The Body Shop : Honey Moisturising Shampoo & Conditioner

Hello! As I've mentioned previously, I use two different sets of shampoo & shower gel simultaneously, one for home usage, and one when I'm at the gym. Ah, I remember the naive days when I thought that showering at the gym would help me save money on shower gels and shampoo. I personally find that the "free" stuff they give at the gym is basically un-usable. But that's me. Maybe your gym is more posh, but I prefer lugging my own stuff. Which also reminds me - why do they give such titchy gym bags? Really not enough space for my gym clothes, my shower stuff and my own towels. (Although the gym provides towels, I still prefer to use my own! Picky, picky.)

Anyway, I digressed! Today, I will be reviewing the shampoo & conditioner that I lug to the gym. I tried to kickstart my workout again, and after my Thailand trip, it's seriously in a slump (again), but hey, new year, new resolutions! Will become a fit bunny soon (I'm sure).

Ok, back to the topic on hand, bought The Body Shop Honey Moisturising Shampoo & Conditioner babies for 50% off at the Tung Chung outlet store in Hong Kong a few years back. As with alllll my other Body Shop purchases in Hong Kong, I didn't bother to smell or further check out what I was buying. As long as it sounded good on paper, I grabbed! The place was so packed and busy that it was basically a grab-fest with little thought-processing going on. Plus, my feet were aching (after walking around Disneyland earlier), and I was carrying lots of bags... so... [[making excuses for rash decisions]]

Both the shampoo and conditioner are 250 ml in size, and I've not seen them selling this in Malaysia. Both shampoo and conditioner contain organic Community Trade honey that helps to repair and soften your hair. Body Shop recommends that you use it for damaged or chemically treated hair. I think that time I was always getting my hair rebonded, so that counts as chemically treated hair, right? Can't only consider dye-ing your hair as chemically treated. :)

The  Honey Moisturising shampoo looks like the above and really looks like honey in the picture above, huh? Actually, it's slightly darker in color, more golden. But definitely not as dark as in the bottle above. And oh God, the smell is awful! It doesn't smell like honey at all!!!!! It smells more like WAX. The shampoo also doesn't lather up much, so it really does feel waxy and weird. Hmm, maybe that's why it's going for 50% off! For an after-gym shampoo, it was very, very bad because it doesn't feel like it really cleans and clears the scalp. You know how much shampoo I have to use to actually clean my hair? Check the amount on my palm and DOUBLE it. And it still doesn't lather much.

After washing all residue away, it is time for conditioning... meanwhile, the waxy smell is still lingering in the air...

Unlike the shampoo, the conditioner is in a very light beige shade, and slightly grainy in texture. The smell is not as strong as the shampoo, but still smells pretty awful nd un-honey like to my olfactory nerves. However, after washing it off, my hair already starts to feel smoother and more manageable.

The smell still lingers.

In fact, my head is really REEKING of wax at this point. I'm not kidding. There was once that I walked past a guy on the way to the carpark and he actually did this sissy hand wave thing and went "Pooooh". WTF.

If I had less self-confidence, I would be reduced to a puddle of tears. Instead, I brave it, because...

... the next day, my hair is positively soft and amazingly manageable! The smell is still there (wtf), but things get better by the 2nd day. It actually starts to smell really nice. And did I mention how SMOOTH my hair is? Like silk! I would be unconciously playing with my hair and stroking it against my face because I just can't believe how nice it feels. Omg! It made all the initial suffering worth it!!

But seriously, I won't repurchase it because of the initial suffering. I really can't stand the smell, and though the effects are awesome, I really do feel self-concious with the smell of wax coming off the top of my head. :) If you're interested, I believe I got the set at about RM50 TOTAL for both -- this is after the discount. Work out the math if you want to know how much it would be before the 50% discount. ;P

P.S : If you're wondering about the dodgy 2nd and 3rd photo, I actually took it in the shower cubicle at the gym. Yes, I actually lugged my camera into the shower with me, and if you hear someone clicking away in the shower next to you, don't worry, it's not a pervert. Could be me, hehehe!