Tiffany wants to know…Could you please do a chemical comparison between the new Kerastase and Elseve shampoo and conditioner? They are both packaged very similarly- pink bottles- claiming no silicone and krystal shine. I’m not of the exact name in the USA since I am in France, but I spend 35 euros on the Kerastase shampoo and 3 euros on the Elseve! Quite the price difference! Please tell me there is something worth the 10xs time hike!
The Right Brain responds:
Tiffany is referring to Kerastase “Cristalliste” and Elvive “Nutri-Gloss” both of which are made by L’Oreal. While the Elvive product has been around for a while, Cristalliste is newer and makes several breakthrough and compelling claims including:*
Rebalances the hair fiber.
Roots are left pure and weightless.
Ends are smooth and polished.
Hair is perfectly clean, luminous and weightless.
*I was being sarcastic. These kinds of claims have been made by other hair care products for years.
Is Kerastase worth 10 times more than Elvive?
A comparison of the Cristalliste Bain Cristal (Fine Hair) shampoo Ingredients and the Elvive Nutri-gloss shampoo shows that both have water as the first ingredient as is expected. As the second ingredient, both have a “laureth sulfate.” Kerastase has ammonium while Elvive uses the sodium version. Both ingredients work the same way so it doesn’t really matter. The third and fourth ingredients are salt and betaine. These are essentially foam boosters and thickeners. After that we see that Kerastate uses a guar conditioning ingredient while Elvive uses a combination of guar and silicone.
What does all this mean? Both shampoos have the same cleansing “backbone” although their conditioning systems are somewhat different. You may prefer one over the other but there’s NOTHING in the Kerastase formula that would merit a ten-fold increase in price!
Now onto the conditioners: In this case both products are based on a mixture of Cetyl Alcohol, PEG-180, and Behentrimonium Chloride. The Cristalliste version contains 2 additional conditioners that may or may not significantly alter the feel of the product but again, there’s no advanced technology that would drive the price up.
The Beauty Brains bottom line
Both Cristalliste and Elvive shampoos and conditioners are well formulated and you should buy the one that you like the best and that you can afford. But if you’re trying to save a few dollars you’d be much better off with the Elvive product.
Cristalliste Bain Cristal shampoo ingredients
Aqua/water, ammonium lauryl sulfate, cocamidopropyl betaine, sodium chloride, hexylene glycol, sodium benzoate, hydroxypropyl guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride, salicylic acid, benzoic acid, citric acid, aloe barbadensis/aloe barbadensis leaf juice, limonene, linalool, hexyl cinnamal, benzyl salicylate, benzyl alcohol, citronellol, sodium hydroxide, parfum/fragrance
Elvive Nutr-gloss shampoo ingredients
Aqua / Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Chloride, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Cyclodextrin, Dimethicone, CI 17200 / Red 33, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Cocamide MIPA, Sodium Methylparaben, DMDM Hydantoin, Sodium Cocoate, Hydrolyzed Conchiolin Protein, PPG-5-Ceteth-20, Limonene, Linalool, Propylene Glycol, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Carbomer, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Citronellol, Methyl Cocoate, Citrus Medica Limonum Extract / Lemon Fruit Extract, Hexyl Cinnamal, Parfum / Fragrance, (F.I.L. C28530/1).
Cristalliste conditioner ingredients
aqua/water, cetyl alcohol, peg-180, behentrimonium chloride, amodimethicone, isopropyl alcohol, cetyl esters, hydroxyethylcellulose, lauryl peg/ppg-18/18 methicone, bis-diglyceryl polyacyladipate-2, aloe barbadensis/aloe barbadensis leaf juice, tricedeth-6, limonene, linalool, chlorhexidine digluconate, dodecene, poloxamer 407, hexyl cinnamal, cetrimonium chloride, benzyl salicylate, benzyl alcohol, citric acid, citronellol, parfum/fragrance.
Elvive Nutrigloss conditioner ingredients
Aqua (water), Cetyl Alcohol, PEG-180, Behentrimonium Chloride, CI 17200 /Red 33, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Dodecene, Hydrolyzed Conchiolin Protein, Trideceth-6, Chlorhexidine Dihydrochloride, Poloxamer 407, Limonene, Lanolin, Linalool, Amodimethicone, Propylene Glycol, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Cetyl Esters, Methlparaben, BHT, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Citronellol, Cetrimonium Chloride, Citric Acid, Citrus Limonum/Lemon Fruit Extract, Lauryl PEG/PPG-18/18 Methicone, Hexyl Cinnamal, Parfum / Fragrance.
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
I wish I could get my hair to read this and be convinced!
After reading many articles with a similar argument on this blog I have bought Elvive, however, it does not look or feel like after using Kerastase (let alone smell).
Could the ingredients used (albeit the same) be of better quality? I have no idea how to account for the difference (and believe me, I wish it weren´t so, how I wish it weren´t so!) but it is quite dramatic.
This is really helpful. It seems like Cristalliste costs much more than Elvive and they do pretty much the same thing, so why spend more? I saw a 1.7 fl. Oz. bottle (which is not a lot) that cost $42!!!!! That’s crazy, but if it’s a good product, then it’s worth it.
@Maria: We’re not saying that Elvive and Kerastase are identical in this case. We’re just saying that the “backbone” of both formulas are pretty similar and therefore Kerastase is unlikely to be worth 10 times the prices. There may be enough difference between the two such that you can perceive a difference. (That difference is not because of “better quality” ingredients.) You are correct that the products could have different fragrances so they certainly won’t smell the same.
There is one other reason that you’re feeling a difference: As far as scent is concerned, you’d be surprised how big of an effect that fragrance can have on your perception of product performance. Back in the day, when I was formulating and testing hair care products, we would take one batch of shampoo (or conditioner) and split it half. Then we’d add a different fragrance to each half of the batch. Other than that the products were identical. But, when we gave them to consumers to test, they would say that the two products lathered differently and left their hair feeling different. In the business, that’s called a “halo effect.”
I think you mean save a few euros!
Thanks so much for answering my query so quickly! I love the comment about the Halo effect… which might also be heightened by pricing and expectation. I am however surprised at the inclusion of silicone when their TV advert says no silicone! Maybe under another form …? If this does not merit a 10fold price increase, would you wager on the maximum actual value increase that a Kerastase might reasonably have, excluding the marketing of course
@Tiffany: what’s the “maximum actual value increase that Kerastase might reasonably have?” I guess that depends on how much money you want the company to make! The cost of the ingredients in these shampoo and conditioner formulas is probably in the range of $0.25 to $0.40. The bottle is probably another 15 cents or so. Then they have to pay manufacturing costs and the rest of their overhead including shipping, and of course, advertising!
The “halo effect” interestingly enough also works in other applications, wine tasting for example.
“In 2001, Frederic Brochet, of the University of Bordeaux, conducted two separate and very mischievous experiments. In the first test, Brochet invited 57 wine experts and asked them to give their impressions of what looked like two glasses of red and white wine. The wines were actually the same white wine, one of which had been tinted red with food coloring. But that didn’t stop the experts from describing the “red” wine in language typically used to describe red wines. One expert praised its “jamminess,” while another enjoyed its “crushed red fruit.” Not a single one noticed it was actually a white wine.”
Crazy, huh?
Source: http://scienceblogs.com/cortex/2007/11/02/the-subjectivity-of-wine/
One thing that I’ve noticed is very often left out in the articles here is the ‘safety/health’ aspects of certain products. For example, I make sure to never purchase haircare and makeup products that contain BHT and parabens. In this case, the cheaper conditioner contains both, and the expensive one contains neither of these preservatives. Also the Elvive shampoo contains parabens as well (and in higher concentrations, I’m guessing, since it’s higher up in the ingredients list). If I were given a choice between the two, unaware of the price, I’d choose the Kerastase based on that information alone. Of course, I could be just band-wagoning on the whole paraben/BHT scare, but I think it would make a difference if you guys included these kinds of aspects in your reviews. In this case for example it makes sense if the justification behind the price gauging was that it indeed is slightly more expensive to make Kerastase products without the same preservatives since they might have a shorter shelf-life but ‘safer’. Therefore, they are marketed more high end to keep making a profit on these products.
@Anna: Thanks for your comment. The reason you don’t see more discussion from about the “safety” is that the vast majority of cosmetic ingredients are safe. There’s no reason to spend more money on paraben free products when the best science to date says that parabens are safe and effective. http://thebeautybrains.com/2006/05/02/the-perils-of-parabens/.
When there is a real issue we do provide commentary. For example, we’ve blogged about dangerous hair straighteners that contain high levels of formaldehyde.
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