Playa Shampoo & Conditioner-Retail $66
This month, I've made it a point to exclusively use Playa products. I won their entire line in a giveaway, so I thought I'd test it out this entire month so I could develop a firm opinion on this brand. Playa strives to use clean formulations (97.6% Natural) while preserving optimum performance, so if you look at the ingredient list, this philosophy is true to that claim. I've tried a few clean hair products out there, and from experience it's hard to find clean brands that make 1.) shampoos lather and clean hair well and 2.) conditioners that aren't too thin and leave my hair still tangled. I have A LOT of hair, not to mention it's also very thick, so I can easily tell when a product isn't doing what it was designed to. Here are my thoughts on the Playa shampoo & conditioner. I also have a review on the Playa hair oil here.
Specs:
Every Day Shampoo ($32):
Size: 225mL/7.6 Fl oz
Color: Clear
Scent: Distinct playa scent. Clean, fresh,
Free of: Parabens, Sodium Lauryl Sulfates
Texture: Thick gel
Color safe
Packaging: Recyclable press-top
Supernatural Conditioner ($34):
Size: 118mL/4 Fl oz
Color: Light yellow
Scent: Distinct Playa scent. Clean & fresh
Free of: Parabens, Sodium Lauryl Sulfates
Texture: Creamy, thin, spreadable
Color safe
Packaging: Recyclable Squeeze tube
Shampoo Ingredients
97.6% Natural*
Aqua, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, *Coconut Cleansing Base (Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside), Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Water, Betaine(Sugar Beet), Gardenia Tahitensis (Tiare) Flower Extract, Propanediol (Plant Derived), Playa Marine Collagen Complex (Soluble Collagen, Spirulina Maxima (Spirulina) Extract, Digitata (Icelandic Sea Kelp) Extract, Kappaphycus Alvarezii (Hawaiian Red Algae) Extract, Sea Water Extract), Citric Acid, *Starch Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Aleurites Moluccana (Kakui) Seed Oil, Panthenol(Provitamin B5), PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Trioleate, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Cinnamidopropyltrimonium Chloride, *Cetrimonium Chloride, Quaternium-8, Glycerin, Sodium Chloride (Sea Salt), *Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, *Polyquaternium-10 (Guar), Illicium Verum (Star Anise) Extract, Lonicera Caprifolium (Honeysuckle) Flower Extract, Hydrolyzed Adansonia Digitata (Baobob) Seed Extract, Manuka Honey Extract, Lonicera Japanica (Honeysuckle) Flower Fragrance Extract, Fragrance.
*Ingredients are naturally occuring or plant-derived
Conditioner Ingredients
96% Natural*
Aqua, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Cetearyl Alcohol(Coconut Derived), Aleurites Moluccana (Kakui) Seed Oil, Brassica Oleracea Italica Seed Oil, Brassicamidopropyl Dimethylamine Copaifera Officinalis (Brassica Nut Extract), Copaifera Officinalis (Balsam Copaiba) Resin, Bertholletia Excelsa (Copiiba Brazil Nut) Seed Oil, Astrocaryum Murumuru Seed Butter, Betaine (Sugar Beet), Hydrolyzed Adansonia Digitata (Baobob) Seed Extract, Playa Marine Collagen Complex (Soluble Collagen, Spirulina Maxima Extract, Digitata (Icelandic Sea Kelp) Extract, Kappaphycus Alvarezii (Hawaiian Red Algae) Extract, Sea Water Extract), Sea Salt, Citric Acid, Glycolic Acid, Phenyl Trimethicone, Behentrionium Methosulfate (Rapeseed Oil), Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Oil, Glycerin, Lonicera Caprifolium (Honeysuckle) Flower Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate(Vitamin E), Panthenol (Vitamin B5), Dimethicone/Mercaptopropyl Methicone Copolymer, Menthol, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride(Guar), Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Water, Cinnamidopropyltrimonium Chloride, *Cetrimonium Chloride, Gardenia Tahitensis (Tiare) Flower Extract, *Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate,Quaternium 87, Elaeis Guineensis (Nicaraguan Palm) Oil, Illicium Verum (Star Anise) Extract, Manuka Honey Extract, Lonicera Japanica (Honeysuckle) Flower Fragrance Extract, Fragrance.
*Ingredients are naturally occuring or plant-derived
*Look at the amount of botanical extracts in there! Notice there is fragrance, but at the very bottom of the list, meaning there's very little of it.
Performance:
Shampoo:
Claims: "An SLS-free, every day shampoo that’s anything but ordinary. This coconut-derived, every day clarifying shampoo gently foams to remove impurities while preserving your hair’s natural oils. Coconut water weightlessly hydrates; sugar beet extract stimulates roots to promote volume and growth. Your hair is purified and restored after every wash."
The packaging is minimalistic and sleek, but the bottle is difficult to squeeze. Sometimes while I'm in the shower I think to myself, "Wow, this would be a great activity for my patients!" (I do hand therapy at an orthopedic clinic, and many of them have weak grasps.) It's made out of pretty sturdy material, so that...I'm not such a big fan of. Once you dispense the product, it's a clear, very thick gel that is also quite hard to spread. This doesn't bother me too much, but using this product you have to start from your scalp, lather it up, then add water little by little to help it spread downward to the rest of your hair. I'm not crazy about the scent, but it doesn't bother me either. After working it into your scalp+hair, rinse it out and it does a great job cleaning all the gunk out.
Playa swaps out commonly found SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulfates), a chemical detergent, for a gentler, "harm free cleansing agent derived from coconuts." Though the formula is gentle, it still cleans my hair surprisingly well. What I love is the ingredient list, I mean just look at how much botanical extracts are in there! Overall, I enjoyed this product and does its job well according to claims. (OK, I'm not sure about the "stimulates roots to promote volume and growth" part, because I didn't see much difference in those two things.)
Conditioner:
Claims: "This intelligent deep conditioner self-adjusts for all hair types: the more damaged your hair is, the harder it works to condition and repair. Baobab protein rebuilds strands for renewed youth; Brassica and copaiba oils smooth frizz and impart sublime shine. Your hair is transformed and its luster restored."
Contrary to the packaging for the shampoo, this one comes out in a flexible squeeze tube, which is super easy to dispense. (From the picture you can see how wrinkled the packaging is because I tried to use every last drop.) Despite the use of botanical oils sadly the conditioner just didn't do anything for me. The formula was too thin, which made me use more product. I literally used this entire bottle in 5 washes, which is just crazy because
1. The conditioner is more expensive for less product
2. I've never used any conditioner that fast before!
Even after washing the product out, my hair was still tangled and I had to brush out my hair manually with my hands. My hair didn't feel hydrated and I didn't see any reversal of breakage from my hair as it claims to "rebuild strands".
Verdict:
This is a difficult one! As much as I like the shampoo's ingredients, it still didn't blow me away enough to make me justify paying $32 for one shampoo bottle. I'd opt for the LivingProof one that I just reviewed a couple weeks ago. It is a little bit of a hassle that the formula is not so easy to spread and requires extra time for me to work it in slowly all over my hair. However, if you have thin hair, this won't be a problem for you...and if that's the case, I can see you purchasing this shampoo and loving it.
As for the conditioner, this is just a hard no. This conditioner doesn't detangle or hydrate very well. Despite its good-for-you ingredients, it just doesn't do what it's designed to do well.
Save Some $:
The max discount I’ve seen on their website is a 20% off deal during Black Friday sale. But since they’re sold on Amazon/Sephora/NET-A-PORTER/REVOLVE, keep an eye out for deals on those retailers. If you’re looking for another brand to try I would recommend the Philosophy shampoo for less (plus more retail stores+discounts). As for clean conditioners, try the VERB Ghost conditioner ($16).
*UPDATE: In love with the VERB shampoo and conditioners. They’re such great quality and much more affordable!
Would you make the switch to clean hair products? If you have already, what brands have you tried? Let me know in the comments!