Day 317 - Nourish Spa Shampoo

I tried to go into testing this product with an open mind, but I must admit, I sort of expected to not like it.  My experiences with Trader Joe’s toiletry items have been, welllll, let’s just say “hit or miss” (does anyone remember Head to Toe Moisturizing Balm way back on day 89???? ( tragic review here ).  But a friend told she really likes this Nourish Spa Shampoo, and I ran out of my other shampoo, so I thought, “What the heck??!!” and picked up a bottle.

What the heck!  Why not try it??  It is day 317 of 365, it is basically now or never!

There are a few of things I need to point out before I review the shampoo:

1.       The friend who recommended it to me has very different hair than I do.  She is African American.  I don’t know much about hair other than what is on my head, but I DO know that many stores have separate hair product shelves for Caucasian hair and African American hair…  So when she recommended this for me, part of me thought, “Joi are you NUTS?” and the other part of me thought, “Joi, this could be hilarious!” but no part of me really thought, “Oh great!  A shampoo that works perfectly for JOI will also work perfectly for ME!”…

This is ME.  

This is JOI.  She loves pageants. 

2.       I am NOT picky about my shampoo.  My last bottle took me an eternity to get through cuz I got a great deal on what seemed like the world’s biggest bottle of shampoo at BJ’s (which is like Sam’s Club or Costco).  It was some Herbal Essence crap.  I am also not above using the tiny hotel shampoos when I travel.  Don’t judge. 

3.       I have horrible hair.  It is the thinnest, most fine hair you can imagine (and no, in this use I do NOT mean “fine” as in, “Oh I hope Joe wins Survivor this season – he is so fiiiine…” I mean “fine” as in “Wow, you can’t even get a barrette or bobby pin to stay in your hair without slipping out because it is so F-I-N-E…” fine.  I have always had this crappy hair.  Look, even when I was a KID I had bad hair.  Oh sure, my Toni Tenille hairdo was amazing, and my pig tails that each contained about 5 hairs really rocked, but still…  Again, don’t judge.

Age 6, with the Santa I played with every Chrsitmas.  I thought my hair looked soooooo pretty in curled pig tails.  

Rockin' my Toni Tennille 'do and stylish high waisted pants by my friend Monica's
flocked Christmas tree that I coveted every year

4.       My stylist recently moved.  And I do not mean “moved to another salon” I mean MOVED FROM ONE COAST TO THE OTHER.  Rhiannon abandoned me.  And my hair looks horrible right now!  It is so shaggy.  And it is all her fault!  I neeeeed her.  What’s a girl to do??  Sigh.  Anyway, I mention her here because I want you to see how gorgeous HER hair is.  She has, in my opinion, perfect hair.  It doesn’t even matter what color she makes it – it is always amazing.  Plus, she is nice.  Damn you Rhi, why did you have to MOVE?

Isn't her hair AMAZING?  And, like, the opposite of mine. Sigh

CAPTIVATING

5

5.       I once shaved off my hair.  My mom had colon cancer and was going through chemo that made her hair fall out.  So 3 of us in the family shaved our hair in solidarity.  And you know what?  I had no idea how liberating that experience would be.  I loved it.  If you have ever considered it and not done it, go for it.  Trust me on this one – it is sorta life changing.

David and I after shaving - Kansas City

6.       And finally, my last “hair point” before I review this shampoo, I really like short hair.  Once a niece or nephew (I can’t remember who) asked very genuinely, “Aunt Susan, why do you have hair like a BOY?”.  The question didn’t hurt my feelings or offend me.  I loved that it was a teaching moment.  I DO NOT HAVE HAIR LIKE A BOY.  Because there isn’t “boy hair” and “girl hair”, just like there aren’t “boy toys” and “girl toys” or “male jobs” and “female jobs”.  There is HAIR (and no hair!).  I have hair.  I was glad to be able to model that to that child.

Ok enough hair talk – onto Trader Joe’s NOURISH SPA SHAMPOO.

Look, it's cheap!

Guess what?  I LIKE IT!!!  It really makes my hair feel clean and shiny.  It is not overly scented, though it does have a slight scent that I cannot figure out what it is.  (Note – David, who normally doesn’t even notice smells, noticed the scent of this when he tried it and he didn’t like it.  But his opinion will not be counted in this review J ).

Simple bottle, good shampoo (NOTE - I think the packaging may have changed a bit recently but it is till the same shampoo)

The bottle says “balanced moisturizing, safe for color treated hair, contains argan oil to smooth and shine, and enriched with botanticals”.  It does not contain laurel/laureth sulfates.  The conditioner I am currently using also has argan oil, and the combination of the two is making my hair super shiny these days!

TJ's Nourish Spa Shampoo in action!  It doesn't bubble up all that much, but it makes my hair feel clean!

This shampoo is not tested on animals, which is cool.  And it is super cheap, especially when compared to salon brands (sorry Rhi!).  I often buy styling products at the salon but usually pick up shampoo other places.

Overall, this is a GOOD SHAMPOO.  It cleans, doesn’t dry my hair, makes it shiny, and is cheap!  OH YAH! 

Now, I have asked my friend Joi who recommended this product to me to do a guest review, and here is what she said:

“When I decided to go with my natural hair in the spring of 2012, I opted to use only non-alcohol based products.  Searching for these gave me a slew of options with brands that would break my wallet.  Some products I tried left my hair either dry, feeling unclean or a frizzy mess.  My biggest concerns were finding a product that was a reasonable price, sulfate free, and left my hair clean and moisturized.  While in Trader Joe’s one day I decided to try their Nourish Spa Shampoo and holy moly, it was love at first lather.  Their shampoo gets nice and sudsy, cleanly rinses from my hair and leaves it soft and tangle-free with a fresh sweet scent.  The best part thought, is the price is a whopping $2.99 a bottle, which makes the 30 minute commute to my closest Trader Joe’s worth the gas.  I usually stock up on several bottles a trip that last me 6 – 8 months.  Trader Joe’s Nourish Spa Balancing Moisturizing Shampoo is 5 out of 5 in my book.”

Well what do you know - it really IS a good shampoo for all hair types!  We both really like it.  I suspect you will like it, too, and it won't empty out your wallet.  It sure is easy to do the math and average our two scores together - we both gave this product a 5!

Price – $2.99

Rating - 5

Day 89 - Head to Toe Moisturizing Balm

Yeah…  Ummmm…  Not so much…

I think I was a bit mis-lead by the NAME, but my bad for not reading the fine print before purchasing. 

But hey – we were visiting a Trader Joe’s in a city we had never been in, La Jolla, California, and I was excited to see a product I had not seen before!  So don’t be too mad at me for this incorrect purchase.

Here’s the deal – it is NAMED “Head to Toe Moisturizing Balm”.  To me, that meant like a body butter balmy sort of thing that I could use as something similar to LOTION, which I use a ton of.  Sounds perfect, right???

Pretty little tin, no??

But my first clue should have been the size of the TIN…  It is only 2 oz.    How much “head to toe moisturizing” action are you gonna get out of a mere 2 oz?? 

But really, I should have read the fine print.  Right there on the top of the tin, in teeny tiny fancy letters, it says, “This moisturizing balm works wonderfully on chapped lips, dry elbows and knees, heels, over-worked hands and cuticles.   It’s also great for fly-away hair or even fly away beard!”

Don’t get me wrong – I like a good multi-use product.  But a product you can put on your LIPS and also your HAIR seems a bit, welllll, stretching it… 

Not only does the sign say "NEW", it also says "exciting"!!  :)

So I set about TESTING it.

I have tried it on my lips – works fine.

I have tried it on my legs after shaving – it is awkward…  It is a hard balm in a tin, much like some hair goo I have had before and really liked.  It is hard to get OUT of the tin – I had to dig a finger down into the goo and pull a hunk up, then rub it between my palms before applying.  Basically, I was a gooey mess just from trying to moisturize my legs.

I tried it on my hands, but no thanks.   I mean, I USE A BOATLOAD of lotion and hand creams, but this is too gooey to be functional.  You just want to wash your hands after you get it put on, and that sort of defeats the whole purpose of having put it on in the first place, no?

And, just for the sake of this blog, I tried it on my hair.  (Oh the things I do for this blog…)  It worked quite well on my short, spiky doo. 

Not bad as a hair product!

For the record – I do not have a BEARD to try it on so I cannot attest to whether it would be good for “fly away beard” as advertised.

If you want it for a hair product, go for it.  At $3.99 it is cheaper than most.  But if you are buying it expecting to be able to actually use it from HEAD TO TOE like the name says, you are going to be disappointed.

NOTE:  This product review has an ADDENDUM!!  I found someone with an amazing mustache to help me by trying it out!  See his opinion here:  Head to Toe Moisturizing Balm Addendum
Price – $3.99

Rating – 1.5