The Good: Generally excellent ingredients, It works to condition hair beautifully!
The Bad: Not cone-free, Very heavy, Unmemorable scent
The Basics: A delightful conditioner, Almond + Shea Butter from Suave Professionals has a great scent that endures even as it restores dry or damaged hair to full manageability!
It’s rare that Suave produces something I do not like and it is even more rare when they get one component quite a bit better than another in the same line. A little while back, I reviewed the underwhelming Almond + Shea Butter shampoo (reviewed here!) and now I take on the Almond + Shea Butter conditioner. Unfortunately, while the shampoo was only truly hampered by an unmemorable scent, the conditioner is plagued by being very heavy and being much harder to wash out of my hair.
Other than that the only real problems with Almond + Shea Butter conditioner is the fact that it is not cone free. The third ingredient in this conditioner ends in "-cone," so this product cannot be considered cone free. However, I tend not to listen to the naysayers and current trends in diet or fashion (seeing me would certainly prove the latter, at the very least!). The "Cone Threat" is a rather new fear in the haircare product market and I've yet to see any real effect from it. In fact, when a conditioner works as well as this one has for me, it is hard to take the rumors about coned products being terrible for hair seriously. My hair has not been more brittle, breakable or anything negative since I started using the Almond + Shea Butter conditioner. In fact, it has been more manageable, I've had fewer split ends.
The Suave Professionals Almond + Shea Butter conditioner is intended to be paired with the same brand's Almond + Shea Butter shampoo and I have since discovered that the combination does not synergize. Like the shampoo, this is an exceptionally weak scented product and with its sister product, there is no scent benefit.
Suave has been expanding its line of inexpensive shampoos and conditioners into the professional haircare market where they are trying to compete with shampoos and conditioners from the likes of Aveda. With Almond + Shea Butter Conditioner, the brand gets on shaky footing. In virtually every market in the United States, Suave Professionals shampoos and conditioners may be found on sale for $1.50 - $1.99 for a 14.5 fl. oz. bottle. The Almond + Shea Butter conditioner has a weak scent which makes it easy to pass by. The 14.5 fl. oz. bottle is a flat tube bottle with a flip-top lid that is easy enough to open with one hand. While it gets slippery when wet, it is easy enough to hold onto because of the flattened sides.
Inside the bottles is Almond + Shea Butter conditioner and it is a buttery white colored cream, which resembles hand cream or body butter in its consistency. This conditioner is one of the thicker ones I have encountered and I have managed to make it stretch a little further than usual as a result. The scent is so mild that it barely smells like almonds and within five minutes of washing my hair, I cannot smell even a trace of it there.
When it comes to use, this is a simple conditioner and one need only flip the lid and dispense a small amount into the palm of the hand before applying it to the hair. The Almond + Shea Butter conditioner requires a decent-sized dollop to condition a full head of hair. After one has cleaned their hair with a shampoo and rinsed it out, this may be applied to the hair. I have better than shoulder-length hair and it takes approximately a heaping half-dollar-sized blob of conditioner to make it stretch through my mane. Like most conditioners, this does not lather and instead it is applied to the hair and scalp almost like a butter.
In the case of the Almond + Shea Butter, as I've noticed often with conditioners lately, there is about a three-to-one ratio to the shampoo because conditioners do not dilute out from lathering. As a result, the 14.5 oz. bottle may last only two weeks with daily hair conditionings. That said, this does seem to be a thicker conditioner that takes a lot to spread through the hair and with that type coating, I've been able to get away with using it only every-other hairwashing and still had manageable hair as a result.
As a conditioner, it works well for all one could want from a conditioner. Hair is protected, even in harsh environments. Hair that is conditioned with Almond + Shea Butter conditioner daily is less brittle and less susceptible to split ends. As well, this conditioner revitalized my beach-bleached hair and brought it more bounce and a bit more body. This is an excellent protecting conditioner, as well as being a revitalizing and nourishing conditioner. In fact, it does everything one would hope from a conditioner, except deliver a decent scent or wash out easily.
Suave Professionals’ Almond + Shea Butter conditioner does not bother me for not being cone-free. It bothers me to make me work so hard to get results that I could get from other conditioners and have more benefits, like a good scent. That makes this one easier to pass by.
For other Suave conditioners, please check out my reviews of:
Refreshing Waterfall Mist
Tropical Coconut
Fresh Mountain StrawberryOcean Breeze
Juicy Apple
Orchid Petal
Suave Professionals Rosemary Mint Conditioner
5/10
For more haircare reviews, please check out my index page!
© 2011 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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