I received this product free in exchange for my honest review.
TLDR: Perfect for coarse, (but not black nor caucasion) "ethnic" hair. Women with hair that falls between black and Caucasian hair on the spectrum of coarsness, porosity, etc. have been entirely ignored by the haircare industry for years and I've struggled like many of us finding products that aren't too stripping (most products) or not quite stripping enough (some black hair care brands). Given our total lack of representation in the hair industry, Oribe should capitalize on that and offer their products in a way that shows they get our different hair needs (compared to Caucasian women).
Overview:
I have very coarse, thick, curly hair. I also have an autoimmune disorder so my whole body is inflamed and it dries out my hair and nails. I usually use Ouai thick hair shampoo and conditioner, followed by Olaplex No. 8 in the shower (wash out mask), put in a few pumps of Ouai hair oil and curl cream while it's still damp post-shower, and finish by letting my hair air dry naturally. When trying the Oribe Gold Lust shampoo and conditioner, I did the same routine but replaced the Ouai shampoo/conditioner with the Oribe Gold Lust shampoo and conditioner.
Normally my hair takes many, many hours to dry (I live in FL so humidity doesn't help). It can easily take eight hours. I have no idea how, but after using Oribe shampoo/conditioner, my hair completely dried in about an hour, and was mostly dry within 30-45 minutes. I've never had it dry so fast in my life. And usually on wash day, my hair is the driest & frizziest-- not after using Oribe! I used less conditioner than normal and still, my hair dried without any of the usual frizz I normally deal with on wash day. Immediately post-wash, my hair looked like it does on that rare perfect hair day, in a fraction of the time and with much less product (conditioner, hair oil, and curl creme). When I got this voxbox I was hoping that the Oribe shampoo and conditioner would be just alright, because they're so expensive, but no such luck-- I'm in love!
Other pros:
1. The shampoo lathers up well, and cleanses thoroughly (leaving your scalp feeling super clean) with very little product. Normally, lather-producing shampoos are very stripping for coarse hair like mine, but this wasn't! Finding a shampoo that lathers up (because like many, I love that feeling when hair washing) but doesn't strip coarse hair is a welcome surprise.
2. The packaging is gorgeous. It was carefully wrapped and packaged to both protect the products in transit, and it was just a beautiful display, for a fun and luxurious-feeling unboxing.
3. The actual shampoo and conditioner bottles are very pretty. The boxes they come in feel high quality and look gorgeous with the gold inlay and high-end packaging material. The shampoo bottle in particular feels sturdy-- this is important, since dropping $53 shampoo and losing it down the drain if the bottle breaks would be heart-breaking!
Now, the cons (of which there aren't many):
1. The price and quantity. The shampoo is $53 (250ml) and the conditioner is $56 (200ml). For comparison, Olaplex shampoo/conditioner are $30 each for 250ml, and Ouai shampoo/conditioner are $32 each for 300ml. So in addition to the high price, the quantity of product per bottle is on the low end, particularly the conditioner.
Furthermore, since the conditioner is more expensive than the shampoo, the conditioner having 20% less product, too, seems a bit absurd. At $56, adding another 50ml to make them even (or heck, using a more standard product quantity, like 300ml) seems more than feasible, and that 50ml difference given the already-pretty small quantity per bottle seems kind of stingy. Notably, people with "ethnic" or non-caucasian hair, like mine, use far more conditioner than shampoo, so the higher price and lower quantity of conditioner per bottle (versus the shampoo) is the opposite of what women like me need. If the product weren't SO good, this alone would turn me off enough to potentially not buy it.
2. The conditioner bottle is soft (unlike the shampoo bottle) and the cap feels less well-made/sturdy. I'm concerned that if you dropped it in the shower, it would break easily.
Conclusion:
1. Beautiful packaging/containers.
2. Shampoo lathers well without stripping.
3. Conditioner has plenty of slip.
4. Both products work amazingly for thick/coarse/"ethnic" hair (without stripping it or drying it out).
Suggestion for Oribe-- create some sort of bundle deal with a larger conditioner bottle, but lower unit price, for us non-caucasion women who need to co-wash and use much more conditioner than shampoo! It could even have a smaller shampoo bottle to compensate for the larger conditioner. Oribe managed (maybe unintentionally) to create a perfect shampoo for hair like mine: hair on the spectrum between black and caucasion hair. Jewish and middle eastern women with hair like mine have an impossible time finding hair products that work at all, so recognizing this utility and creating a bundle that recognizes our hair's different needs (like how we wash with conditioner between shampoos, etc.) would make this line perfect and would earn Oribe my loyalty forlife.
Originally posted on influenster.com