I don’t even want to start with an introduction here. I can honestly say this is the worst experience with a hair product I’ve had in a long time.
Philip B is not cheapo haircare. It’s expensive stuff. When someone invests in expensive haircare I think they deserve to get what they pay for. The first product I tried was the Lavender Hair & Body Shampoo, which is a steep $30 for a 7.4 oz bottle. I was using a little 2 oz, which retails for $14 – why is about 1/4 of the product still half the price? I don’t know. But the problems began almost immediately. The bottle itself is really hard sturdy plastic. Great for travel, not so great for actually squeezing the shampoo out into your hand. I actually had to twist off the cap and just pour some because I was getting nowhere trying to squeeze this bottle. (Yes I removed the safety seal, lol…) The smell is fabulous. I was willing to forgive the packaging issues.
Then I put it in my hair. Now, I have fine hair but I do have a lot of it. The directions say to apply a liberal amount, so I did. I began working it into my hair, and… nothing happened. This shampoo is supposed to be mild but clarifying, and build into a “luxurious lather”. Supposedly the amino acids in this shampoo will fight static and leave you with silky smooth hair. But here I was, working it in, and nothing was going on. No lather, no feeling of my hair being cleaned, nothing. I kept working on it. Sometimes sulfate-free shampoos don’t lather too well, so I was trying to be diligent. Finally I gave up and started rinsing. That is when something did start to happen. My hair started to feel dry and worst of all, tangled. My hair never tangles. Okay, very, very rarely. I couldn’t run my hands through it without feeling like I had to pull sections apart. And my hair didn’t feel clean. At all.
So, I thought, I’ll give it another go. Sometimes when your hair is really dirty (as mine was, I’ll admit) it takes a couple shampoos. So I poured some more into my hand and went at it again. Same. Thing. No lather, nothing going on with cleaning my hair. I thought maybe I wasn’t using enough, so I added more, and really worked it into my hair. Once I rinsed, the same damn thing. Tangly, straw-like ends and greasy roots/scalp. I went in to the shower with greasy roots and hair that was recently conditioned and feeling actually not too bad.
Deciding to really be a trooper, I went for the second product – the Lightweight Deep Conditioning Creme Rinse. I applied it and combed it through with a shower comb, just as the instructions indicate. I left it on for a few minutes and then rinsed. My hair still felt straw-like, tangled, and awful. I rinsed and rinsed and rinsed, wanting to be absolutely SURE I got all of this stuff out of my hair.
After the shower comes step 3 – pH restorative toning mist. This product is meant to be a detangler (a-HA!) and lightweight conditioner. It’s supposed to be ideal for those who have dry frizzy hair and want to have smooth silky hair. At first I was dubious – the only reason I had any need for a detangler was because of the shampoo in the first place. Coincidence? There goes my conspiracy theorist brain again. But I really wanted to do a review based on my experience using this whole “system” correctly and according to the instructions, no matter what! So I sprayed it on and then “styled as usual” (which this time just consisted of using a hair dryer).
The result? Well, let me show you.
Does THAT look like freshly washed hair to ANYONE? I look like I’ve been sweating all day and in dire need of some dry shampoo! And notice how frizzy my hair is and how many flyaways I have going on. And shine? What shine? My hair is totally devoid of shine. Mr. Boyfriend described it as looking “blah”. Yeah, no kidding.
For $30 a bottle you too can have hair like mine.
The ends of my hair were somewhat better (not greasy looking anyway) but still pretty dry and dull. The hair around my crown felt fried, like I’d torched it. I wasn’t even using the hottest heat setting on my dryer (I rarely do).
So yeah, this wasn’t a love match for me. If any of you have tried Philip B, especially these particular products, please share your experiences!
Sample provided for editorial purposes.
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