Russian Amber Imperial Shampoo
I am not a cynic, I love life and consider myself to be a blessed individual. I adore my industry and our ability to be creative and enrich the lives of our consumers. But B. spotters, there comes a time when enough is enough and a creative story behind an average product doesn’t enrich lives but instead robs the people of their money while sullying the image of my beloved industry. Russian Amber Imperial Shampoo by Philip B is a shampoo with a hefty price tag of $140 with an ingredient label that doesn’t warrant such a price. I will however, be willing to give this product the benefit of the doubt and assume that if they are charging $140 then the cost of goods for just the ingredients is about $14 per pound- for a shampoo this is ridiculous and unheard of – but not impossible.
Let’s look at the claims first, shall we?
We call this the Fountain of Youth for hair: Our reconstructing shampoo rejuvenates and revitalizes all hair types, giving even chemically-damaged strands a dramatically youthful look, feel and radiance from the first use. The power-packed formula truly heals on all fronts: Eleven life-giving L-Amino acids at active strengths repair hair on a cellular level — quickly restoring its body, bounce and shine. An extraordinarily high dose of Panthenol (Vitamin B5) coupled with a catalyst, Phytantriol, sinks moisture deep into every strand. An artful, Russian-inspired blend of of Chamomile, Grape Seed, Rosemary, Nettle, Burdock and Sage infuses hair with emollients for a healthy gleam-from-within. Protective Silk, Wheat and Soy Proteins increase elasticity and tensile strength. And Shea Butter imparts a finishing touch of weightless hydration for beautiful, long-lasting bounce and resilience. Equally decadent: The tantalizing scent of PHILIP B® Russian Amber Imperial Shampoo channels the opulence of the Romanov dynasty, when the healing and calming properties of Amber Oil were treasured by a privileged few. Treat your hair like royalty — the Imperial way!
Hair is dead! There is no repair going on at the “cellular level” because hair is dead and no amount of amino acids will bring what’s dead to life. A study was done that showed the depletion of a small number amount of amino acids in weathered hand strands and use of cosmetic products can introduce three specific amino acids back into the hair. Out of the eleven amino acids in this shampoo, it only contains one of the three that were determined to replenish hair strands. Here are the ingredients…I am willing to bet the farm that the amino acids used is a commercial blend readily available and rather inexpensive (we like to use this blend when we want to make the ingredient list longer and more impressive). This shampoo contains probably about 60% water and maybe 30-35% SLES!
Ingredients: Water/Aqua, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Fragrance/Parfum, Benzyl Benzoate, PPG-3 Benzyl Ether Myristate, Disteareth-75 IPDI, PEG-150 Distearate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Cocamide MEA, Decyl Glucoside, Sodium PCA, Sodium Lactate, Arginine, Aspartic Acid, PCA, Glycine, Alanine, Serine, Valine, Proline, Threonine, Isoleucine, Histidine, Phenylalanine, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, PEG-7 Caprylic/Capric Glycerides, Chlorphenesin, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter)/Butyrospermum Parkii, Caramel, Phytantriol, Panthenol, Glycerin, Polysorbate 20, Arctium Lappa Root Extract/Arctium Lappa, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract/Chamomilla Recutita, Urtica Dioica (Nettle) Extract/Urtica Dioica, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract/Rosmarinus Officinalis, Salvia Officinalis (Sage) Leaf Extract/Salvia Officinalis, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil/Vitis Vinifera, Styrax Benzoin Resin Oil/Styrax Benzoin, Citric Acid, Benzoic Acid, Cinnamic Acid, Benzaldehyde, Vanillin, Coniferyl Benzoate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Benzoate, Benzyl Salicylate, Hexyl Cinnamal, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Hydroxyisohexyl 3-Cyclohexene Carboxaldehyde, Coumarin, Hydroxycitronellal, Linalool, Citronellol, Yellow 5/CI 19140
The manufacturer of phytantriol published studies that showed increased substantivity (ability to stick) of panthenol when used with phytantriol. This helps increase moisture to prevent damage; phytantriol also has data showing that it improves the overall texture of hair and protects against heat damage. If they used the highest level of phytantriol tested then it can add about $4 per pound to the raw material costs. Don’t look for this ingredient at the top of the ingredient list as the highest tested level is under 1%! Again, not to be a cynic but after formulating many shampoos, the liklihood that the rest of the rest of the ingredients have a combined costs $10 is very questionable…