Monday, May 16, 2011

Larger Size, Decent Conditioner: Suave's Tropical Coconut Conditioner Works!


The Good: Inexpensive, Intriguing scent that lasts, Conditions hair, Keeps hair protected well
The Bad: Packaging, Requires a bit to do its job well
The Basics: Tropical Coconut is a good conditioner with a scent that lingers for hours, making hair feel healthy and well-protected.


Sometimes, it take reviewing a product to realize just how backwards a product can be. I tend to purchase Suave hair care products only when they are on sale. As a result, I tend to get 15 oz. bottles for $1.00 and the 22.5 oz. bottles at 2/$3.00 or $1.50, which makes perfect sense as the 22.5 oz. is half again the regular size bottle. The thing is, usually, at one of the stores I frequent, the 15 oz. is $1.50 and the 22.5 oz. is regularly priced at $2.50, which makes the 15 oz. strangely less expensive than the 22.5 oz., at least at that store. I mention this because I was looking over my receipts and seeing how much I saved on my latest excursion and being surprised at the various discounts.

As it stands, the reason I was out and buying hair care products was that I was happy to see Suave's shampoos and conditioners on sale. With the 22.5 oz. bottles on sale, I happily purchased those. The primary conditioner I've been buying lately is Suave's Tropical Coconut Conditioner. This is intended to be paired with the Tropical Coconut shampoo (reviewed here!) and it does an excellent job of sealing the scent in.

Suave has been expanding its line of inexpensive shampoos and conditioners. In virtually every market in the United States, Suave shampoos and conditioners may be found on sale for $1.50 for a 22.5 fl. oz.. bottle. Tropical Coconut conditioner is a well-scented scented conditioner for all hairs that appeals to those who want their hair smelling slightly fruity. The 22.5 fl. oz.. bottle is a cylindrical tube bottle with a flip-top lid that is easy enough to open with one hand, sort of. The bottle is not contoured and does get slippery when wet. Indeed, the shape of the bottle might not necessarily be problematic save that when it is wet, there is very little friction on the bottle and it slips from one's hand quite easily.

Even more problematic is the lid. The lid is a standard flip-top lid and so long as the bottle is not wet, there ought to be no problem with using one's thumb to flip the top. The issue, however, is that the top of the bottle is a pressure ring, not a screw on top. What this means is that when one applies pressure to the top to open the spout, the user is almost just as likely to flip the entire top off. This is annoying and my first experience with this problematic aspect involved carrying the bottles; the top came off of one though sheer force of gravity and perhaps the best advice I might give is to hold the bottles by the bottom.

Inside the bottles is Tropical Coconut conditioner and it is a bright white opaque fluid with the consistency of a cream. This conditioner is too thick to have any leg and is more the consistency of a soft butter than anything watery. The scent is an intriguing and authentic scent of coconuts. Suave Tropical Coconut smells precisely like a freshly split coconut warmed by the sun. The scent encompasses the user and infuses the hair with the fresh, coconut smell.

When in the shower and one's nostrils are opened by the steam (I tend to like very hot showers) this conditioner diffuses very well, interestingly the scent spreads more completely than the shampoo! In the steam and heat of my showers, this smells almost identical to Celestial Seasonings' Sweet Coconut Thai tea (reviewed here!). And that's a wonderful thing!

When it comes to use, this is a simple conditioner and one need only flip the lid and dispense it into the palm of the hand before applying it to the hair. The Tropical Coconut conditioner requires a pretty significant amount to do its thing. I've found myself using a dollop that fills my palm, perhaps three to four capfuls if I were to make an objective standard based on the packaging. I have long hair and as a result, conditioner can be an annoying expense when it is thicker like this and I've found with all of the better conditioners I find myself using, I need to use about twice as much conditioner in comparison to the shampoo I use. This is true with Suave's Tropical Coconut conditioner.

In the case of the Tropical Coconut, it conditions wonderfully, such that the palm-sized dollop at least does what it needs to for the volume being used. Used liberally thus, the 22.5 oz.. bottle may only last about a month with daily hair cleanings. This makes its value a little less than the shampoos I've used, but equal to that of the conditioners I use.

And as a conditioner, it works. Hair comes out looking and feeling stronger after its use than before. I think the most objective test for a conditioner is to see if hair is less dry and split ends are either healed or do not continue to form using the conditioner. I have been conditioning for three weeks with the Tropical Coconut conditioner and I have found no new split ends since I started. Moreover, my bangs, which are occasionally exposed to harsh environmental factors at my workplace and dry out have become better moisturized. Perhaps that is the vitamin E in the conditioner. I don't claim to know how it works, only that experience has shown me that my hair is better protected with this conditioner than without it or with shampooing alone.

I tend to like conditioners that leave my hair smelling delightful, like whatever scent they have lured me in with. Given that the Tropical Coconut conditioner is a very appealing scent to me, I was pleased to find that the scent did not rinse out of my hair. Throughout the day, I can smell my hair and find the scent of the Tropical Coconut conditioner still on it and I've found it there up to eight hours after a shower. The scent is an energizing one (I have fond memories of some things with a coconut smell!) and that it endures is a wonderful selling point for people who like that!

Tropical Coconut conditioner has no cleaning properties, for that one needs the separate shampoo that has the same scent. As it stands, Tropical Coconut works wonderfully as a day to day conditioner that will protect and nourish your hair.

For other Suave conditioners, please check out my reviews of:
Fresh Mountain Strawberry
Ocean Breeze
Juicy Apple
Orchid Petal
Suave Professionals Rosemary Mint Conditioner

6/10

For other health and beauty reviews, please check out my index page on the subject by clicking here!

© 2011, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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