Dazzlegloss dares to ask…A friend of mine swears by a Japanese hair care line called Essential Damage-Care. The product claims that it can “care even for the most damage-prone last 15cm of hair”! My hair is damaged from the hell I put it through over the past 10 years (perms, dye jobs–though not platinum!) and I would like it to be in better condition. While I know that hair cannot be repaired, can this product really live up to what it says it can do? Or is it just marketing?
The Left Brain replies:
Well, let’s look at what the products claim to do and how well I think they can deliver based on the ingredients that they contain.
First, here’s what the Essential Damage Care website claims about its Rich Premier line:
- Gives untameable hair a smooth & manageable feel.
- Contains high purity honey & milk protein.
- Makes hair resilient and soft, with a 3D shine, down to the last 15cm.
- Formulated with Ultra Shine Essence*2 to give hair a healthy shine.
- Sunflower Oil Essence keeps hair soft and moisturized.
- Fruity floral fragrance.
- Protection ingredients: honey and whey (milk)
- Repair ingredient: lanolin fatty acid
Now, let’s look at what’s in the products:
Essential Damage ingredients
Shampoo: Water, ammonium lauryl sulfate, alchohol, glycol distearate, cocamide MEA, lauramidopropylbetaine, dimethicone, honey, royal jelly, hydrolyzed conchiolin protein, rose canina fruit (rose hips) extract, malic acid, lactic acid, bis-methoxypropylamido isodocosane, toluene sulfonic acid, isodecyl glyceryl ether, bis-isobutyl PEG-14/amodimethicone copolymer, bis(C13-15 alkoxy)PG-amodimethicone, hybrid sunflower oil, benzyl alchohol, myristyl alchohol, polyquaternium-10, polyquaternium-7, guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride, PPG-7, PG, butylene glycol (BG), sodium laureth sulfate, laureth-4, laureth-16, laureth-23, sodium chloride, potassium hydroxide, phosphoric acid, sodium benzoate, BHT, CI 45100, CI 15620, fragrance.
Conditioner: Water, stearyl alchohol, DPG, dimethicone, lactic acid, stearoxypropyl dimethylamine, cyclomethicone, amodimethicone, honey, royal jelly extract, hydrolyzed conchiolin protein, rose canina fruit (rose hips) extract, malic acid, bis-methoxypropylamido isodocosane, dipentaerythrityl hexahydroxystearate/stearate/rosinate, bis-isobutyl PEG-15/amodimethicone copolymer, hydroxyethylcellulose, hybrid sunflower oil, benzyl alchohol, alchohol, PEG-45M, butylene glycol (BG), steartrimoniumchloride, dicocodimonium chloride, CI 45100, CI 19140, fragrance.
Treatment: Water, stearyl alchohol, DPG, dimethicone, DPG, stearoxypropyl dimethylamine, lactic acid, honey, royal jelly extract, hydrolyzed conchiolin protein, rose canina fruit (rose hips) extract, malic acid, bis-methoxypropylamido isodocosane, amodimethicone, cyclomethicone, stearyl dimethicone, hydrogenated castor oil, hydroxystearate, hybrid sunflower oil, bis-isobutyl PEG-15/amodimethicone copolymer, tribehenin, benzyl alchohol, alchohol, butylene glycol (BG),hydroxycellulose, steartrimoniumchloride, dicocodimonium chloride, caramel, CI 15985, CI 45100, fragrance.
Measuring up
Alright, can they live up to their claims?
1. True – Although this is true of any hair conditioner.
2. True – There just isn’t any evidence that pure honey & milk protein are beneficial to hair.
3. It probably makes hair resilient & soft (all hair conditioners do that). I have no idea what 3D shine to the last 15 cm means.
4. True – But it won’t make hair shinier than any other shine product.
5. Questionable – Sunflower is an ok ingredient but Coconut oil would be better.
6. True – anyone can put in a fruity floral fragrance
7. Questionable – honey & whey do not do anything significant to hair
8. Questionable – Lanolin does not “repair” hair.
The Beauty Brains bottom line
Overall, these products use standard technologies and there is nothing special about them. If they are reasonably priced you can feel good about using them. But if they are more expensive than say Pantene, Tresemme, or Fructis, you’re wasting money.
What do YOU think? Have you tried Damage Care? Of do you have another favorite hair care line that you think may be over-priced? Leave a comment and share your thoughts with the rest of the Beauty Brains community.
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
What ingredient is DPG? And does stearoxypropyl dimethylamine conditions better than stearamidopropyl dimathylamine like in Pantene?
I actually found a boxed set of Essential damage care at a local asian supermarket in Houston. For the 550ml bottles of shampoo & conditioner, plus the weekly conditioning treatment and a sample pack of another product (everything’s in Japanese, so I’m not sure whether it’s a leave-in or rinse out product), it cost me about $15, which isn’t a bad deal. It does smell good, and my hair (dyed, permed, bleached, etc for 14 yrs) is responding well to it. As for 3D shine, idk what that is, but my hair is softer, shinier, and more manageable than it has been in YEARS!!! Plus the breakage at the tips seems to be happening less and less, so my hair’s finally growing longer. I’m no expert, but I can say it does seem to be working for me.
LOVE IT. Works better than Tresemme,Pantene and Loreal.
I have to say I swear by this as well. It leaves my hair extremely soft, and the ‘last 15cm’ is the part of your hair which is the oldest (and most damaged), if you were wondering, and that’s what it claims to care for. I was given samples at a show I was modelling for and I fell in love with it, I like how after using the conditioner my hair is more moisturised.