The Good: Price, Cleans hair well, Does seem to nourish hair
The Bad: Nothing distinct in the scent, burns eyes, does not condition
The Basics: VO5 Nourishing Oasis Shampoo is simply a shampoo for cleaning that works, but is nothing extraordinary; at least it's inexpensive.
This marks the end of my first month using VO5's Nourishing Oasis Energize & Volumize Shampoo. I have been eager to explore other VO5 products since finding some of their inexpensive shampoos to be superior to more expensive ones. I chose the Nourishing Oasis Energize & Volumize (with Citrus and Vitamin C) Shampoo blind, without even smelling it. I decided to spend a month with pure product exploration.
This Nourishing Oasis shampoo comes in a 14.5 oz. bottle for $1.00 (on sale) and it is opaque and slippery when wet. The bottle tapers near the top to make it easier to hold, but the surface is fairly slippery when in the shower. Fortunately, the big cap is a flip open top that opens and closes easily with a thumb. It's very easy to use this product one handed (which is good because most people I know put the shampoo on their hand before applying it to their scalp and hair), As well, the top has a large, flat surface so when the user is getting toward the end, it may be easily left inverted to let the shampoo come to the egress without the bottle falling over.
I have a feeling the reason the bottle is opaque is because the actual shampoo is closer to clear than most marketers would like. People like things that are colors, they do not feel as much value from things that are clear (which is why most things are colored; the closer to invisible, the more people will begrudge paying for something because they don't see it so much!). This Nourishing Oasis is fairly clear with a hint of peach color to it, but the coloring is quite faint.
Equally faint is the smell. This Nourishing Oasis shampoo smells faintly of orange and grapefruit peels, like an olfactory aftertaste. The scent is not strong and it is barely distinct. It smells like the scent of citrus fruit peels left in a kitchen after one has just taken the waste out to the compost pile. You smell the citrus, but it's faint and the memory of the fruit, as opposed to the actual fruit scent.
That said, this shampoo is a pretty standard shampoo. It is viscous, less fluid than glycerin, more fluid than cake batter and it is easily applied. This shampoo lathers up very well and quite quickly. It rinses out as easily, leaving hair clean. Visibly clean. This Nourishing Oasis is nice because it strips away some of the oils on days when I've been out in the garden and getting hot and sweaty and the oils in my hair are building up. This shampoo cleans and it leaves the hair feeling clean.
As well, this is a nice option for those who do not like strong scents. That's not me. I've enjoyed the VO5 Sun-Kissed Raspberry shampoo and the Bath and Body Works Cinnamon Bun Heaven 3-in-1 (reviewed here!) BECAUSE of their scents. Having a faint scent doesn't do it for me.
But moreover, for this Nourishing Oasis known as "Energize and Volumize," I find the lack of scent causes it to fall short on that first premise. A strong scent can energize the user. When I use other shampoos with good scents, I look forward to opening them up and lathering up and letting the scent envelope me. With this, there's nothing. In the shower, the scent is almost unnoticeable and it certainly does not energize me.
In fact, the only time this shampoo had anything remotely approaching a profound effect on me was when I got some in my eyes. Oh my gosh does this stuff sting in the eyes! Naturally, it's not recommended for cleaning the eyes, but if you get some in your eyes . . . PAIN! That's definitely not a good thing. I suppose this makes it a bad choice for children, if you're concerned about such things. Between the bottle that is too big for little hands and the searing pain that will certainly result if a child gets this in their eyes, this is not a good shampoo for kids.
As an adult, of course, I learned quite quickly not to get this shampoo in or near my eyes. There's something weird about feeling like you have to be careful when shampooing.
Outside that, this is a decent shampoo. It does volumize some; my hair after a month is less limp than it was at the beginning of the month and this certainly does clean my hair. For those who do not like to spend a lot on things like shampoo (after all, it does just go down the drain!) this is a nice, affordable option that does what it promises as far as cleaning, if not energizing.
For other VO5 shampoo reviews, please check out my takes on:
Honeydew Smoothie
Sun-kissed Raspberry
Healthful Green Tea Tea Therapy
Vanilla Mint Tea Tea Therapy
Nectarine Orange Surge
Kiwi Lime Shampoo
Split Ends Anti-Breakage Shampoo
Passion Fruit Smoothie Moisture Milks Shampoo
Blackberry Sage Shampoo
6/10
For other health and beauty product reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!
© 2011, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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