Product: Zenutrients Gugo and Tea Tree Shampoo

In this country, when a local product claims to be all-natural, moreso if they claim to be organic, you have to take it with a grain of salt. I got curious about Zenutrients shampoos as they are one of those who brand themselves as natural and organic. A page on their website reads:

So, being someone who's looking for natural/organic hair products that will finally put an end to my bad hair days, I went to the Zenutrients kiosk in Festival Mall, Alabang to see for myself. The first thing I did was look at the back for ingredients. Immediately, I saw that their shampoos contain SLES.

What is SLES? Let Wikipedia define it:

Sodium laureth sulfate , or sodium lauryl ether sulfate (SLES), is an anionic detergent and surfactant found in many personal care products (soaps, shampoos, toothpaste etc.). SLES is an inexpensive and very effective foaming agent.^[1] SLES, SLS, ALS and sodium pareth sulfate are surfactants that are used in many cosmetic products for their cleansing and emulsifying properties. They behave similarly to soap.

Is it bad? Yes, according to this article, it is very bad and no natural or organic product should list SLS or SLES as one of its ingredients. Because of this, I hesitated at first to buy Zenutrients shampoo. But I know that back at home, I have nothing but commercial shampoo that most likely has SLS, too along with a bunch hard-to-pronounce ingredients that are just as harmful.

I argued that Zenutrients, although it has SLS, has no more 10 other ingredients, so it is essentially a lesser evil. In other words, I convinced myself to buy. D bough one for himself as well. I got the Gugo Strengthening variant while he got the Tea Tree Scalp Care. Each 250 ml bottle costs Php250.00.

 

Gugo is good for strengthening the hair and promoting new growths which is what I need.
But I also need something that can moisturize sana.

It has real gugo tree bark

 

Tea Tree is good for the scalp and for treating dandruff

These lists of ingredients would've been perfect if SLES was not included.

 

 

 

The Verdict

 

We used the Zenutrients shampoo for almost a month. They have natural scents and just a slightly thick consistency in clear liquid form. The first few days that I started using it, I noticed that I was developing some bumps on my scalp. The bumps are similar to white heads, and I also had a few pimples growing on my head. But I ignored them and kept using Zenutrients.

 

A few more days and my scalp started to itch, and the bumps and pimples persisted. I wasn't using anything else - no conditioner, nothing - so I was sure that it's because of the shampoo. I tried switching to D's Tea Tree shampoo but had the same reaction. I continued using Zenutrients anyway. I was just too lazy to find something else, but I already told myself that I won't be purchasing this shampoo again.

 

As for its effect on hair, there's nothing significant to rave about. I noticed that I have almost no visible hairfall while using Zenutrients Gugo shampoo, but my hair became static and dry. I did say that I wasn't using any conditioner so that could be the cause. But still, I don't find Zenutrients shampoo to be suitable for my hair type. Also, D's dandruff persisted with the Zenutrients Tea Tree variant so I can't say that it's effective. Some say that it's the Moringga variant that's best for treating dandruff. But we won't probably be purchasing any of Zenutrients hair care products anytime soon, or not ever. I just find them too expensive for something that is not a true organic product and something that doesn't work very well.