So, a conditioner that looks exactly like a shampoo? What could possibly go wrong! Although I think that it’s very clever to produce a conditioner that is completely clear, in a mind-bendy beauty kind of way, it’s asking for trouble when you’re fumbling around under a hail of water from the shower.
This version of Fibrology is named Air because it’s the lightest possible formula. It’s made for fine and flat hair, rather than thin hair, so don’t pick it out for thin hair volumising – it’s more to ‘lift’ flat hair. I have so many questions about this – for a start, does any conditioner need colourant or ‘pearl’ added to it to and if not, why do brands add it in as standard? I checked with a formulator friend who says that conditioning agents tend to be oil or silicone derived, with a base of water and water soluble material, so when you mix them together you have a combination that is hazy or opaque.
As it turns out, it’s much easier to make an opaque conditioner than a clear one but it’s not as new as we might think. I know there are already a couple on the market but I’ve been looking through patents for this type of formula from as far back as 1995. So, it’s obviously been possible for quite some time but nobody picked it up. I guess that’s because there is a perception risk – it’s quite a big ask to expect consumers to believe that a product that doesn’t look like the thing it is supposed will be to work as well as the actual thing.
As L’Oreal Elvive Fibrology Air isn’t for my hair type, I haven’t trialled this – but if you have I’d love to hear about it! And, whether you got the bottles muddled up!
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6 comments
I always write with a Sharpie Sh and Cond on my bottles because in the bottles you can’t tell the difference and I am near-sighted and can’t always read the labels. I don’t mean to sound like a commercial, but Sharpies are really waterproof and they last.
Clear conditioners have been a big thing in professional brands for a long time. There are some existing mass ones (I have thin, flat hair so I maybe have picked them up more!) but this is starting to filter down from the L’Oreal owned pro hair brands into their Paris range. It’s much lighter and works well.
I tried the Klorane conditioning balm with flax fibre which is clear and has no colour. Very disappointed, would not buy again and may go straight in the bin. I’m finding the the current volumising shampoos and conditioners just don’t work for me as I’ve now tried a variety of brands with disappointing results.
Apparently this isn’t a volume product but rather a not-weighing-down product. Have you tried Aveda? Pretty good.
I’ve been using these products together with the Fibrology double serum for about a month now and it’s definitely thickened up my hair – I didn’t get the lift effect but an overall thickness instead. I think I’ll probably switch back to the standard Fibrology once I’ve run out as I don’t like the consistency of the Air version but it’s still a pretty good range.
I love Moroccanoil’s Volume shampoo and conditioner for my fine hair, it’s the best so far that I’ve tried.