entire army of heavily perfumed grandmas has set up camp on my scalp? I can't stand baby powder fragrances, so I know that limits my options. I might just have to stick with plain old corn starch, though it isn't quite as effective as some dry shampoos, and it doesn't come in a handy dandy aerosol can.

10 comments:

  1. Blargh! That's lame. I think I have the same one, and I totally agree about the overpowering fragrance (which I kinda hate).

    Previously, I got the travel size version of the Herbal Essences dry shampoo, which has an AMAZING SMELL but I only used it once (yes, once!) and then the nozzle just stopped spraying. It instead kinda just spit out the shampoo in a liquid stream when I turned it upside down, and then stopped working after I tried it multiple times on different days, ran warm water over the nozzle, etc. Of course I found a bunch of reviews that reported the same exact problem AFTER I bought it. It's now in the trash. I bought the Suave one to replace it, mainly because it's also cheap and I was sold by the bumble & bumble comparison. :(

    If Herbal Essences fixes the nozzle on their dry shampoo, I would buy it again immediately, though. I noticed it's in the Target Beauty Box, so hopefully that's a good sign?

    I've heard good things about Not Your Mother's dry shampoo... I'd be curious to know if it is indeed better!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh that sucks about the Herbal Essences nozzle. It seems like there are a few reviews of almost every dry shampoo out there where someone complains about that exact thing happening. I wonder what causes it. I've never had it happen to me. I did manage to get one of the Target boxes, so I'll get to try the Herbal Essences out, if I don't have the problem.

      I haven't tried the NYM one. It sounds in reviews like it has a very strong smell too. I might try the Garnier one next - if it's like most of their products, it should have a fruity scent, which might be more bearable than the powdery/floral one you usually get.

      Delete
    2. Ah! I didn't know that, gah. I did read a couple reviews that said they keep theirs in the bathroom, and I do too, so maaybe it's the humidity - but shouldn't the cap take care of that? I'm stumped.

      Awesome, if you do try either one, I'd love to hear about it!

      Delete
  2. have you tried the dove one? I like it the best. john frieda used to make a "luxurious volume" one in a blue can that was pretty excellent, but I haven't seen it in the drugstores lately. I definitely believe that my demon hair can outsmart dry shampoo if I use the same kind too much, so I rotate between the dove and the silver suave can. oh, and the "not your mother's" kind is pretty good too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think I tried the Dove stuff several years ago and didn't like it. Before I started blogging. I think it didn't absorb well or something? But maybe it has improved since then? I have so many left to try! I was hoping to find another nice $3 version, but this wasn't it.

      Delete
  3. I think Freeman's "Psssssst" dry shampoo is OK. It does have sort of a baby powder-ish scent, but I find that the residue it leaves behind is minimal (and I have dark-ish hair).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A lot of people like that! I actually used Psssst! in the fall and was so unimpressed that I didn't even bother to post about it. It wasn't terrible, really, but I took some before and after photos and then couldn't tell which was which. Not a good sign. I know it works really well for some people, though.

      Delete
    2. I'm like some kind of dry shampoo Goldilocks. I feel like there has to be one that's just right out there. But with my luck it probably costs $20.

      Delete
    3. But don't spend that $20 on Klorane's dry shampoo...the oat milk version I have smells just like Wind Song (very powdery-oriental old lady perfume).

      Delete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...