Today’s review will be focused on my hair journey and what I think of the Kristin Ess Daily Cleansing shampoo and conditioner!
MY HAIR JOURNEY
I’ve never really talked about my hair on my blog so I’ll share a bit about it now. My hair is fine, straight, and oily. I wash it daily because my hair has always gotten oily after about 24 hours. I also only had to use dry shampoo from time to time so a bottle of dry shampoo used to last me years.
When I had foot surgery in 2018, I started showering every other day and tried to train my hair. However, my hair ended up being the oiliest it’s ever been. This went on for months, and I decided to give up when my foot healed enough and I could shower daily again.
But that didn’t solve the problem. Now my hair started to get oily faster than before and the shampoo I had been using for years no longer helped. My hair wouldn’t make it through a regular day anymore and sometimes I would even wake up with oily hair. This led me to start my journey of trying out different brands until I found something that worked for me.
Now that I’ve shared a bit about my hair, let’s review the Kristin Ess shampoo and conditioner!
MY HAIR TYPE
Fine, straight, and oily.
INGREDIENTS
Kristin Ess Daily Cleansing Shampoo: WATER (AQUA/EAU), LAURAMIDOPROPYL BETAINE, COCAMIDOPROPYL HYDROXYSULTAINE, SODIUM COCOYL ISETHIONATE, GLYCERIN, SODIUM LAURYL SULFOACETATE, DISODIUM LAURETH SULFOSUCCINATE, ALOE BARBADENSIS LEAF JUICE, TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, COCOS NUCIFERA (COCONUT) OIL, PHENOXYETHANOL, SODIUM LAUROYL SARCOSINATE, SODIUM C14-16 OLEFIN SULFONATE, SOYAMIDOPROPYLAMINE OXIDE, POLYQUATERNIUM-71, MALTODEXTRIN, SODIUM COCOYL GLUTAMATE, PANTHENOL, POLYQUATERNIUM-7, SODIUM HYDROXIDE, CITRIC ACID.
Kristin Ess Shine Enhancing Conditioner: WATER (AQUA/EAU), BRASSICA ALCOHOL, CETEARYL ALCOHOL, STEARYL ALCOHOL, PROPANEDIOL, CETYL ALCOHOL, BRASSICYL ISOLEUCINATE ESYLATE, PRUNUS AMYGDALUS DULCIS (SWEET ALMOND) OIL, PERSEA GRATISSIMA (AVOCADO) OIL, ALOE BARBADENSIS LEAF JUICE, HYDROLYZED CORN PROTEIN, HYDROLYZED WHEAT PROTEIN, HYDROLYZED SOY PROTEIN, PHENOXYETHANOL, ISODODECANE, CETYL ESTERS, BEHENTRIMONIUM CHLORIDE, ISOPROPYL MYRISTATE, CETRIMONIUM CHLORIDE, GUAR HYDROXYPROPYLTRIMONIUM CHLORIDE, PANTHENOL, CITRIC ACID, LEUCONOSTOC/RADISH ROOT FERMENT FILTRATE.
WHAT THE KRISTIN ESS SHAMPOO AND CONDITIONER CLAIMS TO DO
The Kristin Ess shampoo claims to wash your hair without stripping it. The conditioner is lightweight while adding softness and shine to your hair. Both products are fragrance-free to help those who are sensitive to scents.
OTHER CLAIMS
- Cruelty-free
- Color and keratin-safe
- Vegan
- Free of added fragrance, sulfates, parabens, phthalates, and silicones
PRICE
The Kristin Ess shampoo and conditioner are both the same price at $12 each.
MY FIRST IMPRESSION
Ever since Kristin Ess launched at Target a few years ago, I was curious about whether it worked. Kristin Ess is a celebrity hairstylist who also co-founded thebeautydepartment.com . After Kayley Melissa reviewed this collection on her channel (it wasn’t sponsored and she has a similar hair type as me!), I wanted to try it out.
I liked the claims and that it was fragrance-free since I want to use less fragranced products. When I first used the shampoo, it was easy to lather and rinse out of my hair. I don’t think my hair was super soft after using the shampoo, but the conditioner helped with that. The conditioner is silicone-free, so it was also easy to rinse out. I felt that it made the hair-washing process quick and easy, especially since long hair can be a pain to wash.
HOW THE KRISTIN ESS SHAMPOO AND CONDITIONER WORKED ON MY OILY HAIR
Besides Love Beauty & Planet (review coming in the future!), Kristin Ess is probably the best brand for my hair. After two and a half years of searching, I believe this brand currently works the best on my hair.
My hair seems to be back to normal and it looks healthy and shiny. It doesn’t get as oily or shed as much. I wouldn’t say it adds a ton of shine or volume, but my hair just looks how it normally does, which is all I ever wanted in the first place.
PROS AND CONS
Pros:
- Fragrance-free shampoo and conditioner is great if you’re sensitive to scents
- Rinses out easily
- My hair isn’t extra oily anymore!
- It’s not too expensive compared to high-end brands
- My hair is healthy and feels back to normal
- My hair doesn’t shed more than it usually does
Cons:
- I kind of miss having fragrance in my shampoo, but it’s not a big deal
- It’s a bit pricey for a drugstore brand and for how much product you get (this set lasts for about 3-4 months before I need to repurchase)
- When you start running out of product, do NOT put the shampoo bottle upside down! When I did this, I found out the next day that I lost a bunch of product because it leaked out from the cap ? I didn’t have this issue with the conditioner because it’s a thicker consistency, but the shampoo will leak out if you don’t leave it upright.
THE VERDICT
I’m super happy with the Kristin Ess shampoo and conditioner. I wasn’t sure if my hair would ever go back to normal, but now I don’t have to worry about oily hair and always having dry shampoo on hand. I do wish they could fix the packaging to avoid leaking, but other than that, I don’t think I have anything bad to say about this product. I’ve been using this set for several months and have repurchased it as well. The only other brand that I like for different reasons is Love Beauty & Planet, but like I said earlier, I’ll be reviewing it in a future post (if you want to read short reviews of what I think about both of these brands, you can check out my hair care haul here!).
Overall, I’ve always been picky about shampoos and conditioners. I’m not the type of person that can use a random hotel shampoo or borrow a friend’s products because my hair might end up flat or oily. Although my hair is low-maintenance, I can only stick with the brands that I trust and know will always work. I’m just glad that my hair has finally improved after over 2 years of frustration. ?
And now we’ve finally reached the end of today’s review! This one was a bit lengthy because I also shared my hair journey, but I hope this was helpful! Have you tried Kristin Ess products before? If so, let me know what you thought of it in the comments! Thanks so much for reading and I’ll see you lovelies soon ?