Philosophy Head Trip - Not Up To Snuff
Written: Sep 25 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: It does condition your hair....
Cons: No better than a product 1/3 of its price....
The Bottom Line: You can find products out there that are SO much cheaper and do a better job leaving your hair all silky and smooth.
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| kristinafh's Full Review: Philosophy Head Trip |
Preamble
Gee...I don't want to brag but I think that my hair is one of my best attributes. It's thick, getting pretty long (bout three inches past my shoulders), and when it looks healthy - draws a lot of attention.
But I'm a typical girl. I color it (no - not professionally), I use styling aids, styling products, and wash it every day. It's dry to begin with and all of these added things can make life worse for my hair.
Every day that I wash my hair, I always use a conditioner. If I didn't I wouldn't be able to face the world :). It's usually some lighter weight conditioner that only requires me to keep it on a minute or two.
Every couple of weeks, usually on a Friday or Saturday night (gee, this is what happens once you grow up and have a family), I deep condition my hair. It's a special treat I give to it to thank it for all of the crap I put it through during the previous two weeks.
I've had some really good luck with Philosophy hair products. They're not the absolute best that I've ever used however, I've enjoyed the results that I've gotten. That's why I decided to try Philosophy's Head Trip.
Philosophy - The Company
Cristina Carlino is the brain behind Philosophy. Prior to creating this line of products, she was creator, founder and CEO of the BioMedic line. If you're not familiar with BioMedic, it's a medical skin care company that specializes in in-office peels and products for environmentally damaged skin, hyper pigmentation and acne.
Their approach to the marketing of their products is unique. First thing you'll notice is that they use lowercase lettering. They say that it "embraces the childhood consciousness in all of us". Second, their packaging is very plain. The bottles are a cloudy white with black lettering and black caps. Third, all of their products are packaged with some sort of neat philosophical type statement.
Although Philosophy does not do animal testing on their products, they do admit that ingredients from their products may have been tested by someone else in another time period.
What Is Philosophy's Head Trip?
In essence, this product is supposed to be a weekly, deep conditioning, aromatherapeutic hair treatment. It comes in a four ounce plastic jar for the price of $13.00. The actual stuff is yellowish-white in color and thick like yogurt in consistency. It has a lot of different smells to it (after all, it is aromatherapeutic!). The most dominant smell to me is the lemon. Depending on how my sinuses are reacting, it can either be a refreshing smell or something akin to Lemon Pledge :).
Who should use this? According to Philosophy, if your hair is dry, color-treated, or damaged in any other way, you'll benefit immensly from using it. They promise that it will awaken your hair, by reviving it and your spirits.
The Product Philosophy
Here's their little saying on the front of the jar.
the ultimate trip is the head trip. we believe in something or someone only to later discover it was all an illusion. we trip, we fall, and sometimes, we shatter. what we lose is the time invested. what we gain is a great. awakening.
My Experiences
Alright. Let me explain to you how I go about this deep conditioning thing. Philosophy says to apply a generous amount to my entire scalp and hair for 5-20 minutes after shampooing. Then, I'm supposed to rinse thoroughly.
Let me tell you that applying this to your hair for five minutes is a big ole waste of time, that is, unless your hair is normal. Because of the amount of hair I have, it takes at least a third of the jar to generously cover my hair and scalp. I've done this twice (the five minute routine) and it performed no better than cheap conditioner.
When I really take the time out to deep condition my hair, I do everything that Philosophy tells me to do. After I apply it, there are certain areas of my hair that I take a very wide tooth comb through in order to ensure that the product gets EVERYWHERE! Instead of leaving it in for up to 20 minutes, I go 30 minutes. I also wrap it in a very warm/hot dry towel (which I retrieve from the dryer). Heat, as you all know, helps this stuff soak in.
Every time I do this, I can tell you that after initially applying Head Trip, the smell is for the most part pleasant. Like I said earlier, when I'm having issues with my sinus, it tends to smell more like Lemon Pledge (which isn't all bad but still). Over the thirty minutes however, the smell goes from normal to very light. Does it relax me? Hmmmmm.... I guess it does a bit but it is a long way away from my Kiss My Face Anti-Stress Foaming Bath.
At the 15 minute mark, I turn the blow dryer on at a low heat setting, open the towel up around my head a bit and have hot air blow in. This keeps the heat there and circulating.
At the thirty minute mark, I unwrapped my hair, and then proceed to rinse out with warm water. After I feel like it is completely out, which takes about 3-4 minutes, I make sure that my scalp is exposed to cold water for about a minute. That seems to seal up the softness on my scalp long term and I avoid itchy, dry scalp problems :).
Alright - now that you read this, I'm sure that you think I am weird. I never denied that :).
So how does Philosophy Head Trip perform? It's okay. If I received it as a gift, I would use it but I would never go out and spend $13.00 on it again. Why? First, you don't get a lot of product for your dollar. I could use the jar for about 3 times before it was gone. Second, my hair felt conditioned but not deep conditioned. In fact, it doesn't feel any different from when I lightly condition it. Third, they really should look into a pump instead of a jar. It can get quite messy to get that product out and a pump would help in keeping the product in one place.
So even though I'm not using this anymore, I still deep condition my hair using that same ole routine :). Other conditioners that I feel work much better for the 30 minute process include Aussie 3 Minute Treatment, Finesse, and Physique.
For You Ingredient Happy People
water, cetearyl alcohol, stearalkonium chloride, stearamidopropyl dimethylamine, myristamidopropyl dimethylamine phosphate, peg-40 castor oil, glycol stearate, ceteth-2, propylene glycol, tocopheryl acetate, panthenol, aloe barbadensis leaf juice, persea gratissima (avocado) oil, beta carotene, cymbopogon martini oil, lavendula hyrida oil, cymbopogon schoenanthus oil, mentha piperita (peppermint) oil, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf oil, geranium maculatum oil, citrus medica limonum (lemon) peel oil, citrus aurantium dulcis (orange) oil, eucalyptus globulus leaf oil, ocimum basilicum (basil) oil, pvp/va copolymer, citric acid, methylparaben, propylparaben, diazolidinyl urea
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
kristinafh
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 - Top 50 |
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Member: Kristina Frazier-Henry
Location: Indiana
Reviews written: 1344
Trusted by: 1169 members
About Me:
Cannot breathe. Missing Barbara.
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