The Ordinary Hair Care Line Review
By Jill Oliver-Fox Sunday, May 14, 2023 2023, conditioner, deciem, hair care, shampoo, the ordinary
With the success of The Ordinary's Hair Density serum they have gone ahead and launched a full line of hair care products. There is now a shampoo (and body wash), conditioner and a moisturizing scalp serum. As a huge fan of the Multi- Peptide serum I jumped at picking up the rest of the products to see what they were like. Of course I did this when they first launched in 2022 and am finishing this post almost an entire year later, which is just silly of me.
This concentrated formula is designed to support hair health so that it looks thicker, denser, fuller and healthier. The technologies present in this formula include REDENSYL™ complex (with Larix Europaea Wood Extract and Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract), Procapil™ peptide complex (with Biotinoyl Tripeptide-1), CAPIXYL™ peptide complex (with Acetyl Tetrapeptide-3 and Trifolium Pratense Flower Extract), BAICAPIL™ complex (with Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, Triticum Vulgare Germ Extract and Glycine Soja Germ Extract), AnaGain™ (Pisum Sativum Extract) and High-Solubility Caffeine (1% net Caffeine by weight), in an ultra-lightweight, emollient base for efficient penetration. The total concentration of these technologies in the formula by weight is 21.15%.
First off, I love this stuff ❤️. I really truly do. I've been using it steadily since half my hair fell out in 2020 and it really makes a difference. My understanding is we are always being attacked by free radicals and antioxidants help combat that. This serum is a bunch of antioxidants for your scalp, which helps with the general health of your scalp and with things like density and greys. Is it a miracle worker? I've got no clue, but it did help with the stress my scalp was under and it's pretty darn cheap. I've mailed some to both my mother in-law and sister in-law and the hubs uses my bottle. I use it and recommend it.
Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA for Scalp is a milky serum that contains a combination of ingredients that mimic the function of natural moisturizing factors (NMF), as well as hyaluronic acid (HA) and squalane that are naturally produced within the skin. With regular use, this formula supports hydration through scalp skin barrier protection.
This is a thin and milky formula, which was not what I was expecting at all (despite it saying this in its description, I guess I did not read it at all when I bought it). It is supposed to be like The Ordinary's best selling Natural Moisturizing Factors HA+ and Squalane together, but for the scalp. It is great for my scalp come the summer, when I get itchy and swim almost everyday.
I used it a few times when I thought my scalp was itchy, but I honestly found it way too runny. I really like the texture and constancy of the density scalp serum and just generally prefer it. Truthfully I will probably use it more now that warmer weather is here because in the summer my scalp gets incredibly itchy.
Sulphate 4% Cleanser for Body and Hair offers a gentle-is-essential approach to effectively cleanse body and hair. The low foaming product contains SLES-2, a milder sulphate that has been incorporated into the formula to be gentle on the skin, and cleanse hair without additional colour fade. The molecular structure of SLES-2 is designed to provide effective cleansing at a lower concentration to minimize concerns with potential irritation associated with the use of sulphates.
With The Ordinary's launch into shampoos and conditioners they seemed have wanted to keep things pretty simple, they also included SLS in their shampoo/body wash formula, which isn't the directions most brands have been going the last 15 years or so. Deciem, the company behind The Ordinary, claim that their 4% Sulphate shampoo is gentler and mild enough not to irritate the skin.
I found the formula runny and I would often pour out too much, but not enough if that makes sense. I found that was my regular amount of shampoo was about half of what I needed when applying theirs. I usually could get thought the top part of my scalp and would go back for seconds to do the bottom half of it.
I saw lots of reviews that said this formula did not lather, I found it created a mild lather that rinsed out quite easily.
Sadly, as body wash this one was not so great, it left me dry and itchy. My scalp always felt fine, but after a few weeks my hair started to look really damaged (I always used it with its matching conditioner). I really felt it did a ton of damage to my hair and I wish I stopped using it sooner.
Behentrimonium Chloride 2% Conditioner is a minimalistic formula that avoids the bulky ingredients typically found in conditioners. This means more manageable hair with less weigh down.
My bottle of conditioner has an interesting texture, it is incredibly thick and I cannot get it out of the bottle without removing the cap (even then I have to store it upside-down). I've watched a few videos with people using it, and they don't seem to be having the same issues as I do.
I can chalk this up to two things. One this bottle is a terrible shape and plastic density that it makes squeezing thick products out hard. Two I may have gotten a bad batch. I say this because I was sent some Hylamide (a Deciem brand) eye serum a few years back that was a totally different shade and texture then it should have been. Every photo I have seen of this conditioner looks about half as thick as mine is. I went to one of the Deciem stores and got mixed stories from the employees. One said that is was not like that for her at all, while another said, yes, that is what she experienced for two bottles and hated it because of how it wouldn't come out.
Regardless of all of that the texture is thick and the colour is a semi-translucent cream.
This is a barebones conditioner formula, nothing special or fancy about it, but it does lack silicone, which makes it great for those with hair that gets weighted down easily. Other than that there is nothing super special about it. I found my hair felt soft and great, but also super frizzy if I didn't load it up afterwards with taming products and oils.
It also lacks real hydrators, there are no oils in it, so my dry and wavy hair just did not benefit from it at all. In fact the more weeks I used it the more trashed my hair looked.
An interesting side note, previous to this order of products all my The Ordinary products I had purchased were made in Canada. I noticed all three new products to me (the shampoo, conditioner and HA+ serum) were made in the USA. This kind of bummed me out. I know Estee Lauder owns Deciem now, and they have factories here in Canada outside of the Deciem one, but it kind of still sucked. I am guessing they used whatever factory they use for Bumble and Bumble and their other hair care lines for these products.
Overall, I would only rebuy the density serum, that baby is ride or die for me, everything else is unremarkable or pure trash. The shampoo and conditioner both left my hair worse off and more damaged the more I used them. It isn't worth the time or money for them when I know I can get cheaper, better and made in Canada hair care with brands like Finesse at my grocery store (yes, I like Finesse, and it is superior in every way to the shampoo and conditioner...and made in Canada). The HA+ serum isn't that great, and nothing to rave about, so I would probably not rebuy it.
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