Name of product: All-In-One Citrus Conditioning Hair Rinse
Company name: Dr. Bronner’s
Retail Price: ~10.00
Consistency: gunky, runny
Scent: citrusy
Color: brown
Ingredients: Organic Acacia Concinna (Shikakai) Extract, Organic Citrus Limon (Lemon) Juice, Organic Coconut Acid*, Organic Olive Acid*, Organic Hemp Acid, Potassium Citrate (made with Organic Lemon Juice), Organic Glycerin, Organic Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Oil, Organic Citrus Medica Limonum (Lemon) Oil, Tocopherol (Vit. E), (* Certified Fair Trade by IMO)
Purchased from: My local whole foods store
Review:
So there I am again bumbling around the whole foods store with my friend, another natural, when I see this rinse calling to me with its bright orange bottle. I read the ingredients, I read the claims, how could I resist it? It reads:
For Luxuriant Look & Feel
1-2 Capfuls in a Cup of Water
After Shampooing with
Dr. Bronner’s Soap!
Also, it has Shikakai as an ingredient. I’ve been hearing a lot about that on the hair boards and how wonderful it is. I plan to try the actual powders one day, but I thought this would be a good start. Here is a quote from wikipedia on it:
Shikakai means “fruit for hair” and is a traditional shampoo used in India. It is made from Acacia concinna, a shrub native to the warm, plains of central and south India
It goes on to say:
The fruit pods, leaves and bark of Acacia Concinna are dried, powdered and made into a paste at home. While this paste does not produce the normal amount of lather that a regular shampoo would, it is a good cleanser. It has a natural low pH, is extremely mild, and doesn’t strip hair of natural oils. Usually no rinse or conditioner is used since shikakai also acts as a detangler. It is also used to combat dandruff.
Sounds pretty good to me.
I’ll just be honest: Dr. Bronners Hair Rinse looks like runny dog poop. Fortunately, it does not smell that way. It smells, as its name suggests, like citrus fruit.
Something that kind of scared me when I read the directions was the disclaimer along the lines of “Warning: Concentrated: Dilute! Dilute! OK!”
Seriously, that “OK” was actually in there. I always try to follow the directions when using a new product, but this just reinforced that.
Diluted
So, I washed my hair before using Dr. Bronner’s Castille Soap (diluted of course) and then mixed 2 capfuls of the product into one cup of water. I poured it over my head. The directions say to “keep hand combing until hair feels entirely sleek (~30 seconds). Rinse out well. Repeat if necessary in extra hard water conditions or with longer hair.”
I felt no sleekness whatsoever. I do not have “longer hair” but I repeated and still never felt any sleekness. And my hair didn’t feel all that soft. I followed up with a conditioner and put the bottle under my cabinet.
I decided to give it another try a few days ago. This time I used about 4 caps full in one cup of water. Increasing the dilution ratio worked much better. My hair became sleek as the directions said and it was very soft after I rinsed it out. It also was shiny. I could see a marked difference from after shampooing and after using the rinse.
Just a note: I am NOT recommending anyone go against the directions and add more of the product. I am simply stating what worked for me.
Will I purchase this again? Maybe.
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